Hot off the press! The Washington State Senate has passed a bill conferring domestic partnership rights upon same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexuals age 62 and older, giving them the right to visit a partner in the hospital, inherit their property without a will and make funeral arrangements, among other things.
Equality Day 07 was in behalf of this bill and those of us who attended ED07 lobbied legislators to vote yes, which most did.
The bill still has to pass the House, where it will easily find favor. Governor Chris Gregoire has said she supports the measure and will sign it.
This is not the same thing as marriage equality, but it is a step toward justice for same sex couples and older couples who cannot marry for financial reasons.
There were, of course, mean-spirited remarks about the homosexual agenda, etc., but I think Sen. Ed Murray, one of the bill's sponsors, put it well when he said, "You have prevented us from marrying; please do not prevent us from caring for each other."
Marriage equality is still on the Religious Coalition for Equality's agenda but this is a great first step.
Hallelujah!
5 comments:
When I lived in California, there was an impression current there that the PNW region was a pleasant region to retire to, but some of the natives regarded Californians as wild-eyed radicals. This legislation places the state of Washington in that part of the nation which is progressing in terms of couples legislation that looks forward instead of backward.
It seems to me that there could be administrative complications to some aspects of what you describe, but it is certainly progress.
LinguistFriend
I do think it's progress. And that quote made me quite teary! (Preventing from marry, preventing from carrying for each other)
YAY! Yay yay yay yay YAY!
One state at a time, one step at a time...forty years from now, we'll look back on this struggle the way we look at the Civil Rights era and think, "Why was this so hard for everyone to accept?"
Yup, one of these days it will be a non-issue. I hope I live that long.
AWESOME! Maybe there's hope for the rest of the country, one of these days!
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