Tag: Washington state

The Washington House of Representatives has passed the bill (55-43) in favor of marriage equality! Once signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire, Washington will become the seventh state (plus Washington, D.C.) in the U.S. to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

The governor is expected to sign the bill into law next week, though those against marriage equality are expected to try and get a referendum on the ballot to counter the bill. Marriages could then be put on hold until the November vote, or otherwise begin as early as June.

Tonight, Wednesday February 1, 2012, marriage equality passed in Washington state’s Senate by a vote of 28-21.  Three more votes than necessary.

The bill goes to the House where it is expected to pass.

Gov. Gregoire introduced the bill and has made clear she will sign it when it comes to her desk.

Lacey All, Chair of Washington United for Marriage, said in a statement, “We thank Majority Leader Brown, Sen. Murray and the bipartisan coalition of senators who stood with us today in the name of equality. The overwhelming support we’re seeing from businesses, labor, faith communities and people all across the state is a testament to the momentum of this movement and sensibilities of Washingtonians. Volunteers from every part of the state have contributed thousands of hours of their time to make today possible, and we thank them for their commitment to this issue.”

My personal favorite place to shop – Amazon.com – has issued a statement of support for marriage equality in Washington state:

“Amazon is joining other Pacific Northwest companies, including Microsoft, Starbucks and Nike, in support of Washington state’s marriage equality bills,” Amazon said in a statement released by spokeswoman Mary Osako. “The spirit of these bills is consistent with our longstanding employment practices.”

Six other prominent Washington state based companies – Concur, Group Health Cooperative, Microsoft, Nike, RealNetworks, and Vulcan – have come out in favor of the pending legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state.

The Washington state senate may vote on the legislation tonight.

From the Advocate: Ed Murray, the lead sponsor of Washington State’s marriage equality bill in the Senate, told The Advocate Tuesday afternoon that he expects the measure to pass during a floor vote tomorrow. Twenty-five senators, including two Republicans, have pledged their support as of last week, and they represent the minimum number needed to pass the legislation.

“We believe we have the votes to pass the bill and to defeat any attempt to put it on a referendum,” said Murray, one of six openly gay legislators in Washington. “My guess is that probably towards the end of next week, the bill will be signed by [Gov. Chris Gregoire].”

Washington law mandates a 60-day period after a bill is passed before it goes into effect, which allows anyone in the state to ask for the measure to be put on the ballot. Murray said marriage equality opponents have already pledged to do so the same day the bill would be signed, and said he’s “absolutely” sure they’ll hold to their promise.

“It’s going to be a pretty ugly and tough campaign ahead,” Murray said.

Marriage equality opponents, including the National Organization for Marriage and local antigay groups, have vowed to stop the bill’s passage. NOM has pledged $250,000 to fund primary challenges to any Republican legislator who supports the bill.

But Murray said he’s confident about tomorrow’s vote, and with the help of Washington United for Marriage — the key group working on grassroots support for the measure statewide — the bill will passed into law during November’s election season if it does go to a public vote. If that happens, Washington would be the first state in the nation to pass marriage equality in both the legislature and on a ballot.

A Senate committee on Thursday approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, moving the measure one step closer to passage.

The Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee approved the measure with a 4-3 voice vote split on party lines. The bill is expected to head to a floor vote next, though a date has not yet been determined.

Several Republican amendments were rejected, including one that would have required that the measure be sent to the November ballot.

A report released Friday by The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law indicates marriage equality in Washington would add $88 million to the state economy in the first three years.

Bills to legalize marriage for same-sex couples have been introduced in both the state house and senate with strong support from Washington governor Chris Gregoire.
Findings of the report, per the Williams Institute:

Total spending on wedding arrangements and tourism by resident same-sex couples and their guests will add an $88-million boost to the Washington economy over the first three years. This spending is likely to generate $8 million in tax revenue for state and local governments.

The figures in the report draw upon data on average wedding expenditures in Washington and tourism reports from 2010, along with data regarding marriage expenses by same-sex couples in other states.

The report considers that couples in existing registered domestic partnerships might have different spending patterns from couples that do not have that status. Even if there was no new spending by the 7,518 couples currently in registered domestic partnerships, the state would see an estimated increase in spending of $18 million and a tax boost of $1.6 million.

The full report is available here.

(source)

Washington state is just two senate votes short of legalizing same-sex marriage. But in Washington, even one vote can be hard to come by.

Gov. Christine Gregoire, now in her final year of office, has voiced support for marriage equality. The Democrat-dominated state house overwhelmingly supports equality, too. But in the senate, where the Democrat majority is slimmer, the drive for equality hinges on a shrinking number of undecided legslators. Reuters quotes Sen. Ed Murray, the man behind the legislative push for marriage equality:

“Our gay and lesbian civil rights bill, which took 29 years to pass (in 2006), was always one vote short and I believe this situation is pretty much the same,” said Murray, a gay man who hopes to wed his long-term partner in the state.

“We are grandchildren of people who immigrated and homesteaded this state,” he said. “We hope that after 20 years of basically being engaged together that we would be able to legally marry in our native state.”

Just in case the needed two votes are found, anti-marriage activists are mobilizing to ban same-sex marriage with a November ballot initiative.

According to the Seattle Times, attorney Stephen Pidgeon, of Everett, is seeking to collect the necessary 241,153 signatures demanding such an initiative by the July 6th deadline.
(source)