Republican Sen. Finkbeiner to Support Washington Gay Rights Bill
According to Horsesass and Progressive Majority, state senator Bill Finkbeiner (R-Redmond) recently told a group of his constituents that this year he will be voting for House Bill 1515, the gay civil rights bill that has been shot down in the Washington State legislature for 30 years running.
If true, this is huge news for gay rights in Washington. The bill — which would specifically prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in housing, employment, and financial transactions — lost in the state senate last year by just one vote. If Finkbeiner is finally changing back to his original position on gay rights (the one he held back when he was a Democrat), then it’s almost certain that the gay civil rights bill will pass this year.
Maybe this news has something to do with Finkbeiner’s new challenger for the November elections. Or maybe it has more to do with Finkbeiner no longer being the Senate minority leader, and therefore no longer being required to stand as an exemplar of the Republican party’s anti-gay politics. But whatever the reason, this news is going to make a lot of gay rights activists in this state very happy. (If true.)
Wouldn't it be ironic if it passes this year, and we have to thank a Republican for it, when we can't even get all the Democrats to vote for it?