Long conflicted over the marriage issue, Gov. Chris Gregoire reversed course last week and threw her full support behind a bill to legalize same-sex marriage – legislation that is expected to breeze through the state House of Representatives, but struggle in the Senate.
Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, an openly gay lawmaker who has long advocated for marriage rights for same-sex couples, admits that he’s a few votes shy of a majority for Senate passage. But Murray believes he can gain enough bipartisan support for ultimate success.
The unanswered question is how hard Gregoire will fight to get those final Senate votes. Will she threaten vetoes of bills by those lawmakers who refuse to climb aboard the same-sex marriage bandwagon? Or will she let the issue rise or fall on its own merits?
Gregoire’s own personal struggle over the issue for the last seven years should help her understand the reluctance of those who oppose same-sex marriage rights. The governor will be hard pressed to be highly critical of opponents or to play hardball with their bills, when her conversion on the issue was slow in evolving.
At a press conference announcing her support for the marriage legislation, Gregoire said, “I have been on my own journey, I’ll admit that.”
“It has been a battle for me with my religion,” said Gregoire, who is Catholic. “I’ve always been uncomfortable with the position I took publicly,” she said. “Then I came to realize, the religions can decide what they want to do, but it’s not OK for the state to discriminate.”
The governor’s newfound position is in clear conflict with the Catholic bishops of Washington state. Greg Magnoni, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, said that the church would be “looking for the Legislature to uphold the current legal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.” He said, “The position of the Catholic church is clear.”
It’s not the first time Gregoire has gone against the teachings of her Catholic faith. She has been a longtime supporter of abortion rights for women, again in conflict with Catholic teaching.
The governor and Murray surely have a fight on their hands.
South Sound’s own Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, wrote a column in The Seattle Times last fall calling for a public vote on the same-sex marriage question. Swecker said, “I am also concerned that altering the definition of marriage will lead to the silencing of those who believe in traditional marriage. If this debate is about tolerance, then the question must be asked: Can same-sex marriage supporters tolerate the fact that much of the population regards the traditional definition of marriage as the best way to bring up the next generation of children and wants to hold on to it?”
Swecker said, “Those of us supporting traditional marriage are passionately pro-kids. We believe that every person has been fearfully and wonderfully made, and that the very best situation for children is to be raised by both a mother and father. Anything less gives the child less. We believe that society benefits from this and should choose to promote it.”
Gregoire offered a spirited defense of her new position on the issue.
“This was all about my personal faith,” Gregoire said. “I came to understand my religion is one thing, but as governor of the state and as a human being, I believe in equality. And I don’t respect a state who discriminates.”
Under the governor’s proposal, the state would sanction same-sex marriage, but religious institutions would have the right not to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
If lawmakers do muster the votes in the Senate to pass the same-sex marriage legislation, we suspect conservative and religious organizations will challenge it through the referendum process, sending it to the ballot for a public vote in November. Stephen Pidgeon, an Everett attorney, has filed an initiative to counter the same-sex marriage proponents. Pidgeon’s initiative would clarify the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.
Our fear at this point is that the contentious marriage debate will distract lawmakers who have only 60-days to balance a state operating budget that’s $1.5 billion out of alignment. That must be the top priority.
Lawmakers know the depth of the financial problem and explored potential solutions in the December special session. It’s time for action. The longer the delay, the deeper the cuts to spending. If lawmakers get distracted on the marriage issue, and slip into yet another special session to balance the budget, it will be a failure of Democratic leaders in the House and Senate.
