I'm Going To The Chapel and I'm Gonna... Sign a Bill

I have no objection to D.C. passing a law allowing for gay marriage; while I'm a conservative, I'm more of a libertarian than many of my fellow right-wing conspiracists. If gay people want to get married, that's fine; I just feel sorry for them that they have to pay the District's taxes. But this struck me as more than a little odd..

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will sign legislation Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District at a bill-signing ceremony so historic that his staff scrambled to find the perfect location Thursday.

Would it be All Souls Unitarian Church, a Northwest house of worship known for its diversity, liberalism and welcoming of same-sex couples? Would it be Covenant Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Southwest where husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Christine Wiley serve as co-pastors and support gay marriage? Or would it be a secular site?

Late in the day, Katie Loughary, executive director at All Souls, said it appeared that Covenant was winning. "We're disappointed, yes," she said. "But we're excited that it's happening."

But the letdown was turned around when the Rev. Robert Hardies, All Souls' senior pastor, said that he had been contacted by the mayor's office and told that his church would be the spot.

Why is the perfect location a church, other than a naked attempt to claim religious support for the legislation? I can see signing certain bills in a church (think of Bush's faith-based initiatives), but even then it seems inappropriate. Ann Althouse feels the same way...

What a shameful and embarrassing display! Here you are, purporting to extend rights to people, and flouting the fundamental principle of keeping government separate from religion. The perfect location? Yes, it was the perfect location to show your lack of respect for constitutional limitations on government.

I tend to think the wall between church and state is conceptually overblown, but Fenty's the one who comes from a political party which shares an ideological bent with the ACLU, which has the vapors when a creche shows up within 3 blocks of a courthouse. I would be exceedingly impressed if they showed up to protest the bill signing, but I'm not holding my breath.