Washington State gets one GIANT step closer to Gay Marriage

In the debates, Rep. Maureen Walsh, a Republican, spoke about her take on gay marriage:





The bill passed, and on Feb 13 was signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire. Gay marriages can't start until June 7, and there's the possibility they might not start at all, with opponents asking for the law to be delayed until the outcome of a referendum vote in November.

We'll see, but for now, this is good news.

Maryland also recently passed a Gay marriage law, with a similar caveat.  Their

Gov. Martin O'Malley is set to sign legislation approving same-sex marriage in Maryland on March 1 - but it won't take effect unless Maryland voters approve it this fall.

And in New Jersey, which also had its legislature pass Gay Marriage this February, their Governor Christie has vowed to veto it, also saying that voters should decide the issue.  Steven Goldstein, chairman of gay-rights group Garden State Equality, said of the Governor's decision:

“I don’t think Chris Christie has an anti-gay bone in his body,”... “He won’t veto the bill because he’s anti-gay. He’ll veto the bill because the 2016 South Carolina Republican Presidential primary electorate is anti-gay.” 

In the face of this Progress (and setbacks and obstacles to that progress), it's inspiring to see politicians like Maureen Walsh with backbone on this. 

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/27/3454764/maryland-same-sex-couples-travel.html#storylink=cpy

Namaste,
Lee

ps - My thanks to Kathryn for making sure I saw Maureen Walsh's speech!