Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« It's 11:12 11/12/11! | Occupy PDX: Too Big to Jail »

Sunday, November 13, 2011

LGBTQITSLFA Lawmakers Will Push Marriage in 2012

Posted by Dominic Holden on Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 8:16 AM

Jim Brunner has the story:

Leaders of Washington United for Marriage, a coalition of dozens of gay-rights, civil-liberties, labor and religious groups, say they'll pressure the Legislature to pass a marriage equality law in 2012, and are prepared to defend it from any referendum challenge.

A group of Democratic state lawmakers has committed to introducing and advancing the legislation. While expressing confidence about their chances in the state House, backers cautioned they do not have the votes at this point in the state Senate.

"We're going to push it," said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, a gay lawmaker from the 43rd district and a leader in the marriage effort.

This is great news. If things go well, they will go like this: A marriage equality bill will pass the state house easily, it will wiggle through the state senate by one or two votes, Christian dick-suckers will gather signatures to put it on the ballot by referendum, and then voters can uphold same-sex marriage on the ballot. Sound like a long shot? Murray will have no better chance to pass marriage in the next four years than 2012, when a presidential race will draw a younger, more liberal electorate. And now three polls (most recently this one) show marriage has majority support with state voters. Even so, as I recently reported, the religious right is already gearing up to stop them at the ballot.

Comments (14) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Does growing popular support for marriage equality mean we're skipping toward Gomorrah? It has been said that the fact that self avowed homosexuals want to do things like get married and join the army means that on a more fundamental level the conservatives have won.

Posted by Ken Mehlman on November 13, 2011 at 8:36 AM

Ultimately, the key to get it out of the Senate is for folks to lobby the hell out of their legislators, including thanking them for their past support for the gays.

This means calling and emailing folks like Andy Hill, Joe Fain, Cheryl Pflug and Steve Litzow on the GOP side (they were solid votes last session), and keeping the pressure for full equality.

It also means reminding folks like Jim Kastama that, if he wants any significant support in his bid for Secretary of State against Zack Hudgins, then just a couple of good votes won't work. He's going to have to be one of the folks who supported DOMA in the 90's, and equality in 2012.

I agree with Sen. Murray that it will be difficult, but if you have friends that live on the Eastside, or down in Puyallup, or up on Camano and Whidbey, then you should be talking with them, and having them email and call their state Senators, and urge support for equality in 2012.

Posted by michaelp on November 13, 2011 at 8:37 AM

Didn't a grocery store union preemptively declare support for marriage equality last month?

Posted by internet_jen on November 13, 2011 at 8:47 AM

@1: That's a very cool observation but after my immediate reaction of shock came the: so what?

It scares me when I confuse right and wrong with them and us; it's awful easy to fall into. Especially after listening to a republican presidential debate.

Posted by david on November 13, 2011 at 9:18 AM

I volunteered for the NO on Ref 71 campaign, and I'll volunteer again, should the bigots try to block marriage equality here, by referendum. Washington State may very well be the first state to vote to provide marriage equality, should that happen.

So, if they want to try and get a referendum going I say, 'bring it on.'

Posted by Frau Blucher on November 13, 2011 at 10:05 AM

@ 1, in what way?

Posted by Matt from Denver on November 13, 2011 at 10:22 AM

@6 There used to be queer theorists who criticized the marriage equality movement for perpetuating the hetero-normative capitalists patriarchy, or whatever. Anyway, one doesn't here much from such people anymore. As society becomes more accepting of homosexuality, homosexuals become more like the rest of society. I read somewhere that 25% of self identified gays and lesbians vote Republican. I doubt that was true 20 years ago.

Posted by Ken Mehlman on November 13, 2011 at 10:42 AM

@7 You are correct, but the AIDS crisis kinda blasted that thinking out of the water during the 1980's when the community was put face to face with our own immorality.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on November 13, 2011 at 11:51 AM

I met mortality !!!! YIKES!!!!!!!

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on November 13, 2011 at 11:55 AM

oh dude you nailed it.

Posted by immorality baby!! on November 13, 2011 at 12:10 PM

yes.
it means that society as a whole has descended to the depths of perversion and depravity long embraced by homosexuals.

apocalypse at 11.....

Posted by better to reign in Hell on November 13, 2011 at 12:12 PM

@ 7, I kinda thought it might be something like that. I always thought that more LGBT acceptance would mean more "regular folks" coming out, and they would be quite ordinary aside from their orientation.

Posted by Matt from Denver on November 13, 2011 at 12:36 PM

@5: Uhm... it was YES on 71 to preserve the domestic partnership law.

Posted by Angry Sam on November 13, 2011 at 1:14 PM

@1 There have always been conservative gay people. They just tended to lie to everyone around them and say they were straight in the past. Most of the openly gay people were liberals in the past for obviously reasons.

Posted by Packeteer on November 13, 2011 at 3:38 PM