OLYMPIA, WA (RNN) - Washington state legislators approved a measure
Wednesday that could allow gay couples in the state to have a June wedding.
The Washington House of Representatives passed a bill legalizing gay
marriage in a 55-43 vote. The measure passed the state Senate 28-21 last week.
The move comes the day after a historic ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals that declared California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage
unconstitutional.
The bill now goes before Gov. Chris Gregoire, who seems poised to offer a
Valentine's Day signature, making the bill law.
The governor thanked the House for "a civil, respectful debate on
marriage equality" Wednesday evening via her official Twitter account.
"Next stop, my desk!" she wrote.
Once the Gregoire signs the bill, however, it won't go into effect for
another 90 days, leaving time for opponents to introduce a measure that could
overturn the Legislature's decision.
The 9th Circuit's decision may bolster the LGBT community in Washington in
their attempts to hold off a voter referendum similar to Proposition 8.
Washington falls within the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction.
Opponents have vowed to gather the signatures needed to fight such a move. A
voter referendum requiring signatures from 241,153 registered voters is being
explored, according
to Reuters.
If these legal methods prove unsuccessful, LGBT Washingtonians will be able
to marry as early as June 2012, the
AP has reported.
While federal law continues to define marriage as a union between a man and
a woman, six states - New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire,
Vermont and Iowa - and the District of Columbia have all approved gay marriage in
recent years.
Gregoire has five days to make her state the seventh on that list, according
to Reuters, which reported the speculation her ink would hit paper on Feb. 14.
Washington is one of a majority of states that previously defined marriage
as a union between a man and a woman. During the past six years, however, state
legislation has increasingly expanded the rights of the citizens in
Washington's LGBT community.
In 2006, Gregoire signed a bill which prohibited discrimination in housing
and in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. In 2007, a domestic
partnership registry was created, which was expanded in 2009 to include all
rights except the title of marriage.
The final path to full marriage equality was a swift one, with the Legislature
approving same-sex marriage just one month after Gregoire's Jan. 4 public endorsement.
"It's time, it's the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to
do it," Gregoire said before a group of marriage equality advocates.
"I say that as a wife, a mother, a student of the law and above all as a
Washingtonian with a lifelong commitment to equality and freedom. Some say
domestic partnerships are the same as marriage. That's a version of the
discriminatory ‘separate but equal' argument."
Copyright 2012 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
The path to legalizing gay marriage was swift after Gov. Christine Gregoire publicly announced her support for the legislation in January. (Source: Washington State Office of the Governor)
Advocates celebrate Tuesday's ruling in which the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared California's Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional. (Source: CNN)
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