Statement from ADF on U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear case over DC marriage initiative
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday declined to hear an appeal over the right of District of Columbia residents to vote on the legal definition of marriage in the case Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics (known as Jackson II).
“In America, we respect the right to vote. That right is explicitly protected by the D.C. Charter, but the government has succeeded for now in suppressing the voice of D.C. citizens,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “We had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would restore this guaranteed right in the district. The four dissenting judges in the D.C. Court of Appeals decision were correct that the D.C. Council ‘exceeded its authority’ when it imposed an unwarranted limitation on the citizens’ right to vote. We will remain diligent in looking for other legal opportunities to protect and defend the right of all D.C. residents to have their voices heard as the D.C. Charter clearly intended.”
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.