g********d 发帖数: 4174 | 1 Gregoire expected to back gay-marriage bill
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday is expected to publicly back efforts to
make Washington the seventh state to legalize marriage for lesbian and gay
couples.
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
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Gov. Chris Gregoire has spoken out for equality.
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STEVE BLOOM / AP
Gov. Chris Gregoire has spoken out for equality.
Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle
Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle
Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester
Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester
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OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday is expected to publicly back
efforts to make Washington the seventh state to legalize marriage for
lesbian and gay couples.
Sources close to the discussions said the governor will support gay-marriage
legislation during the session that starts Monday.
Gregoire has supported giving gay and lesbian partners the same rights that
married couples have today, but has never endorsed same-sex marriage
publicly.
Leaders of Washington United for Marriage, a coalition of gay-rights, civil-
liberties, labor and religious groups, have been invited to a morning news
conference where Gregoire will address marriage equality. Her office
declined to comment further.
"We're eager to hear what she has to say," said Zach Silk, campaign manager
for Washington United for Marriage.
The governor's support would be "incredibly important for the campaign," he
said. "It provides momentum for the campaign and helps us make the case to
other public officials how important it is to back this piece of legislation
."
Democratic state Sen. Ed Murray and state Rep. Jamie Pedersen, both gay
lawmakers from Seattle and leaders in the marriage effort, said support from
the governor would raise the profile of the legislation and put the power
of her office behind the effort.
Republican State Sen. Dan Swecker, of Rochester, Thurston County, a leading
opponent of gay marriage, questioned the wisdom of bringing up the matter
when the Legislature must solve a $1.5 billion shortfall in the state budget.
"It's too bad we'd try to deal with this issue, that tends to be very
divisive, in a year when we have these other major financial issues facing
us," he said.
Murray and Pedersen, however, said the Legislature is capable of tackling
both issues.
Public support for gay marriage would represent a change for Gregoire. While
running for governor in 2004, she supported legal rights for same-sex
couples but said, "I do not believe that Washington state is ready to
support gay marriage."
In a 2008 interview, when she ran for a second term, Gregoire explained her
beliefs in more detail.
"There are two issues here," she said. "One is the state's responsibility.
To me, the state's responsibility is to absolutely ensure equality. The
other is a religious issue, and I leave it to the churches to make that call
about marriage."
Murray said the gay-marriage legislation being developed would "amend the
statutes to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry and to get a marriage
license under Washington state law."
However, he said, churches wouldn't be required to perform marriage services
for gay and lesbian couples.
"My own church does not marry people who are divorced," said Murray, who is
Catholic.
Democrats hold a 27-22 majority in the state Senate and a 56-42 advantage in
the state House. However, some conservative Democrats in the Senate have
voted with Republicans when it comes to extending rights to same-sex couples.
The marriage-equality campaign is the result of years of effort by Murray,
Pedersen and other backers of gay rights.
The Legislature first passed a law in 2006 prohibiting discrimination based
on sexual orientation in employment, housing, lending and insurance. The
rights of same-sex couples have been expanded in a series of subsequent laws
, culminating in 2009's "everything but marriage law," which was upheld by a
public vote on Referendum 71 that fall.
Currently, gay marriage is legal in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and the District of Columbia, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures. | D**S 发帖数: 24887 | | g********d 发帖数: 4174 | 3 I am Correct
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23 minutes ago( 5:42 PM)
Don't you guys get it? All marriages are same sex marriages. After a while
it's the same sex every night. |
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