Lowry Backs Gay Marriage, But Bill Won’t Fly Governor Knows Legislation Has No Chance, But Sees Discrimination In Ban And Wants Dialogue

As one of his final acts, outgoing Gov. Mike Lowry is sponsoring legislation to authorize same-sex marriages.

The bill is doomed in the Legislature, where majority Republicans intend to pass a ban on same-gender unions. But a Lowry spokesman said Thursday the governor considers the ban blatant bias and hopes to begin a dialogue that will eventually end discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, the only self-identified homosexual in the Legislature, will introduce the Lowry bill in the House. The senator from his district, Democrat Pat Thibaudeau, will sponsor an identical bill in the Senate. Their 43rd District includes Seattle’s Capitol Hill, which has the state’s heaviest concentration of gay couples.

Murray and Thibaudeau also will sponsor legislation aimed at barring discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation.

Rep. Bill Thompson, R-Everett, will again sponsor a bill to ban same-gender marriages. His plan would simply declare marriage to be a union between a man and a woman, mirroring both new federal legislation and a 20-year-old state court ruling.

The issue was the No. 1 priority of religious conservatives in the Legislature last year, but Thompson’s bill died in the Senate, where Democrats held a one-seat majority. Republicans took over the Senate in the November elections, and Majority Leader Dan McDonald, R-Bellevue, says passage of the legislation is certain.

Also occurring since the last session was a ruling by a judge in Hawaii that same-gender marriage is legal in that state. Thompson’s bill, using the authority of the new federal Defense of Marriage Act, says gay weddings performed in Hawaii would not be recognized in Washington.

“We are hoping it will be a little less confrontational this year,” he said in an interview. “We’re not out to bash anybody, but we feel the institution of marriage is a very fragile thing and we want to shore it up.”

He said the bill will be sent to the new governor, Gary Locke, who is sworn in next Wednesday. Thompson said he hopes Locke will follow the lead of President Clinton and sign the measure. If Locke vetoes it, it’s quite possible enough Democratic votes can be rounded up to override, Thompson said.

The last resort would be placing the measure on the fall ballot as a referendum for the people to decide, he said.

“We don’t want to go that way if we don’t have to,” Thompson said. He said he sympathizes with critics’ worries that it would be a divisive issue.

At a Thursday news conference in Seattle, Locke repeated his distaste for the ban bill, but stopped short of saying he would veto it. During the campaign, Locke said he would sign a Murray-style bill.

Murray’s bill would authorize a civil marriage contract to provide the same marital benefits that heterosexual couples get, such as the right of inheritance or health coverage.

Lowry’s press secretary, Jordan Dey, said the governor believes the civil contract approach avoids some of the moral or religious overtones of church weddings. He said Lowry doesn’t mind launching an uphill fight.

“The governor has stood against discrimination ever since taking office, and this is another case of discrimination, pure and simple, denying people a legal benefit that is available for heterosexual couples,” Dey said.