Gay Unions in Seattle

Marriage licenses are handled by the county, not the city, so Mayor Nickels can't go around issuing any marriage licenses himself...But he's issuing an executive order giving full spousal marriage type benefits to city employees in same-sex marriages licensed elsewhere (like, say, Portland, conveniently located just a few hours to the south). He's sending an ordinance to the City Council to extend this recognition citywide, although it would fall short of requiring all employers in the city to recognise the marriages and provide all the benefits. (Which would probably be technically illegal.) Still, this is one hell of a lot better than I'd expected.

Ron Sims, the county nabob, could engage in a bit of civil disobedience (Washington state has a barbaric law defining marriage as a hetero thing) and start issuing licenses...But he isn't going to. He wants to succeed Gary Locke as governor, so he can't piss off the queer-fearing hicks in Spokane and Yakima too much.

(Can we please sign a treaty donating Eastern Washington to Idaho or Montana or something? Even better, could we arrange for Western Washington to become a province of Canada? We could rename it something totally un-American, like Emerald Canuckistan.)

Mayor Greg Nickels issued an executive order Monday requiring the city to recognize same-sex marriages by municipal employees.

In an exclusive interview with KING 5 News, Nickels explained why the issue is so important to him.

"I think it's a question of fairness," said Nickels. "If two people are committed to one another, they love one another and are willing to take on the responsibilities of marriage, they ought to have the rights that go with that."

Nickels also said he'll ask the City Council to protect gay married couples throughout the city from discrimination in employment, housing or the use of parks or other city facilities. If the council approves the ordinance, it also would require contractors doing business with the city to recognize gay marriages among their own employees.

Rick Forcier, head of the state Christian Coalition and a critic of extending marriage licenses to gay couples, called Nickels' plan a clear violation of state law.

"What he's about to do is anarchy - taking the law into his own hands," Forcier said. "People cannot be recognized as married in one jurisdiction and not in another."

Nickels said he lacks the legal authority to issue same-sex marriage licenses or certificates like mayors in San Francisco and New Paltz, N.Y., have done.

State lawmakers passed a "Defense of Marriage Act" in 1998, making Washington one of 38 states defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Gov. Gary Locke vetoed the law, but lawmakers overrode the veto.

Seattle has offered domestic partnership benefits to its employees since 1989, but that process requires extensive paperwork - a step same-sex couples would be able to skip under Nickels' executive order.

State Rep. Ed Murray, one of four openly gay men in the Legislature, applauded Nickels' proposal but said the battle should be fought on a statewide front.

"We have to be clear about it: legalizing gay marriage has to be handled in courts and in the Legislature," Murray said.

More than 3,600 same-sex marriages have been performed in San Francisco in the last three weeks, and hundreds of gay couples were granted wedding licenses last week in Portland, Ore. The marriages are being challenged in court.

Nearly 40 gay couples have received marriage certificates in New Paltz, N.Y., where Mayor Jason West has been charged with solemnizing marriages without a license, a misdemeanor. A judge has temporarily barred him from marrying any more same-sex couples.

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Love, love, love
Love, love, love

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
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It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

There's nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
No where you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love is all you need
That is all you need
That is all you need
That is all you need
That is all you need

Posted by aloysius at March 08, 2004 11:05 AM | TrackBack |