Just 2 Votes Needed

Only 2 yes votes are needed in the Washington state Senate for the marriage equality legislation that was introduced this week with 23 signatures to pass.  The senate is the key roadblock to the passage of the legislation as identical legislation was introduced into the State House, with 50 signatures which is enough votes to pass the legislation in the House. Things are so close yet still so far away, there is still a small pool of officially undecided/committed senators that could swing the vote into our favor, those senators are Senator Andy Hill, R-Redmond; Senator Joe Fain, R-Auburn; Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island; Senator Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup; Senator Paull Shin, D-Edmonds  and Senator Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond.  Then there is Senator Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale.  These are the people that we have to try to sway into our favor.

The first hearing is set to be held on January 23 (this upcoming Monday) with anti equality groups saying that they expect to draw thousands of people to the state capital to oppose the legislation.  Not only that but those pushing for marriage equality have yet to obtain a very important peace of support, that of Microsoft.  As in 2005 when it was neutral on gay rights legislation the legislation failed but when the fallowing year it introduced it (and all other equality legislation that fallowed) the legislation passed, but as of yet Microsoft has yet to come out with a position.   Company officials have told reporters that they are reviewing the legislation before they come to a decision, and politicians say that they are working closely with Microsoft and other companies to garnish more support then they already do from the corporate arena.

An initiative has also been filled with the state attorney general by Stephen Pidgeon who is an attorney from Everett (WA) that worked previously with the gropes behind Ref 71 in 2009 to unsuccessfully try to overturn the states expansion of  Domestic Partnerships.  He has filled a petition to "clarify the definition of marriage" and by clarify they mean change the states legal definition of marriage from "a civil contract between a male and a female" to "between on man and one woman" but in order to even get on the November ballot him and his supporters have to gather 241,153 valid signatures of registered voters by July 6th.

So right now things are close but they are by no means guaranteed, the challenge is not only to gain the support of Microsoft which has been a key step in the past to help along the path to pro-LGBT-equality legislation passage, but to also sway the votes of politicians who have in the past voted against gay rights legislation/and or have friends and constituents on both sides of the fence and are worried about what a yes (or no) vote is going to do to them, in their personal lives and in their political careers.  So if you live in Washington state, especially if you are represented by these unsure politicians one of the most productive things that you can do is to write or call them and let them know that you want them to vote for equality, and to have your friends your family and your coworkers do the same.

Until next time fingers crossed and hopefully things  will sway further into our direction and Washington state will become the 7th state to legalize same sex marriage.