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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gov. Gregoire to support gay marriage bill

OLYMPIA — Washington must end discrimination against same-sex couples, an emotional Gov. Chris Gregoire said this morning. She urged the Legislature to pass a bill that would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry in the state without requiring churches to perform the service if their religious denomination objects. Gregoire received extended applause from some 70 people crowded into the governor’s conference room as she called same-sex marriage rights a defining civil rights issue of the current generation. Younger citizens are ahead of her generation, she said, and the public is ahead of the Legislature on it, she insisted. The arguments used for keeping the current system of domestic partnerships instead of marriage for same-sex couples are some of the same ones used to keep African-Americans in separate schools, housing and drinking fountains under the doctrine of “separate but equal,” she said. Although the experiences of racial minorities aren’t identical to those of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender citizens, the laws are “inherently unjust,” she said. “It is now time for equality of our gay and lesbian citizens, and that means marriage,” Gregoire said. Six other states have legalized same-sex marriages: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Washington state has a domestic partnership law that was expanded several times, with the most recent version surviving an attempt by opponents to overturn it at the polls. The call for a law allowing same-sex marriage is a significant departure for Gregoire, who for years has supported domestic partnerships and said she was concerned about the state telling churches who they could marry. “It has been a battle for me, with my religion,” said Gregoire, who is Roman Catholic. “I was uncomfortable with the position I took publicly. I respect religious freedom, but the state cannot be in the business of discrimination.” Legislators who attended the press conference said they believed they have the votes in the House to pass a bill Gregoire will endorse, but are “a few votes” short of a majority in the Senate. But it is time for legislators to step up and take a tough vote on same-sex marriage, Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, said. He predicted he would get Republican votes for that measure, something he doubted he would get for a tax increase. “Suddenly, passing gay marriage becomes easier than passing taxes,” Murray said. Legislators said they intend to file bills that would not automatically put the change on the November ballot. But it wouldn’t have an emergency clause, which would give opponents time to try gathering signatures to force a public vote on it. The last time the Legislature made changes to laws involving same-sex couples, when it expanded domestic partnership laws in 2009, opponents quickly gathered enough signatures to bring those changes before voters. That law was upheld by voters, 53 percent to 47 percent. Even before Gregoire announced her support for the legislation, a new coalition was forming to oppose it. The Rev. Ken Hutcherson of the Antioch Baptist Church in Kirkland, said the group had not yet settled on a name but would “absolutely” fight it during the upcoming session. “We’re looking extremely forward to it,” Hutcherson said. “We want to kill it in the Legislature” after getting members of both houses on the record voting for or against the bill. “We do not want to give the Democrats or the Republicans the opportunity to put it on the people.” Hutcherson, an African-American who grew up in Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s, contended that Gregoire was paying back the political support she received from gays and lesbians over the years by backing a same-sex marriage bill. “It’s an absolute insult, what she said, trying to compare homosexuals with what African-Americans went through in the South,” he added. Sen. Dan Swecker of Rochester, a leading Republican opponent on the gay marriage issue, said he was surprised Gregoire brought up the contentious issue during a short session that has to deal with significant budget cuts. “It will be a very divisive issue,” Swecker said. “She’s just kind of fanning the flames.” The two parties have worked together on budget problems in recent years, and one of the reasons was gay marriage legislation was “taken off the table,” he said. Gregoire said the state’s financial woes shouldn’t be an excuse for not taking up same-sex marriage: “We’re going to continue to discriminate because we have budget problems?” Swecker called that a “facetious” argument: “It will be very much a part of the mix.” The two candidates most likely to replace Gregoire when she leaves office next year were split on the issue. Attorney General Rob McKenna, the leading Republican candidate for governor, supports the state’s current law on domestic partnerships. “He does not support gay marriage as a matter of faith,” campaign spokesman Randy Pepples said. McKenna has not seen a draft of the bill Gregoire will back, but thinks if the law does change, it should go before the voters, not be handled solely by the Legislature. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, the top Democrat in the race, supports same-sex marriage in Washington and backs Gregoire’s call for the change, spokeswoman Jaime Smith said. If the bill doesn’t make it through the Legislature this session, he’d support placing it on the ballot in November through the initiative process.