A North West View

So there is an article on a gay "news" sight, I use the term loosely as it seems like most gay "news" sites it is much more tabloid over all then news. (which is another story all together) The article blew up my Google Plus news feed along with my Facebook news feed with people commenting on it. It is an article that is quite conversational, especially in the light to what was the fight for marriage equality, and the idea of trying to redefine the legal definition of marriage, and thus what it means entirely. The article happens to feature gay men, however what they would like to see is a new special right that dose not exist for any one right now.  Which has created a division as there is the contingent that says it should be the next big push for the movement, and they are clashing derectly with those that feel it should not in any way be a part of the movement, and I find myself in the latter camp. So right after the jump will be the article.

One of the newest groups to throw their support behind marriage equality in Washington state and take an official stance that Ref 74 should be a proved is the Seattle Chamber Of Commerce which represents 2,200 company's, it joins the ranks of company's like Microsoft and Starbucks, as well as many faith groups and Labor groups like my union UFCW 21, in voicing their support for the right of all citizens of Washington to be able to marry.   Of course being the chamber of commerce their reason boils down to the economics of it, in that it creates a simpler system of providing benefits to employees who have same sex partners, as well as helping to make it easier to attract and keep talent, especially when competing with other states (and countries) that have marriage equality. In addition to gaining another voice for equality Washington...

Well on Tuesday the backers of Initiative 1192 other wise know as I 1192 conceded that they did not and would not have enough signatures by the deadline of July 6th to make it onto the November ballot.  The backer of the  241,000     which would have changed state law to once again read that marriage is between one man and one women.  The backer of the measure S tephen Pidgeon, who is also a candidate for the state attorney generals office, (How unseemly) blamed the inability to collect enough signatures on the backers of Ref 74, and went so far as to say that the backers of Ref 74 chorused signature gathers to sabotage his Initiative campaign!  What this means though is that there is only one fight to be fought now on the November ballot and that is Ref 74.  Of-course like everything in this fight this is both good new and also some bad news at the sa...

Gay marriage or as it should be call marriage is something that is very important to me, and has been since I was little.  I have always know that I wanted to get married and to have a family of my own, the only thing that has changed is that as I finally came to terms with the fact that I was gay, a wife became a husband.  For me personally I have always wanted to find that person that I love and am meant to spend the rest of my life with.  The person that I want to build a family with, the house, kids, minivan the whole nine yards, and a big part of that is marriage.

This seems to be the sentiment that is more then popping out of the wood work as the debate heats up after the Governor signed the marriage equality bill, now with a Referendum still in the works(the league of women voters is contesting the AG's biased wording) and the Imitative poised to start soon too. (a judge just finished the legal wording for it) To see  these views I don't even have to look further then the opinion column of my local news paper and the comment section on said opinions, With those that oppose gay marriage not only insisting that gay marriage will lead to a slippery slope, that it's bad for the kids, and that it will destroy religion too.  Even more infuriatingly though they are also stating that gay relationships are not real ones at all, as if we are all acting and pretending when we are in a relationship so that we can secretly destroy m...

What is it with those that oppose same sex marriag e, otherwise know as marriage equality, when they feel like dancing around religious indignation they suddenly start pulling out the argument of   " Marriage to me is a word with specific meaning. To call something else by the same name is , I believe, a problem in semantics, confusing and illogical . Insisting on calling different things by the same name is to lose the language." ( emphasis  added) as if people and their love for each other are like an kitchen appliance or some other inanimate household object?  This is something that really gets under my skin and makes my blood boil. I mean I really just can't  comprehend  how some one can talk about other people like that!

So many of you may have already heard that marriage equality in the great state of Washington, my home, is already under attack by the anti gay rights lobby, we have two legal fronts that they are trying to attack us from, one being threw the referendum process, for which not even 3 hours after marriage equality was signed into law they had submitted their referendum which is now officially Referendum 74, R 74/Ref 74 for short.  They have the 3 month period starting with the end of this legislative session, in other words until June 6th, to submit 120,557 valid signature (non duplicate, signatures voters registered to vote in the state of Washington) and of the initiative they have until July 6th to tun in  241,153 valid signatures as well.  but the Initiative has been in the works (it was filed back in January).

Well we are just one vote away from marriage equality in Washington, with the announcement by state Senator Jim Kastama of his support of the legislation, that leaves us with 24 of the 25 votes needed to pass SB6239.  Not only are we now one vote away but today Microsoft officially came out in support of the bill as well, and posted a very well written  persuasive and eloquent (for a corperate blog) expression of support.  Which as has been mention in a previous post has been a key in garnishing the final needed votes to pass equality legislation.   Of course still being one vote away success can not be taken for granted simply for the fact that until that one vote is locked in the line could come down one vote short for us too, but there is much reason to be optimistic and bask in this little victory.

So as promised another update on the progress of the possible legalization of same-sex marriage in Washington state by the state legislature. There is no really question that the state house will vote in favor of the bill to legalise same-sex marriage as it has passed similar legislation in the past, not to mention that it is made up of 55 democratically held seats and 42 republican held seats (and one currently empty seat) the current sticking point is the state Senate which is comprised of 27 democrats and 22 republicans.

I was presently surprised to see an braking news email from he Seattle Times pop up in my inbox on my cellphone with the need that at a 11am news conference on Wednesday that governor Chris Gregoire is expected to announce support for gay marriage, which will be the first time she has formerly supported it, although she has been a steadfast supporter of gay rights, in the state. This comes in light of the grass roots efforts of Equality Washington to pressure the State legislation to pass a gay marriage law in 2012, this news conference takes place just before the start of the next legislative session starting on Monday.  I don't know how much motion can be expected to be made on this issue during that session,  which runs threw march 8th, in part because the legislature has to plug another 1.5 billion shortfall in the state budget which I for see being a nasty battle as there really is no "fat" left to trim let alone muscle, but that is beside the point. The goal is t...

As has been in the news Prop 8 in California was overturned Wednesday, by federal Judge Walker, in a decision that the ban was unconstitutional. I don't feel a need to go into a detail recap of the ruling as it's already all over the news and web, instead I feel like focusing on some of the lunacy that the ruling has brought to the surface amongst those that oppose marriage equality, as well as my own personal feelings over the whole situation. As is not entirely unexpected with a ruling like this the anti marriage equality crusaders have very suddenly gotten their panties in a twist and have thus started to spout their over the top rhetoric not only about how this ruling is judicial activism, that it will destroy the family and nation as we know it but also about their conspiracy theories on why this decision was made the way it was in the first place. One of the most interesting being the FRC (family research councils) who in large part see this as a decades long conspirac...

OK today I am going to tackle the Catholic Churches threat to stop administering social services for the city of Washington DC, if (which looks pretty cretin) the city legalizes same sex marriage. The church with provides shelter for over one third of the city's homeless as well as run and administer many other social services. Not only does this make the church its self look morally corrupt, but then when the fact that the church is being paid by the city to perform those services it opens up another can or worms.