The establishment of LGBT rights in the District of Columbia is a relatively recent occurrence, with the majority of advances in LGBT rights taking place in the past century. Along with the rest of the country, the District of Columbia recognizes marriage of same-sex couples. The percentage of households in the District of Columbia based on same-sex couples in 2008 was at 1.8%, the highest in the nation. Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act 1973, all laws passed by the Council of the District of Columbia and signed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, are subject to a mandatory 30-day "Congressional review" by US Congress. Only then after the 30-day Congressional review, the US Congress formally approves that law â€" then they become effective in the District of Columbia.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1981 but the decision was quickly overturned by the United States Congress. A successful legislative repeal of laws criminalizing same-sex sexual activity followed in 1993.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Same-sex domestic partnerships were legalized by the city government in 1992 through the Health Benefits Expansion Act, but the Republican-controlled Congress refused to approve the measure until 2002, when a legislative rider preventing Congressional approval of the Act's implementation was not included that year. Afterward, the domestic partnerships provisions of District law were incrementally expanded.
Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia was legalized on December 18, 2009, when mayor Adrian Fenty signed a bill passed by the Council of the District of Columbia on December 15, 2009. Following the signing the measure entered a mandatory Congressional review of 30 work days. Marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010, and marriages began on March 9, 2010. The District became the only jurisdiction in the United States below the Masonâ€"Dixon Line to allow same-sex couples to marry, until neighboring Maryland legalized same sex marriage on January 1, 2013.
Domestic partnerships for same-sex and opposite-sex couples remain available as an option alongside marriage.
The District has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees since 2002.
Adoption, IVF, surrogacy and family planning
Same-sex couples adopting children is legal, along with IVF and commercial or altruistic surrogacy.
On 2 December 2016 Committee passed a bill 9-0 to allow commercial surrogacy contracts for all couples. On 22 December 2016 the government council of the District of Columbia passed a bill on the second reading unanimously by a vote of 13-0 to allow commercial surrogacy arrangements for all couples. The Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser signed the bill into law on 15 February 2017. Now the bill has to await a mandatory 30 day review within Congress, which is controlled by Republicans in all three levels of government including the President of the United States, also known as the government trifecta. The law went into effect on April 7, 2017.
Discrimination protection
Sexual orientation and gender identity are both covered as protected classes under the District of Columbia's law.
Since May 2015, the ban on discriminating against LGBT students attending religious schools became law.
Hate crime laws
District's hate crime law covers hate crimes based on both sexual orientation and gender identity.
Gender identity
Transgender persons may amend their birth certificates once they have undergone sex-reassignment surgery. Under the JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013, transgender persons who were born in DC may obtain new birth certificates that reflect their current gender identity from the city registrar on the basis of a letter from a licensed health care provider and no longer need to have undergone gender reassignment surgery. The act passed Congressional review and took effect on November 5, 2013.
In 2015, a bill was introduced to DC Council to correct the gender identity on death certificates. The bill failed within Committee by a vote of 4-6.
In 2016, the same bill was introduced by a different member and passed Committee by a vote of 9-0. The bill passed a second reading unanimously by a vote of 13-0. The Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser signed the bill into law on 15 February 2017. Now the bill has to await a mandatory 30 day review within Congress, which is controlled by Republicans in all three levels of government including the President of the United States, also known as the government trifecta. The law went into effect on April 7, 2017.
Driver's licences
Since July 1, 2017, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles will begin offering a third choice for gender on licenses and identification cards: X, designating a neutral or non-binary gender identity.
Conversion therapy
- List of U.S. jurisdictions banning conversion therapy for minors
On December 2, 2014, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to ban sexual orientation change efforts (conversion therapy) for minors. Mayor Vincent C. Gray signed the bill on December 22, 2014. The act passed Congressional review and took effect on March 11, 2015.
Summary table
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