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Marriage Equality Foes Don’t Like Repeal Ballot Language

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Opponents of same-sex marriage don’t like the ballot language that Attorney General Rob McKenna has written for the referendum to overturn the law signed last week.

In a motion filed this week in Thurston County Superior Court, Preserve Marriage Washington argues that the ballot language leaves out a key element of the effect of the law, which will take effect on June 7 if opponents don’t gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot by June 6. That element: the law would render the terms “husband” and “wife” gender neutral.

Voters who read the ballot title are not fully apprised of the legal effects of the law, PMW argues in its request to have the court change the ballot language to something closer to the language proposed when the referendum petition was filed with the state.

Full Story from the Spokesman Review

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

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Tags: ballot language, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, repeal, washington

White House Asked About President Obama’s View on Marriage Equality During Washington Trip

Saturday, February 18th, 2012

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about the progress of same-sex marriage in the states during President Obama’s visit to Washington State this morning. Gov. Chris Gregoire (D-WA) signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage on Monday and has urged New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R) to enact the marriage equality bill that passed in his legislature yesterday.

Carney reiterated the administration’s position that “the states should be able to decide this issue,” but did not say if Obama’s support for the marriage rights of gays and lesbians was still “evolving”:

Q: Since we’re going to Washington, Washington State legalized same-sex marriage this month. And as you know, Governor Christie is promising to veto a bill legalizing same-sex marriage that passed the New Jersey assembly. I’m just wondering what does the President think about Washington State’s decision and then Governor Christie’s vow to veto legislation?

Full Story from Think Progress

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Tags: marriage equality, president obama, washington, white house

WA: Governor Gregoire Signs Marriage Equality Bill

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Same-sex couples won the right to marry on Monday. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a measure legalizing gay marriage in a ceremony in Olympia on Monday. It made Washington the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage.

A tearful Gregoire announced: “We’re here to make history here in the great state of Washington..This is a very proud day…A day that we did what was right, what was just, what was fair.”

“Here in our state we have taken a long and difficult journey, and this is the last step.” She said the law sends a message throughout the world that Washington stands for equality.

Full Story from Edge Boston

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

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Tags: bill, governor gregoire, marriage equality, washington

WA: Santorum to Meet With Marriage Equality Foes as Bill is Signed

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

Rick Santorum is scheduled to meet with gay marriage foes in Washington state on Monday, the same day Governor Chris Gregoire is holding a signing ceremony for a bill legalizing gay marriage in the state, The Seattle Times reported.

Gregoire will sign the bill into law at 11:30AM, making Washington the seventh state to legalize gay marriage.

The Democrat-controlled House approved the measure with a 55-43 vote on Wednesday, a day after a federal court declared California’s gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, in violation of the United States Constitution, and one week after the Washington Senate passed the measure with a wider margin than expected.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

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Tags: foes, marriage equality, rick santorum, washington

Bellingham, Washington Churches Announce Support for Marriage Equality

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

Some of the most vocal opposition to Washington’s soon-to-be-approved same-sex marriage law has come from politicians and clergy who believe they are protecting traditional religious values.

But a few Bellingham congregations, and dozens of faith groups around the state, are throwing their support behind the gay marriage bill passed by the state Legislature this month.

At a pro-gay-marriage panel co-hosted by the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship and Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood Saturday morning, Feb. 11, the three panelists urged the crowd of about 50 people to prepare for the coming months, when opponents plan to challenge the law with a referendum.

Full Story from the News Tribune

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Tags: bellingham, churches, marriage equality, washington

Prop 8 Win, Washington Marriage Equality Passage Inspire Florida Gay Rights Activists

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

The past week saw two states, California and Washington, grant landmark marriage rights to gay couples through court ruling and legislative action, respectively. And Florida, with a gay population second only to California’s in size, isn’t just watching from the sidelines.

While same-sex marriage may appear to be a distant horizon in a traditionally conservative state, gay advocates here are pursuing those rights that are within reach. Adoption, once banned among gays, is now an option being exercised in ever-increasing numbers.

Discrimination in the workplace — employers are currently allowed to fire gay workers simply over their orientation — is another battlefront in Florida.
While the advances made in same-sex marriage in other states may not affect Florida, they nevertheless serve to inspire.

Full Story from the Sun Sentinel

Click here for gay wedding resources in Florida.

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Tags: adoption, florida, gay rights, marriage equality, prop 8, washington, work

WA: House Vote on Marriage Equality Bill Due Today

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

The Washington state House of Representatives was expected to endorse gay marriage on Wednesday in a vote that would move the state another step closer to becoming the seventh to recognize same-sex nuptials.

Floor debate was scheduled to begin in the afternoon, with supporters and opponents predicting the measure would win House passage by at least as comfortable a margin as it took to clear the Senate, on a 28-21 vote, a week ago.

Democrats, accounting for the lion’s share of support for the bill, control both legislative bodies but enjoy a bigger majority in the House. Proponents were hoping to stave off any 11th-hour House floor amendments that would force the bill back to the Senate for final passage and thus slow its momentum.

Full Story from Reuters

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Tags: bill, Gay Marriage, house, marriage equality, washington

WA: Love for All March for Marriage Equality Planned for Next Week

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Same-sex marriage supporters will march in Cowlitz County Saturday and Sunday as part of a longer march from Vancouver to Olympia.

The Love for All March for Marriage Equality is to express support for legalizing gay marriage in Washington and will cover a total of 100 miles. Most participants will only walk in one or two segments.

The local segments include Kalama to Longview on Saturday and then Longview to Vader on Sunday, said Longview resident Eileen Arnold, a member of the Diversity Task Force at Longview United Methodist Church. Local organizers hope to see between 20 to 50 people walking on those legs of the trip, she said.

Full Story from The Daily News

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Tags: march, marriage equality, olympia, vancouver, washington

WA: Shoreline City Council Votes to Support Marriage Equality

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

On Monday evening, the Shoreline City Council gathered at City Hall for a special council meeting.

Mayor McGlashan read a proclamation which officially declared February as Black History Month in Shoreline.

There to accept the proclamation were three Shorewood High School students, who are involved in putting together their school’s Black History Month assembly.

Full Story from Patch.com

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, marriage equality, shoreline, washington