local news
10:39 a.m.

City Council votes down resolution supporting same-sex marriage

by Rebecca S. Bender, 5/4/2006

After about three hours of sometimes highly emotional public comment Tuesday night, the Eureka City Council overwhelmingly voted down a resolution expressing support for same-sex civil marriages, with Councilmember Chris Kerrigan casting a lone yes vote.

Kerrigan, who introduced the resolution, said, �I�m very proud to do this,� describing the issue as one of equal rights for everyone.

It was a subject that drew a large crowd of Humboldt County residents, many of whom stepped to the microphone to voice an opinion during the public comment period.

City Clerk Kathleen Franco Simmons estimated Wednesday that about 54 people spoke.

The maximum occupancy posted for the Council Chamber is 140.

Comments in opposition to the resolution appeared to outnumber those in support by about 3-to-1.

�I�m opposed to it because I love the Lord,� said one woman, who described herself as a lifelong Eureka resident.

�Deep down, we know homosexuality is wrong,� Eureka resident Lawrence La Branche said. He pushed for a Constitutional amendment to further restrict the rights of marriage.

Other opponents raised the specter of polygamy, incest, child marriage and bestiality, charging the resolution with starting a course down a �slippery slope.�

�It�s bad for society; it�s a bad message for youth,� said Eureka attorney Bill Bertain.

Father Louis Coddaire, chaplain of the Humboldt State University Newman Center, recommended enforcing the rights of civil unions, already established under the law. But recognizing same-sex marriages, he said, condones same-sex behaviors and is harmful to children. At the very least, he concluded, a subject that would indicate such a �sea-change� should be put to a vote.

Critics also cited Proposition 22, the Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed in 2000 by 61 percent of voters and defined marriage as only between a man and a woman.

That proposition has since been subject to legal challenge.

�The state of California has spoken through the power of the vote,� Eureka resident Ed Davenport said.

For those who favored the resolution, equal rights were at the heart of the matter � �the inherent worth and dignity of all people,� as one woman put it.

Jack Munsee, a resident of the county, likened the issue to the fight for women�s suffrage and for African-Americans� civil rights.

�These battles are fought over and over,� he said.

Jamila Tharpe observed that she, her lifelong partner and their 3-year-old daughter were only asking for the same protections extended to other citizens.

�It is a religious freedom issue,� she said. �I am a person of faith and my faith tells me that my love is good.�

Eureka resident Amanda Devons applauded the council�s courage in standing up.

�That�s what I think America is all about,� she said, �speaking for those who can�t speak for themselves.�

It was after 10 p.m. when the topic came back to the City Council for debate.

Kerrigan thanked all of the speakers for their comments.

�Everyone deserves the same rights as heterosexual couples,� he reiterated, making a motion to pass the resolution.

The motion hung in the air for several long, quiet seconds, and was finally seconded by Councilmember Virginia Bass-Jackson � in order, she said, to give the council members a chance to explain their positions.

For her, she explained, the decision was simply an inappropriate one for the City Council to consider as a body, whatever individual council members� beliefs and actions may be.

Councilmember Mary Beth Wolford agreed. �My personal beliefs are my own,� she said. �I cannot support this resolution.�

Councilmember Mike Jones said that the council could not trump state law, a statement that resonated with Councilmember Jeff Leonard, who said that he couldn�t vote for a resolution that would essentially signal his intention to disrespect the will of the voters. Although he voted against Proposition 22, he said, it is state law � something he�s bound by oath to uphold.

Mayor Peter La Vallee, though not a voting member of the council, spoke last, pointing out that the women who spoke during the course of the evening wouldn�t have been allowed to even attend the meeting had it not been for the activists who fought for women�s right to vote.

�It took civil disobedience... and community organizing and a lot of suffering,� he said. He also drew examples from the civil rights movement, and from the very founding of the country.

�It is a civil rights issue,� he said of same-sex marriage. �We should have equal rights for all our citizens.�

He also criticized council members� reservations about taking up the resolution, saying, �I wish the council had more courage to at least address the issue.�

Bass-Jackson took strong exception to what she saw as La Vallee�s implication that she and other council members were cowards.

When the vote was called, Kerrigan stood alone in favor of the resolution. The other four council members voted no, and the room erupted in claps and whistles.

�Equality and justice will ultimately prevail in this case,� Kerrigan said.

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