This past Monday, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law a bill that we here in Washington are calling the “Everything But Marriage” act. The full text is here. Here’s the digest version:
SB 5688 declares that for all purposes under state law, state registered domestic partners shall be treated the same as married spouses. Any privilege, immunity, right, benefit, or responsibility granted or imposed by statute, administrative or court rule, policy, common law or any other law to an individual because the individual is or was a spouse, or because the individual is or was an in-law in a specified way to another individual, is granted on equivalent terms, substantive and procedural, to an individual because the individual is or was in a state registered domestic partnership or because the individual is or was, based on a state registered domestic partnership, related in a specified way to another individual.
Provides that the act shall be liberally construed to achieve equal treatment, to the extent not in conflict with federal law, of state registered domestic partners and married spouses.
— Washington State Bill 5688
The bill won’t become law until July 26. This is because a bunch of civic-minded folks are busily trying to gather enough signatures (more than 120,000) to put a referendum on the November ballot to undo the passage of this bill. If they get the signatures, the bill won’t become law until the November vote. Or never, depending on how it goes.
Right now I don’t think the CMFs have enough clout to overturn it. And frankly, they aren’t doing their larger causes any favors by making such a fuss over it, but that’s their problem.
Nicola and I are among Washington’s more than 5,300 registered domestic partner couples. Since early in our relationship, we’ve been accumulating all the legal documents that people who can’t get married need to protect ourselves, our property, and our access/responsibilities to each other. But it’s good to have our rights not because we paid thousands of dollars in legal fees to secure them, but because we are adult citizens of the state sharing in a pool of rights accessible to any adults who want to make a commitment to each other.
At least that’s how I hope it’ll be come July 26.