Marriage rings
"A couple who is validly married in another jurisdiction, when they come to Washington state, they'll be recognized as having a domestic partnership here," said Rep. Laurie Jenkins (D-Tacoma), the bill's primary sponsor. (AP Photo/File)

Legislature OKs out-of-state gay marriages

March 30, 2011 @ 1:13 pm (Updated: 4:44 pm - 3/30/11 )

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By ALEX SILVERMAN
KIRO Radio
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Same sex partners still can't tie the knot in Washington, but now our state will recognize gay couples who marry elsewhere.

On a 28-19 vote Wednesday, the Senate cleared the last hurdle for the bill, which now heads to Governor Chris Gregoire's desk.

"A couple who is validly married in another jurisdiction, when they come to Washington state, they'll be recognized as having a domestic partnership here," said Rep. Laurie Jenkins (D-Tacoma), the bill's primary sponsor.

Sen. Ed Murray (D-Seattle), a longtime champion of same-sex marriage rights, told KIRO Radio the bill fills a gap in our state's existing domestic partnership law, but it should not necessarily be taken to mean full-fledged gay marriage is imminent.

"We're not there yet," Murray said. "The important thing is that we pass this legislation when the public is with us. We want to be able to survive a ballot initiative that surely will be filed against it."

A pair of bills to legalize gay marriage in Washington were not heard during this session.

"I would say it will be no more than 4 years at the most," Murray said.

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Comments (5)


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  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Of course...
    March 30, 2011 3:57 pm
    I mean it's not like we have real problems for them to deal with...idiots.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Concerned wrote...
    IT'S TIME FOR A PARADE
    March 30, 2011 5:44 pm
    HURRAY!! NO WORRIES PEOPLE, If things don't work out, they can stay in Seattle & live with all the illegal immigrants!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • grow up/get real wrote...
    Why deal with the 6 BILLION $ elephant in the room
    March 30, 2011 6:17 pm
    when our Dems can hold hands and work on feel-good issues? Maybe those pesky little budget problems they created will just go away on their own, and we'll all live in utopia after all. We are such a smart and elite state!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • RnD_Fan wrote...
    Awesome Nanny State!
    March 30, 2011 6:53 pm
    It's not ok to do it here

    But if you do it elsewhere, that's ok

    Nice Job legislators, governing people who don't even live in SayWA!

    Glad Chrissy said

    "Dori, there is no budget deficit!"

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • stanJames wrote...
    gay marriage / Domestic partnerships
    March 31, 2011 7:08 am
    Guess we have the hate groups sending out action alerts to put up their silly excuses for not treating people equaly under our law. I can just hear their granparents mouthing off about women votings, and their parents mouthing off about the total elimination of laws prohibiting inter-racial marriage That kind of hatred in the name of God is gone. You can bet that soon the USA will be just like western Europe, where virtually every country except Italy has civil unions or marriage for gay people These objectors all call themselves christians. Given that Jesus told us to love thy neighbor as thyself, I wonder what God has in store for those objectors. Bring them back to life as gay would be so appropriate
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }