To protect the democratic process and the right of the people of the District of Columbia to define marriage.

SA 3568. Mr. BENNETT (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Brownback, Mr.
Hatch, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Enzi) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 4872, to
provide for reconciliation pursuant to Title II of the concurrent
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2010 (S. Con. Res. 13); which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle B of title I, add the following:

SEC. ___. RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO
DEFINE MARRIAGE.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) a broad coalition of residents of the District of
Columbia petitioned for an initiative in accordance with the
District of Columbia Home Rule Act to establish that ``only
marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in
the District of Columbia'';
(2) this petition anticipated the Council of the District
of Columbia's passage of an Act legalizing same-sex marriage;
(3) the unelected District of Columbia Board of Elections
and Ethics and the unelected District of Columbia Superior
Court thwarted the residents' initiative effort to define
marriage democratically, holding that the initiative amounted
to discrimination prohibited by the District of Columbia
Human Rights Act; and
(4) the definition of marriage affects every person and
should be debated openly and democratically.
(b) Referendum or Initiative Requirement.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, including the District of
Columbia Human Rights Act, the government of the District of
Columbia shall immediately suspend the issuance of marriage
licenses to any couple of the same sex until the people of
the District of Columbia have the opportunity to hold a
referendum or initiative on the question of whether the
District of Columbia should issue same-sex marriage licenses.
______