Washblog

Here is Rep. Jinkins' summation:

The voters have already decided how they want gay and lesbian families to be treated in this state. There are five states in the country and about 10 other countries that allow same-sex marriages. This bill assures that marriages created in other places will be recognized as domestic partnerships when they are traveling in this state. Families travel with a lot of documents, like adoption paperwork, domestic partnership registration cards, and wills, especially if they are going to a state that does not have legal recognition of domestic partnerships. If a couple is traveling and they have a legal marriage recognized in their state, their relationship is currently not recognized in Washington, but a couple traveling here from a state that has domestic partnerships would be protected.

Not a single person signed up to speak in opposition to the bill during the bill's February 16th public hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.  That didn't stop anti-gay activists Rep. Matt Shea and Rep. Jay Rodne from proposing amendments to gut the bill, but those amendments failed and the committee voted to send the bill to the House floor.  Expect another round of ridiculous bill-gutting amendments from the usual suspects during the floor debate, which may happen as early as today.  

Legislators should pass this bill if they respect the electorate (and value Washington's tourism industry).  Rep. Jinkins hit the nail on the head when she said, in reference to Washington voters having ratified the domestic partnership law in 2009 via Referendum 71, "The voters have already decided how they want gay and lesbian families to be treated in this state."  Now the Legislature needs to respond by bringing state law in line with the wishes of the electorate that gay and lesbian families in Washington be treated fairly, and that their legal relationships be recognized and respected.

HB 1649

Domestic partnerships

House vote on Final Passage

3/4/2011

Yeas: 58 Nays: 39 Absent: 0 Excused: 1

Voting Yea: Representatives Anderson, Appleton, Billig, Blake, Carlyle, Clibborn, Cody, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Eddy, Finn, Fitzgibbon, Frockt, Goodman, Green, Haigh, Hasegawa, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Hurst, Jacks, Jinkins, Kagi, Kelley, Kenney, Kirby, Ladenburg, Liias, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, Miloscia, Moeller, Morris, Moscoso, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Probst, Reykdal, Roberts, Rolfes, Ryu, Santos, Seaquist, Sells, Springer, Stanford, Sullivan, Takko, Tharinger, Upthegrove, Van De Wege, Walsh, and Mr. Speaker

Voting Nay: Representatives Ahern, Angel, Armstrong, Asay, Bailey, Buys, Chandler, Condotta, Crouse, Dahlquist, Dammeier, DeBolt, Fagan, Haler, Hargrove, Harris, Hinkle, Hope, Johnson, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, McCune, Nealey, Orcutt, Overstreet, Parker, Pearson, Rivers, Rodne, Ross, Shea, Schmick, Short, Smith, Taylor, Warnick, Wilcox, and Zeiger

Absent:

Excused: Representative Alexander