What Does the Same Sex Marriage Bill Mean for Washington?

The conversation around the same sex marriage bill working its way through the Washington State Legislature has been nothing if not lively. The bill has passed in the Senate, supporters claim to have the votes to pass it in the House, and Governor Gregoire has promised to sign it. It looks like same sex marriage will become a reality in Washington State sooner, rather than later.

But that’s not the end of the conversation. While gay and lesbian couples around the state celebrate and plan to take advantage of their newly granted right, opponents will be gathering signatures to put a referendum to repeal the law on the ballot this November. The deadline for collecting those signatures is this June. Otherwise, the law becomes a reality. Referendum process aside, the passage of the law still raises some questions.

It seems straightforward enough; people getting married in Washington is nothing new, the passage of this law would simply allow more couples to do so. But there are a few other factors to consider. Although only six other states allow same sex marriage, Washington would allow out of state couples to be married here. What happens when they go home? Will we see a sudden boom in same-sex-marriage-tourism? And the law raises questions for couples registered in “domestic partnerships” under a 2009 law. Those domestic partners would have until 2014 to decide between marriage and dissolving their unions, or they will automatically be deemed married

These and other issues will be the topic of a panel conversation hosted by the University of Washington Tacoma’s Division of Student Affairs and the Diversity Resource Center on Monday, February 6 in William Philip Hall on the UW Tacoma campus. The panel, moderated by The News Tribune’s Peter Callaghan, will include David Ward, attorney for Legal Voice, an organization that works for women’s and girls’ rights; Sarah Cherin, lecturer at the UW School of Social Work and political and public policy director for United Food and Commercial Workers 21; and Ryan Mello, Pierce County conservation director for the Cascade Land Conservancy and member of the Tacoma City Council.

Same sex marriage bill: What does it mean?
When: Monday, February 6th, 5:30 p.m.
Where: UW Tacoma, William Phillip Hall
Details: Contact the Department of Student Involvement at 253-692-4481 or uwtsi@uw.edu or the Diversity Resource Center at 253-692-4776 or divrescn@uw.edu.