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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com February 13, 2012 12:30:27 PM ET
Washington Gov. to Sign Marriage Bill Today
By Andrew Harmon
Washington Marriage 390x | Advocate.com
Washington governor Chris Gregoire will sign into law a marriage equality
bill at a historic Monday ceremony in Olympia.
The Associated Press reports that the governor will sign the bill, recently
passed by state House and Senate lawmakers, at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time in
the state capitol’s reception room. A live stream of the signing ceremony
will be broadcast here.
“I knew now was the time to face it,” Gov. Gregoire said in an interview
with The Advocate last month after throwing her political weight behind the
bill. “And as I faced it, both as a mom and as a wife, and as a Catholic,
as a governor, and wrote it down on a piece of paper, the logic of it all
fell into the words that I put down there.”
The law, which would make Washington the seventh state plus the District of
Columbia where marriage rights for same-sex couples are legal, will go into
effect on June 7, the AP reports. Social conservative groups have vowed to
collect the requisite signatures needed to put a referendum or an initiative
on the November ballot.
Such a move would almost certainly be challenged in court if antigay
advocates were successful, given the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling
last week that California’s Proposition 8 violated the Fourteenth Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution when it took away the right to marry for same-sex
couples.
In Washington, LGBT rights have been under attack by a ballot measure
campaign before. In 2009, following passage of an “everything but marriage
” domestic partnership bill, antigay groups sought to repeal the
legislation via Referendum 71. The effort failed, however, with 53% of
voters opposing it.
Passage of the bill is likely to prompt a response from Republican
presidential candidates who reiterated their opposition to marriage equality
during appearances at the Conservative Political Action Conference in
Washington, D.C. last week. Rick Santorum will be speaking with marriage
equality opponents in Olympia today a few hours after the governor signs the
bill, followed by a campaign rally at the Washington Historical Museum in
Tacoma at 7 p.m. | g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 2 Posted on Advocate.com February 13, 2012 03:28:41 PM ET
WASHINGTON GOVERNOR ON MARRIAGE: "IT IS SIGNED!"
By Andrew Harmon and Nick Visser
CHRIS GREGOIRE SIGNS MARRIAGE X390 (GRAB) | ADVOCATE.COM
Christine Gregoire signs marriage bill.
Calling it “a day that historians will mark as a milestone for equal rights
,” Washington governor Christine Gregoire signed into law a state marriage
equality bill introduced just weeks ago.
“It is the right step. We have finally said yes to marriage equality,”
Gregoire said during an exuberant Monday ceremony at the state capitol in
Olympia. “The sky-will-fall rhetoric is simply not true. “
The law, which makes Washington the seventh state plus the District of
Columbia where marriage rights for same-sex couples are legal, is scheduled
to go into effect on June 7, unless anti-marriage equality groups gather
enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot, which they have vowed to
do.
In a triumphant address before marriage equality supporters, Gregoire
thanked the efforts of lawmakers on both sides of the debate, the courage of
gay and lesbian youth and the parents who support them, and, with tears in
her eyes, her two daughters, who told her that marriage equality was the “
defining civil rights issue of their time.”
Gregoire was introduced by state senator Ed Murray and representative Jamie
Pedersen, two gay lawmakers who were leaders in their respective chambers
for the bill’s passage. Murray praised Gregoire for her “leadership,
passion, and courage.”
With the bill signed, antigay groups can now file for a referendum and begin
collecting signatures, which would be due by June 6 for ballot
consideration. To qualify, they must collect 120,577 signatures.
But Gregoire made a plea to Washington citizens to support the law, saying
Monday, “I ask all Washingtonians to look into your hearts and ask yourself
, isn’t it time for our state … to support strong families and make
Washington state stronger?”
If a referendum were passed, it could face a court challenge, given the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling last week that California’s
Proposition 8 violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
when it took away the right to marry for same-sex couples. The two states
are similar in that they both have granted broad domestic partnerships to
gay and lesbian couples while withholding the title “marriage.” They
differ in that California had legal marriage equality for several months
prior to Proposition 8’s passage, whereas Washington will have no such
window of time if a referendum qualifies for the ballot.
LGBT rights have been under attack by a state ballot measure campaign before
. In 2009, following passage of an “everything but marriage” domestic
partnership bill, antigay groups sought to repeal the legislation via
Referendum 71. The effort failed, however, with 53% of voters opposing it.
Gregoire’s bill signing was the day’s second historic event for marriage
equality, with the New Jersey state Senate passing a marriage bill in a 24-
16 vote. Gov. Chris Christie has vowed to veto the bill, however. (Read more
on the New Jersey vote here.)
Meanwhile, passage of the Washington bill is likely to prompt a response
from Republican presidential candidates who reiterated their opposition to
marriage equality during appearances at the Conservative Political Action
Conference in Washington, D.C. last week. Rick Santorum will be speaking
with marriage equality opponents in Olympia today just a few hours after the
governor signed the bill, followed by a campaign rally at the Washington
Historical Museum in Tacoma at 7 p.m. | g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 3 Haugen announces stance on marriage equality
Monday, January 23 2012 - Mary Margaret Haugen | Permalink
OLYMPIA – Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen issued the following statement today
following the Senate hearing on Senate Bill 6239 to allow same-sex marriage:
“For several weeks now, I have heard from the people of my district. They’
ve shared what’s in their hearts and minds.
“I have received many letters, emails, phone calls, very heartfelt, from
both sides of the issue. I’ve also received a number of very negative
comments from both sides.
“For some people, this is a simple issue. I envy them. It has not been
simple or easy for me.
“To some degree, this is generational. Years ago I took exception to my
parents’ beliefs on certain social issues, and today my children take
exception to some of mine. Times change, even if it makes us uncomfortable.
I think we should all be uncomfortable sometime. None of us knows everything
, and it’s important to have our beliefs questioned. Only one being in this
world is omniscient, and it’s not me.
“I have very strong Christian beliefs, and personally I have always said
when I accepted the Lord, I became more tolerant of others. I stopped
judging people and try to live by the Golden Rule. This is part of my
decision. I do not believe it is my role to judge others, regardless of my
personal beliefs. It’s not always easy to do that. For me personally, I
have always believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. That
is what I believe, to this day.
“But this issue isn’t about just what I believe. It’s about respecting
others, including people who may believe differently than I. It’s about
whether everyone has the same opportunities for love and companionship and
family and security that I have enjoyed.
“For as long as I have been alive, living in my country has been about
having the freedom to live according to our own personal and religious
beliefs, and having people respect that freedom.
“Not everyone will agree with my position. I understand and respect that. I
also trust that people will remember that we need to respect each other’s
beliefs. All of us enjoy the benefits of being Americans, but none of us
holds a monopoly on what it means to be an American. Ours is truly a big
tent, and while the tent may grow and shrink according to the political
winds of the day, it should never shrink when it comes to our rights as
individuals.
“Do I respect people who feel differently? Do I not feel they should have
the right to do as they want? My beliefs dictate who I am and how I live,
but I don’t see where my believing marriage is between a man and a woman
gives me the right to decide that for everyone else.
“I’ve weighed many factors in arriving at this decision, and one of them
was erased when the legislation heard today included an amendment to clearly
provide for the rights of a church to choose not to marry a couple if that
marriage contradicts the church’s view of its teachings. That’s important,
and it helped shape my decision.
“My preference would be to put this issue on the ballot and give all
Washingtonians the opportunity to wrestle with this issue, to search their
hearts as I have, and to make the choice for themselves. But I do not know
that there are the votes to put it to a ballot measure. So, forced to make a
choice, my choice is to allow all men and women in our state to enjoy the
same privileges that are so important in my life. I will vote in favor of
marriage equality.
“I know this announcement makes me the so-called 25th vote, the vote that
ensures passage. That’s neither here nor there. If I were the first or the
seventh or the 28th vote, my position would not be any different. I happen
to be the 25th because I insisted on taking this much time to hear from my
constituents and to sort it out for myself, to reconcile my religious
beliefs with my beliefs as an American, as a legislator, and as a wife and
mother who cannot deny to others the joys and benefits I enjoy.
“This is the right vote and it is the vote I will cast when this measure
comes to the floor.” |
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