Ohio Congressman Targets D.C. Marriage Equality

Social conservatives in Congress may push to roll back marriage rights in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican and chair of the 175-member Republican Study Committee, said he would push to ban same-sex marriage in D.C., The Hillreported Tuesday, one week after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from anti-gay marriage forces seeking to force a referendum on the issue in the nation's capital.

Jordan, who introduced the D.C. Defense of Marriage Act in 2009 after the Washington city council voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, told The Hill, "I think RSC will push for it, and I'm certainly strongly for it. I don't know if we've made a decision if I'll do it or let another member do it, but I'm 100 percent for it."

Log Cabin Republicans deputy executive director Christian Berle told The Advocate that his organization has not yet spoken with Jordan's staff or any other member of Congress on the potential legislation. Log Cabin issued the following statement Tuesday:

"Last November the American people made their priorities perfectly clear," Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper said. "The primary mission of this Congress is to address trillions of dollars in deficits and out of control government spending, which will not happen if individual members take their eyes off the ball to manufacture controversy. Just two months ago, Congressman Jordan said to me 'Democrats are the party of government; we are the party of principle.' Today I am calling upon him to remember the core Republican principle that respects local government and states' rights over interference from federal lawmakers.

"This Congress has important work to do without meddling in local affairs," Cooper continued. "Such an overreach sends a mixed message from a Republican party actively trying to shrink the role of government in Americans' daily lives."

At a December 15 meeting with the Republican Study Committee that included the Log Cabin Republicans, Heritage Foundation, and the National Rifle Association, among other groups, Jordan stressed that spending cuts would be the primary focus in the new Congress, Berle said.

Jordan did not indicate that there "would be any focus by the study committee on issues unrelated to spending and tax relief" during the December meeting, Berle added.

Read The Hill'sreport here.