Navajo Diné council could ban gay marriage

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The resolution to ban gay marriages on the Navajo Nation has found its way on the spring session agenda.

The purpose, the resolution reads, "is to promote strong families and strong family values."

Council delegate Larry Anderson Sr., the sponsor, said last July that "in (the) Navajo way, you don't have same-sex marriages."

The Diné Marriage Act, as it is called, amends Navajo Nation Code Title 9 to prohibit plural marriages, same-sex marriages, and marriage between family members.

Currently, Navajo Nation Code will recognize and validate marriages outside of the Navajo Nation, if the marriage is considered valid elsewhere.

Same-sex marriages and civil unions have gained national attention within the past year as President George W. Bush publicly defined marriage as "a union of man and woman as husband and wife."

The Diné Marriage Act does not attempt to define marriage, but instead prohibit certain marriages.

Former President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which allowed states to decide locally how to handle same-sex marriages or civil unions.

Anderson has said that the Navajo Nation should take part in the same freedom.

"The Navajo Nation is considered a sovereign government," Anderson said last year. "We have our own laws and way of life."

Gay Navajos have maintained that the proposal is a step backward. Tribal courts will deal with violators of the amendments, if passed.

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