Washington Says 'Yes' To Equality!

When you have a governor who was open to discussion, open to understanding, open to seeing what's right, coupled with a legislature that, while the debate may have been contentious, wants all of Washington's citizen's to be equal, it doesn't take long for marriage equality legislation to be passed.
And now that bill allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry will soon be on the desk of Governor Gregoire, who has said she will sign. I mean, after all, she asked for it to happen.
Of course, whether any marriages will actually take place is something voters will probably be deciding this fall as those folks who are anti-equality have mounted a campaign to repeal the marriage bill with a referendum this November.

But the people of Washington were once asked to deny their gay and lesbian citizens equality by voting against the Everything But Marriage Bill, AKA Referendum 71, and they chose equality. So, fingers crossed, I'm hoping they'll do the same this time.

Way to go Washington, Governor Gregoire and Ed Murray. 

With the declaration by the courts this week that Prop H8 is unconstitutional and the passage of marriage equality in Washington, this is a great, great week.

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Uh-Oh...Another Reason For Carlos And Me To Move To Washington

Out there in Washington state, two key Democratic state lawmakers--Senator Ed Murray and Representative Jamie Pedersen, gay lawmakers from the 43rd District in Seattle--are considering a major push to try and pass a gay-marriage law in Washington next year.
Green hills. Blue water. Gay marriage.

Hmmmmmm.

Jamie Pedersen [l] and Ed Murray [r]

Ed Murray was the prime sponsor of landmark gay-rights legislation approved by the Washington Legislature in 2006 and a domestic-partnership law that passed in 2007. Washington's domestic-partnership law provides same-sex couples legal benefits similar to those of marriage, and is known in some circles as "everything but marriage".  Jamie Pedersen has played a significant role in expanding the domestic partnership law over the past several years, but marriage equality advocates say that law does not go far enough.

So, maybe now is the time to get this done, eh? Ed Murray believes that the idea of pushing marriage equality legislation to a floor vote when they reconvene in January, is getting quite serious: "We've always said that domestic partnership was not an end to itself but a path toward marriage."

And though he doesn't believe that the recent passage of marriage equality in new York will help his cause, he does believe that every time marriage equality passes, and the world doesn't fall apart, and locusts don't come, and hell doesn't rise up, that people begin to see the light.

GOP Senator Dan Swecker has consistently voted against gay-rights and domestic-partnership legislation, and believes there would be strong opposition to gay marriage in his caucus: "I think primarily the Republicans, but (also) some Democrats, tend to support the traditional definition of marriage and think it's a mistake to try to change that."

When will these wingnut learn that ttraditional marriage does not exist. Every single marriage, heterosexual and homosexual, is different.

But, working against Dan Swecker is the fact that Democrats currently hold a 27-to-22 majority in the Senate and a 56-to-42 advantage in the House.

This could be the time. Fingers crossed.

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I Didin't Say It..........

Iowa GOP Congress-asshat, Dwayne Alons, on why he agrees with The Family Leader, that homosexuality is a public health crisis akin to smoking:

"I think that whole lifestyle has brought a lot of problems to society…For the most part when you look at some of the issues that have been brought up by homosexuals’ lifestyle, there are a lot of negatives that have been brought into society and I think government is trying to deal with that and should be dealing with...look at all that has been spent, you know, with the AIDS and with the issues related to the dying at an early age. I think life, longevity, of a lot of these folks is below 50, when you know, the normal people that do not enter into that kind of relationship, their either late into their 70s or early 80s for longevity. A lot more actual productive years and contributing to society."

Once again, they give us to much credit.
We apparently control the weather, as we sent a hurricane to New Orleans.
We are more dangerous than al queda.
We have destroyed the economy.
And now, we're more dangerous than smoking?
I envision the days of restaurant dining and being given the option of Gay or No Gay.
Wingnut.

Georgia GOP Congress-asshat, Bobby Franklin, on the Biblical reasons for opposing gays in the military:

"The Bible says (homosexuality is) a capital offense. You want someone [in the military] with unrepentant criminal behavior? And it's not just that, neither should adulterers, neither should thieves, neither should a lot of things. The church is full of sinners, but we're told in 1st Corinthians it rattled off the homosexual, the adulterer, the thief, the liar, and such were some of you, but you've been washed, you've been justified and so forth. It's not what you were. You're not punishing a thought. But do you want an unrepentant drug dealer in the military? Same thing."

Oops, we're a public health crisis, a weather phenomenon, a depression maker, and now we're just like unrepentant criminals.
Hmmm, I may not want an unrepentant drug dealer in the military, but I know I don't want some selective Bible passage quoting wingnut in the state house.

Annette Bening, on the dignity of gay families:

"I think when something is a good movie, first of all, well made, entertaining to a degree, funny, maybe has some heart, that comes first. If you can open people's hearts first, then maybe people's minds get opened after that...I'm proud that the movie does stand up for the dignity of all families, especially for the kids in these families. Those children deserve the same self-respect and dignity about their own families as kids from straight parents...I hope that does open a few hearts and minds..."

To be fair, I am not much of a Bening fan, so pardon me for feeling cynical, but....
Had she made this speech before she began campaigning for the Oscar, I think i would have respecte3d her more.
As it is, it seems like she's looking for votes.
And, if I could vote for Oscar, well, i, like most people, would choose Natalie Portman.

Chuck Lorre, Two And A Half Men producer, and his end of show credit roll about star Charlie Sheen:

"I exercise regularly. I eat moderate amounts of healthy food. I make sure to get plenty of rest. I see my doctor once a year and my dentist twice a year. I floss every night. I've had chest x–rays, cardio stress tests, EKG's and colonoscopies. I see a psychologist and have a variety of hobbies to reduce stress. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't have crazy, reckless sex with strangers. If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really pissed."

Oh, Chuck.
Are you gonna be pissed because Charlie Sheen outlived you by living a life of drunken, drugged, debauchery, or are you just hoping he outlives you so you can keep making money off of him?
See, if you truly cared about Charlie Sheen, you'd shut down your show until he gets the help he needs, but then, isn't it all about the money?

Washington state Senator Ed Murray, on marriage equality: 

“Gay and lesbian families in Washington now enjoy the same state spousal rights that their married straight friends enjoy – except for the name ‘marriage’. The recognition that their loving, lifelong commitment is no different from the loving, lifelong commitment of straight couples is the final step to achieving full equality. I believe the Legislature and the public are both ready to take that final step.”

Isn't it funny how simple it sounds.
Equality.
We all get the same treatment.
Simple, no?

Connie O'Brien, Tea Party-backed Kansas GOP Congresswoman, on her attempt to overturn the granting of in-state tuition rates to the children of undocumented immigrants:

"My son who’s a Kansas resident, born here, raised here, didn’t qualify for any financial aid. Yet this girl was going to get financial aid. My son was kinda upset about it because he works and pays for his own schooling and his books and everything and he didn’t think that was fair. We didn’t ask the girl what nationality she was, we didn’t think that was proper. But we could tell by looking at her that she was not originally from this country. She wasn’t black, she wasn’t Asian, and she had the olive complexion."

Wow, so those olive complected folks are not from here?
I'm so glad that Connie 'Wingnut' O'Brien cleared that up. because I didn't realize that the color of one's skin determined your nation of birth.
'We could tell by looking at her...."
Well, I can tell by listening to Connie, that she is batshit crazy and a bigot, but then, she is Tea Party, isn't she.

Serial groom--three trips to the altar and counting--Donald Trump, whose potential 2012 presidential run is being backed by GOProud, on marriage equality:

"No, I'm just not in favor of gay marriage. I live in New York. New York is a place with lots of gays, and I think it is great. But I'm not in favor of gay marriage."

Yeah, it's okay if he lives in a city full of 'them' and probably has hundreds, nay, thousands, of 'them' working for him, but 'they' don't deserve equality.
I mean, aren't 'they' allowed to walk the streets like regular people?
And if so, why should 'they' be equal?
That's just for rich white fuckers with bad hair?

Lady Gaga, on Madonna and the alleged similarity between 'Born This Way' and Madge's 'Express Yourself':

"There really is no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan personally and professionally...well, the good news is that I got an e-mail from her people and her, sending me their love and complete support on behalf of the single and if the queen says it shall be, then it shall be."

Let me rant: I am tired of Gaga saying it took her ten minutes to write that song.
Perhaps she should have spent more time on it and it might not have come off like some generic pop tune we've all heard before.
And I'm annoyed that she declared it a gay anthem, because I always thought gay anthems evolved from something else.
I Will Survive wasn't intended to be a gay anthem, but it became one.
Gaga needs to spend more time in the egg and less time in the ego.

Out Froggy's Way, Washington Gives A Legislative Valentine To Gay And Lesbian Families

Lawmakers in Washington state chose this past Monday, Valentine's Day, as the day they would introduce legislation that would no longer restrict gays and lesbians from their right to marry.

That would make Valentine's Day a real holiday.


But it wasn't always so. Back in the Dark Ages, around 1998, on Valentine's Day, the state Legislature enshrined discrimination into law by overriding the veto of then-Governor Gary Locke to approve the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act."

Now, however, two Democrats, Jim Moeller and Ed Murray, want to change all that.

Jim Moeller: "Over the past several years, the Legislature and the public together have been steadily building a bridge to equality for gay and lesbian families," noting the passage of civil rights legislation in 2006 protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination in employment, housing, and financial transactions, and securing broader domestic partnership rights--including successfully fighting off the hostile Referendum 71 in 2009.

Ed Murray added: "We've made tremendous progress since 1998. Gay and lesbian families in Washington now enjoy the same state spousal rights that their married straight friends enjoy--except for the name ‘marriage’. The recognition that their loving, lifelong commitment is no different from the loving, lifelong commitment of straight couples is the final step to achieving full equality. I believe the Legislature and the public are both ready to take that final step."

And to appease those who base their hatred and bigotry on the Scriptures, Moeller and Murray's legislation protects religious freedom and the rights of clergy and religious institutions to determine for whom to perform marriage ceremonies and which marriages to recognize for their religious purposes.

And, gays and lesbians, and their heterosexual counterparts, would still have the rights to choose domestic partnership over marriage.

Sounds simple, and fair, right? Perhaps someone from Washington state should talk to Indiana--see post below--about fairness, and marriage, and equality.

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