| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010 1:58 pm |
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Local News 
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Same-sex benefits bill clears Senate Domestic partnerships would have all the benefits of marriage under the bill. OLYMPIA -- A fledgling Snohomish County-based political group took to advertising throughout the state in recent days in hopes of defeating a bill that would expand rights for same-sex couples.The Washington Values Alliance targeted eight state senators from Everett to Spokane and ran commercials on cable television in their hometowns, trying to generate a enough public pressure to sway their views away from support for the controversial bill. It didn't work. Tuesday night, the state Senate passed the legislation on a 30-18 vote with all eight targeted lawmakers voting with the majority. Larry Stickney of Arlington, president of the values group, said the next step may be the courts or a referendum like California's Proposition 8 that banned gay marriage last year. "It is designed to end up in the Supreme Court to overturn the state's Defense of Marriage Act," he said. "We're looking at a referendum too." Two years ago, the Legislature created legal domestic partnerships, which are defined as couples of the same sex and heterosexual couples in which at least one person is 62 years or older. Last year, lawmakers expanded the partnership protections to sections of laws where previously only spouses were mentioned, including areas referring to probate and trusts, community property and powers of attorney. This year's bill would make changes to all remaining areas of state law where currently only married couples are addressed. This means adding same-sex domestic partners to state statutes ranging from labor and employment to pensions and other public employee benefits. Stickney said for all practical intent that means Washington is making marriage legal for homosexuals -- no matter how much this is denied by proponents. "You can dress it up and call it what you want. We see it as a marriage," he said. He had hoped it might not come to Tuesday night's outcome. He identified five Democratic and three Republican senators, all social moderates, he thought might be open to voting against the bill. Sens. Jean Berkey, D-Everett, and Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, were among the targeted lawmakers. "The ads are a poor attempt at using fear to justify bigotry. It's a typical tactic, but it won't work," Hobbs, a sponsor of the bill, said Monday night. "I did not fight for freedom in Iraq, only to come home and deny basic human rights to my fellow citizens. This legislation is not about the erosion of marriage. It's about equality and fairness," he said. Berkey voted for the bill. "I understand this is a contentious issue, but domestic partners should be treated the same as married couples. They deserve equal respect under the law. This bill acknowledges the growing recognition of the importance of equality for all," she said earlier Tuesday. |
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