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Updated Nov 6, 2009 - 5:50 pm

Gay partnership measure approved by voters

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By RACHEL LA CORTE
Associated Press Writer

Washington state voters have approved the state's new "everything but marriage" law, marking a significant expansion of rights for gay couples who are registered as domestic partners.

National gay-rights groups say the passage of Referendum 71 marks the first time a state's voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box.

With the latest election results Friday, R-71 maintained its lead of 52 percent to 48 percent.

The measure asked voters to approve or reject the latest expansion of the state's domestic partnership law, granting registered domestic partners additional state rights previously given only to married couples.

Full-fledged gay marriage is still not allowed under Washington law.

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Comments (53)
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  • Goody wrote...
    Now,
    to register as domestic partners. Next, equal rights to housing!
    November 5, 2009 6:23 pm
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  • EverettGal wrote...
    Great news
    Congrats to all my friends and family members that now have (close to) the same protection and rights under the law as I do. This vote marks the first time in the U.S. that same-sex partnerships or marriage has been approved by the will of the voters (vs legislation). Way to go Washington!!! You spoke up against fear, hate, lies, ignorance and discrimination. I'm very proud and you should be too!!!
    November 5, 2009 7:14 pm
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  • OKSooner2009 wrote...
    Awesome.....not!
    Well that's just great! I didn't know that sexual orientation was a protected entity. So what, do we now adress everyone by their sexual orientation. BLUF: homosexuality is as unnatural as beastiality.
    November 5, 2009 7:45 pm
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  • Maxsul wrote...
    Agree with OKsooner ..
    Sad day...im sure it will come up for vote again. Mainly because it wont stop here at just union's. The homosexual radicals will now go for the word marriage, then theyll sue if a church wont let them be members. Maybe the only way people are going to get motivated to stop the progression of the liberal agenda is by seeing it taught to young children in their schools. Time will tell.
    November 5, 2009 8:09 pm
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  • EverettGal wrote...
    OkSooner
    Yes, sexual orientation and gender identity are now protected classes in Washington. This law was passed a couple of years ago, adding the two to the other protected classes - race, creed, gender, marital status, etc. However, at the federal level, GLBT persons are still not protected. There are still something like 20-30 states that you can be fired or denied housing for simply being gay.
    November 5, 2009 8:10 pm
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  • Wyzard wrote...
    OK sooner or later
    What are you so worried about? It is a fair and equitable application of rights to our society.
    November 5, 2009 9:01 pm
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  • FungusCorners wrote...
    It's a diversion tactic
    Anyone who has checked into a hospital knows that the admissions clerk presents you with a form that allows you to list the names and contact information of the people who are authorized to ask questions and be given answers about the surgery and treatments. So when I hear the gay lobby declare they are unable to visit or learn about their "partners" condition, I know it is a ruse. They aren't that stupid or uninformed. There are few touchdowns made by running the field on the kickoff. Instead, the offensive team works their way down field until they reach their goal. The goal of the gay lobby is total dissolution of marriage as it has been known and practiced for thousands of years. Don't kid yourself.
    November 5, 2009 9:28 pm
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  • LITTLE ME TOO wrote...
    I DON'T GET IT
    I have a few rental houses. I have never presumed two guys or two gals renting together equals gay. I have never felt it my business to ask .... do you two do it ..... together? If a man seems feminine or a gal masculine, I don't assume gay. It may cross my mind, but who am I to judge? If they had gay parties where they lived before, I wouldn't rent to them because of the parties, not because they were gay parties. Unless they insist on kissing and necking in front of the landlord, I would have no way of knowing that they were gay. I go by references, and I imagine most landlords would. So I wonder how anyone can tell if someone is gay unless they want you to know. This applies to work or any other place they feel discriminated against. This law will just give us a whole new level of government bureaucracy.
    November 5, 2009 10:08 pm
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  • justsayin wrote...
    It's a moral issue
    I believe that God created marriage and that He created it to be between one man and one woman. Even in societies who didn't or don't now worship the "God of the Jews" followed this way of thinking. It's been this way throughout society for thousands of years . . . because it's the way God made us . . . it's natural. I teach my children what the bible says and the bible says that homosexuality is a sin. Will I soon be breaking the law by teaching such "discrimination" to them? Do I not have a right to my own religious beliefs? I've been hearing for years now that the "Christian Right" just want to shove our beliefs down others' throats, but I see it as the other way around. I believe the gay community will not be happy until the practice of Christian beliefs is outlawed. They're forcing their moral values on us.
    November 5, 2009 10:14 pm
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  • SoundDesigner wrote...
    justsayin...
    I hear where you are coming from. However, I do not share your interpretation of God's word. While I am not gay, I don't understand why I (or in this case others) have to live my/their life in the way you feel. If you do not approve of homosexual relations, don't have any. Teach your children what you want, but understand that freedom for you to live by your values means others also have the freedom to live theirs. When I was in high school there was a rumor that I was gay and I was attacked and beaten every day for weeks and my car was vandalized. The principal called me into his office and asked if the rumor was true. What difference did it make if it were? None. However, my schools interest in doing their moral job hinged on that "fact" not the fact that I was being assaulted. That is why we need these laws.
    November 5, 2009 10:46 pm
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