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Prior to Dec. 6, the Washington State Department of Health will seek to change the wording on marriage and divorce certificates. (Photo: AP)

State rushes to make marriage, divorce certificates fit same-sex couples

BY Brandi Kruse  on November 26, 2012 @ 12:49 pm (Updated: 1:13 pm - 11/26/12 )

Less than two weeks before same-sex couples can begin to wed, state officials are working to tie up loose ends in the law.

Prior to Dec. 6, the Washington State Department of Health will seek to change the wording on marriage and divorce certificates. Spaces once reserved for a "bride" and "groom" will become more gender-neutral, according to department spokesperson Tim Church.

"Obviously those words aren't going to fit everybody," he said. "We are proposing a change were it will say something like 'Spouse A' and 'Spouse B.'"

The state began the process of changing the wording on marriage and divorce certificates prior to the passage of Referendum 74, Church said.

"So we could have it moving ahead, because the time between the vote and the law taking effect was only 30 days," he said. "So we started the process knowing we could just stop it if the initiative did not pass."

The public will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed changes leading up to and during a public hearing on Wednesday. The hearing will begin at 8 a.m. at 310 Israel Rd. SE Rooms 152-153 in Tumwater, Wash.

Comments may also be submitted online or by mail to Washington State Department of Health, P.O. Box 47814, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7814.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (17)


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  • manabouttown wrote...
    why can't we have two forms ?
    November 27, 2012 6:57 am
    Instead of changing the existing form, why can't we have a "gay certificate" and a "hetero certificate"? DAMMIT ! If I was getting married, I would scratch out the "spouse 1" and write in Bride, same for Groom. I'm sure gay people don't want "spouse A" and "spouse B" How about "thing 1" and "thing 2" but that would upset Dr Seuss fans ! Me included.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    America is the greatest nation the world has ever seen??? You must have failed world history.
    November 27, 2012 7:03 am
    Not any more! Not with all this insanity!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    How about our rights?
    November 27, 2012 8:14 am
    Why are we always having to chance our ways to accommodate these people?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }