ÿortlanh (Observer
January 25, 2012
Page 5
L aw
Washington Debates Gay Marriage
Lawmaker
claims enough
votes for passage
(A P) — As W ashington state
law m akers held their first public
hearing on gay m arriage M onday, a
D em ocratic senator announced her
support for the m easure, all but e n
suring that W ashington will becom e
the seventh state to legalize sam e-
sex m arriage.
The announcem ent by Sen. M ary
M argaret H augen, D -C am ano Is
land, that she w ould cast the 25th
and deciding vote in favor o f the
issue cam e as hundreds o f people
filled the C apitol to advocate for and
against gay m arriage.
"I know this announcem ent m akes
me the so-called 25th vote, the vote
that ensures passage," H augen said
in a statement. She said she took her
time m aking up her m ind to "to recon
cile m y religious beliefs with m y be
A supporter of gay marriage hands out stickers outside an overflow room for a Senate committee
liefs as an A m erican, as a legislator,
hearing Monday in Olympia on proposed legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in the
and as a wife and m other w ho cannot
state of Washington. (AP photo)
deny to others the joys and benefits
I enjoy. This is the right vote, and it G regoire publicly en d o rsed the p ro packed a S enate co m m ittee hearing lery on the Senate floor.
G ay m arriage foes w ore buttons
is the vote I will cast w hen this m ea posal earlier this m onth. H ow ever, fo r the first public hearing o f the
o pponents have already said they m ost high-profile issue before the that said "M arriage. O ne M an. O ne
sure com es to the floor."
T he state H ouse is w idely e x w ould challenge any new law w ith a L egislature this session. T he Sen W om an." O thers w ore stickers that
ate set up three overflow areas for read "W ashington U nited fo r M ar
pected to have enough support to public referendum .
O p p o n e n ts a n d s u p p o r te r s the public, including the public g al riage," a group that announced in
pass gay m arriage, and G ov. C hris
Mayor Supports ‘Freedom to Marry’
P o rtla n d M a y o r S am A d am s
joined over 70 m ayors in the nation’s
capital Friday for the launch o f the
bipartisan M ayors for the F reedom
to M arry, a cam paign to ensure that
all loving, com m itted couples, in
cluding gay and lesbian couples,
are able to share in m arriage.
A dam s w as in W ashington, D.C.
to participate in the U.S. C onference
o f M a y o rs w in te r m e etin g . H e
jo in e d m ayors from cities, large and
sm all, w ith diverse geographic, e th
nic and political backgrounds, w ho
have a com m on goal: to secure the
freedom to m arry and uphold equal
rights for all citizens.
“ Portland is the hom e to m any
Mayor Sam Adams
Beaverton Human Rights Award
A group providing low-cost adult
English as a Second Language, lit
eracy and citizenship classes has
been recognized for its pursuit o f
equality, cultural diversity and advo
cacy o f basic civil and hum an rights.
T he B eaverton Literacy C ouncil
is B eaverton’s 2011 H um an R ights
A w ard w inner, as nam ed by the
B eaverton H um an R ights A dvisory
C om m ission and presented to the
B eaverton C ity C ouncil last w eek.
"B eaverton is hom e to m any resi
dents w ho tirelessly w ork tow ards
m aking this com m unity a better place
to live, w ork and play," said M ay o r
loving gay and lesbian couples w ho
are in com m itted, long-term relation
ships and contribute to o ur co m m u
nities. A s m ayor, I’ve m arried m any
people, and I look forw ard to the day
w hen P o rtlan d ’s m ayor can m arry
couples no m atter their gen d er,”
A dam s said.
“C ities that celebrate and cu lti
vate diversity are the places w here
creative people and ideas can thrive.
T hey are the places w here to d a y ’s
entrepreneurs are m ost likely to build
the businesses o f tom orrow . A llow
ing sam e-sex couples to m arry e n
hances o ur ability to build this kind
o f environm ent, w hich is good for
all o f us,” A dam s said.
D enny D oyle. "T his aw ard c e l
ebrates their efforts and en co u r
a g e s c u ltu r a l u n d e r s ta n d in g
throughout the entire com m unity."
T he B eaverton Literacy C ouncil
has been providing com m unity ser
vices for m ore than 4 0 years. The
group currently has nearly 4 0 vo l
unteers, and served m ore than 160
students from 29 nations last year.
diversity
N o vem ber that it w as form ing a co a
lition to support sam e-sex m arriage
legislation.
D em ocratic Sen. Ed M urray, a
gay law m ak er from Seattle w ho has
led the push for gay civil rights and
d o m e stic p a rtn e rs h ip s, te stifie d
before the G overnm ent O perations,
T ribal R elations & E lections C o m
m ittee w ith his longtim e partner,
M ichael Shiosaki.
"I have w aited 17-years to ask
this body to consider m arriage equal
ity for gay and lesbian fam ilies,"
said M urray, w ho is sponsoring the
Senate bill. "I realize the issue o f
m arriage for o u r fam ilies is em o
tional and divisive. It touches w hat
each o f us holds m ost dear, our
families."
O thers argued that the m easure
goes against traditional m arriage and
the B ible.
"Y ou are saying as a co m m ittee
and a L egislature that you know
b e tte r th a n G o d ," s a id K en
H utcherson, p asto r o f A ntioch B ible
C hurch.
W a sh in g to n w o u ld jo in N ew
Y ork, C onnecticut, Iow a, M assa
chusetts, N ew H am pshire, V erm ont
and the D istrict o f C olum bia in legal
izing gay m arriage. T he state has
had a dom estic partnership law since
2007, and an "everything but m ar
riage" law since 2009.
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