Same-sex marriage bill given approval by Washington State Senate

Washington state same-sex couples are close to having the option of being married as the Washington State Senate approves same-sex marriage bill.

The bill was approved in a 28-21 vote to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Surprisingly, four Republicans crossed party lines and voted in favor of the bill, while three Democrats did likewise – in the opposite direction. The measure now goes to the House, where there is enough support for it to pass. Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire says she will sign the bill once it makes it to her desk.

The bill was debated two hours Wednesday night at the capitol in Olympia before it was submitted to a vote. The Senate also adopted a series of amendments which clarify religious exemptions.

Opponents are already promising a referendum in November if the bill gets signed into law, which might give same-sex couples a few months opportunity to marry before other legal complication potentially set in.

A challenge to the bill cannot be made until it is signed into law by Gregoire. Opponents would need to collect at least 120,577 signatures by June 6 in order to halt the legislation. Otherwise, they would have to wait until the November elections.

Washington may be joining a handful of other states where same-sex marriage is already legal, namely New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. New Jersey and Maryland are expected to debate gay marriage this year, and there is talk that Maine might see a same-sex marriage proposal on the November ballot.

Washington has gone through turbulent times in regards to same-sex marriage legislation. Back in 1998, the state seemed to be in an opposite frame of mind and adopted a Defense of Marriage Act, which banned gay marriage. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of DOMA in 2006, but a gay rights measure also passed that same year after 30 years of failure. The state subsequently adopted a series of domestic partnership laws, which quickly expanded to include “everything but marriage,” which was upheld despite an opposition referendum.

Under the latest measure, the more than 9,300 couples currently registered as domestic partnerships would have two years to either get married or dissolve the partnership. After the two-year period, the remaining partnerships would automatically become marriages.

Exceptions would be made for partnerships in which one or both partners are 62 or older, in order to help seniors who don’t marry because they do not want to lose certain pension or Social Security benefits.

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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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