PhoboQuotable - Rev. Harry Jackson Jr.

"When the D.C. Council passed a measure last week to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, the council members acted surreptitiously and violated the sacred trust of their office. This decision, in which little attention was paid to the concerns of many D.C. constituents, marked a new low in irresponsible leadership.

"In a predominantly black city that has lived through the worst facets of discrimination, a strange brand of reverse bigotry is being perpetrated. Defenders of virtue and protectors of family and age-appropriate education of children are being called "bigots." This is ironic in a city that was built by slave labor and that has a bronze statue on top of the U.S. Capitol called "Freedom." Today the District of Columbia is less democratic, less free and less just because it sanctions same-sex marriage reciprocity.

"Those of us who oppose this action have held two rallies over the past few weeks, with more than 100 ministers participating. We have served notice to the D.C. Council that we will seek to overturn its decision by direct popular vote." - Rev. Harry Jackson, Jr., in an editorial published in today's Washington Post.