Today's The Day!

Today is the day that Washington governor, Christine Gregoire, will sign the newly passed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Washington is now Number 7 on the list of US states that believe all citizens deserve equal treatment under the law.
Still, the measure will not take effect before early June, and those people who dislike equality for gay and lesbian citizens have pledged to seek a repeal at the polls in November. They cannot, however, begin collecting signatures for a petition to overturn the bill until it is signed into law.
Today.
Christine Gregoire said, after the vote, that Washington would "no longer deny our citizens the opportunity to marry the person they love, [and] we tell every child of same-sex couples that their family is every bit as equal and important as all other families in our state."
Opponents of marriage equality seek seek to overturn the legislation through one of two ballot measures: a referendum for repeal, or an initiative defining marriage as the exclusive domain of one man and one woman--though they would have the legal right to marry and divorce as much as they choose. The initiative would need almost 250,000 signatures of registered voters by July 6 to secure a place on the November ballot, while a repeal would need about half that number.
If the referendum qualifies for the November ballot, the new marriage law would be suspended until the election, and certification of returns, on December 6, before it is either repealed or goes into effect. But the proposed initiative to deem marriage as a right and privilege only afforded heterosexual couples--even if it makes the ballot in November--would not prevent gay and lesbian marriages from proceeding under the newly passed statute starting. And, it remains unclear whether any gay and lesbian marriages performed in the interim would be nullified if an initiative were to pass in November.
Still, Washington has said before that most of its citizens believe in equality for all, so there is a great deal of hope that, even if the measure is put to ballot, it would be shut down, and equality will be the law of the land.
As for today, though, it's all good news.


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