Spokane7
39°
May 19, 2009 in Opinion
Our View: Efforts to squash same-sex rights are unwarranted
In the debate over gay marriage, there are two kinds of opponents: those who support equal rights as long as there isn’t a ceremony called marriage, and those who oppose granting equal rights because that’s seen as a slippery slope to gay marriage. The former are in the firm majority; the latter belong to a distinct minority, but in Washington state they will attempt to reverse an equal-rights law anyway.
According to an April Quinnipiac University poll, American voters oppose (55 percent to 38 percent) a law in their state allowing same-sex couples to marry, but support (57 percent to 38 percent) allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions. The poll notes majority support for same-sex couples being able to adopt, garner employee benefits and other rights. It also shows support for allowing openly gay people to serve in the military.
The “everything but marriage” law was signed Monday by Gov. Chris Gregoire. It adds registered domestic partnerships to all statutes that apply to married couples. This means that registered same-sex couples will now have the same legal rights that opposite-sex couples assumed by virtue of getting married. The law is a culmination of efforts to end the longtime discrimination against gays and lesbians when it comes to housing, hiring, hospital visitation, child custody and many other legal matters.
The new law will take effect July 25, unless opponents can collect 120,577 signatures, which would put a referendum on the November ballot aimed at rescinding it. Unfortunately, the religious Faith and Freedom Network is spearheading an effort to do just that.
To most people, civil unions or state registries like Washington’s make sense, because so many rights are attached to marriage. While we think gay marriage is the simplest answer, there’s no denying that many people, including President Barack Obama, have misgivings. But at the same time, they don’t want to deny basic rights to same-sex couples.
Referendum supporters aren’t concerned about discrimination. Their single-minded focus is on reserving marriage for a man and a woman, and anti-discrimination laws are deemed to be stepping stones to marriage for all.
However, it will be the opponents’ indifference to discrimination that will be their undoing. Many pastors in the state don’t want to take on this law, because they’re not interested in protecting discriminatory statutes in the name of protecting marriage.
The Rev. Joe Fuiten, of Bothell, who has been at the forefront of the gay-marriage battle, recently released a memo in which he urges conservative Christians to skip this fight. That doesn’t mean he supports the new law, but he can see that trying to reverse it is a losing cause.
If enough people see the light and refuse to sign the referendum, the unfairness will end much sooner.
A hypocrite by necessity 
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Ninch on May 19 at 7:43 a.m.
Uh… you forgot the other side of the story… Those from the GL commmunity who will not accept anything but the act of marriage, even though they can have full “marriage” rights with civil partnerships. These are the people who also should step back, because they are fomenting a backlash by harassing those who disagree because of personal religious and cultural beliefs.
amybiviano on May 19 at 10:32 a.m.
This is article is well reasoned and very articulate. To those who question the most important civil rights issue of our generation, please consider the alternative. Why did you get married versus simply creating a will, multiple contracts, and carrying those documents with you at time to ensure that you had the same basic rights as those who otherwise marry? Perhaps marriage carries some social, religious and personal weight in your life, as it should. As a woman who has been happily married for almost 12 years, I can’t imagine denying any other loving couple the basic right within family values of establishing a binding, solid bond that strengthens the core of our communities. Thank you for standing up for all forms of families.
davidthewhat on May 19 at 11:14 p.m.
If by chance gay marriage becomes the law, whether it serves civil rights of certain people, it denies the church the protection of the rights of protecting marriage. If there will be the right for gays to marry you deny God’s law and thus further degrade the country as a whole. You cannot create “rights for all” concerning gay marriage without crossing God’s law on sex and the proper use of the sexual act commanded by God. You are denying with your story, half of the story. The much bigger half of the story. This being God’s law and the overall well being of the country based on the law of God. Degrading the laws of God denies the rights of man and degrades humanity. This reflects the reality that God made marriage to reflect the truth of God’s law in the sovereignty of marriage thus denying the rights of man. Whether you know it or not the only way for everyone to have perfect equality of rights is to fulfill all of God’s commandments in everything. Marriage not excepted.
spokanada on June 03 at 8:35 a.m.
” it denies the church the protection of the rights of protecting marriage”
hmmm, i can get married, divorced, married again, cheat on my wife, divorced, married a third time etc. because it is legal. When are the bigots opposed to same sex marriage going to try and make divorce and infidelity illegal???