The issue of same-sex marriage has become one of the most hotly debated subjects around the country. Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont €“ provide full marriage equality and other states soon may join them.

All of the states where same-sex marriage has been adopted have engaged in a spirited public discussion about the legal, moral and spiritual implications of broadening the concept of matrimony.  The D.C. Council's action in May to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states has generated a similar debate about whether to go further and allow them to take place here. 

Alas, it seems that the debate in D.C. may be cut short. Several members of Congress - led by Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Dan Boren, D-Okla., - have introduced a bill that would undo the District'€™s recognition of same-sex marriages and go further by defining marriage in D.C. as the "union of one man and one woman." Congress can'€™t touch state marriage laws, but it is uniquely empowered to interfere locally because the Constitution gives Congress the power to legislate for D.C. 

Indeed, social conservatives in Congress have intervened frequently in District affairs when it suits their purposes, especially on issues important to the gay and lesbian community. In 1998, District voters overwhelmingly approved a voter initiative to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes -€“ a treatment proved especially beneficial for HIV/AIDS - but Congress promptly stepped in and blocked its implementation.

Congress also frustrated D.C.'€™s efforts to allow unmarried domestic partners of District employees to qualify for the benefits traditionally granted to spouses, and forbade the District to spend public funds on needle-exchange programs to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. After years of struggle by activists, the bans on needle exchanges and domestic partnerships were overturned. On the other hand, the medical marijuana prohibition still stands.

Reps. Jordan, Boren, along with like-minded colleagues, are taking aim against D.C.'€™s milder bill on recognition of same-sex marriages rather than targeting the states with more far-reaching, full-equality laws -€“ because they can. While residents of Jordan'€™s and Boren€'s states would undoubtedly take exception to being told by the feds how to behave, many members of Congress gleefully bash the District'€™s sinful ways to in order to grandstand before their electoral base. It's a cheap way to energize the faithful and build support among social conservatives for the next election. 

No doubt, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton will do her best to try to fend off the congressional attacks despite not having a vote. But there's one way to ensure that Congress cannot interfere in our local affairs: Make D.C. the 51st state. Voting representation in the House alone, which Norton and local officials currently are pushing, would not overturn Congress'€™ control of our legislation. It would merely provide one vote out of 437 in the House - and none in the Senate - that we could cast in our defense. 

While statehood may have seemed a distant dream during the years the federal government was under Republican control, everything changed on Election Day 2008. With strong Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress and a president who has endorsed D.C. statehood, the stars are aligned in D.C.'s favor in a way they may not be again for decades. Unfortunately, Norton, Mayor Adrian Fenty and most council members are selling D.C. short by seeking voting representation only in the House.

However, there is good news: The new Committee on Statehood and Self-Determination, chaired by D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown, is helping to raise awareness of the need for statehood. 

It'€™s time for all District residents who care about democracy -€“ members of the gay and straight communities, and people of all incomes, races and political parties -€“ to contact our public officials and demand that they stand up for D.C. statehood, and nothing less. Even District residents who may not support same-sex marriage should support the principle that this -€“ and other local matters - should be decided by District residents alone, and no one else. 

Justice, democracy and common sense all lead to one destination: D.C. statehood. 

Bill Mosley, a Mount Pleasant resident, is secretary of the Stand Up for Democracy in D.C. Coalition.