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A bill permitting gay marriage will be introduced in the Washington, D.C., City Council today, with its passage nearly certain by Christmas. And Congress might even let them do it, too! See, for reasons we don't quite understand, members of Congress, who are unelected by the people of Washington, D.C., and only live in the city sometimes, still have the constitutional power to overrule any law passed by the D.C. City Council. Usually this would spell trouble for something as controversial and politically fraught as letting people decide whom they want to marry. And while there's always a risk that Congress could effectively overturn the law in the future, it's not expected to do so now, since Democrats are firmly in control and it's currently swamped with things that should actually concern it, like health-care reform. Too busy to intrude in the private lives of gay people? That health care must really be a doozy.

D.C. to Introduce Same-Sex Marriage Bill [WP]