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The proposed D.C. law, expected to go before the council for a vote in the first week of December, would not require churches to perform same-sex weddings. But it would place churches and religious institutions under the auspices of the city's existing equality laws, which forbids employer discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

According to the {Washington} Post, the charity arm of the D.C. archdiocese serves around 68,000 people in the city with services ranging from homeless shelters to health clinics to adoption services. The church spends around $10 million a year on D.C. charity work, and provides a third of the city's homeless shelter beds.

All that could end if D.C. passes the gay marriage law, the church says.