Navajos Override Gay-Marriage Ban Veto
June 04, 2005 3:51 AM EDT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Navajo Nation's tribal government voted Friday to override its president's veto of a measure banning same-sex marriage on the nation's largest Indian reservation.

The Dine Marriage Act of 2005 defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. It also prohibits plural marriages as well as marriage between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, brothers and sisters and other close relatives.

Dine is the Navajos' name for themselves.

"In the traditional Navajo ways, gay marriage is a big no-no," said Kenneth Maryboy, a delegate from Montezuma Creek, Utah. "It all boils down to the circle of life. We were put on the earth to produce offspring."

The Tribal Council vote was 62-14, with 12 delegates abstaining or absent, to override Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr.'s veto last month.

"My feeling is that the reason they overrode the president's veto is that they have a huge animosity toward the president," said Percy Anderson, a gay rights organizer who started a Web site and petition to lobby against the marriage act.

Anderson, who previously held an elected office in the tribe's Manuelito, N.M., chapter, said he believes the council is locked in a power struggle. "They want to show the president that they are the governing body," Anderson said.

Maryboy disagreed, saying his constituents overwhelming oppose gay marriage and generally disapprove of gay relationships.

"My supporters told me to stay firmly against it, especially the ministers who join people in marriage," he said.

A spokesman for Shirley said he will issue a statement override over the weekend.

Delegate Larry Anderson of Fort Defiance, Ariz., author of the Dine Marriage Act, did not return numerous phone calls seeking comment.

The Navajo Nation, which has more than 180,000 residents, spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Same-sex marriages are not allowed in any of those states.
Torog Reviewed by Torog on . Navajo's Override Gay-Marriage Ban Veto Navajos Override Gay-Marriage Ban Veto June 04, 2005 3:51 AM EDT ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Navajo Nation's tribal government voted Friday to override its president's veto of a measure banning same-sex marriage on the nation's largest Indian reservation. The Dine Marriage Act of 2005 defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. It also prohibits plural marriages as well as marriage between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, brothers and sisters and other Rating: 5