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| Gov. Chris Gregoire is very happy |
The Washington state Senate, in an historic action, voted 28 to 21 on Wednesday night to legalize marriage between same-sex partners.I hope to have video of some of the testimonies. This is huge, folks!
"We ask for your support tonight because marriage is the way society says you are family," said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chief sponsor of the legislation and a gay man in a two-decade partnership.
Regardless of how his colleagues voted, Murray added, they will receive a wedding invite from him. A practicing Catholic, Murray has said he is pained that he will not be able to marry in his church.
The House of Representatives is expected to approve the legislation within a week. Gov. Chris Gregoire, who watched Wednesday night's debate, has become a passionate advocate of marriage equality at the end of what she described as a "personal journey."
Same-sex couples in Maryland would have the same full marriage rights as heterosexuals under a bill that cleared the Senate Thursday. If the House of Delegates approves it and the governor signs it, Maryland would be the sixth U.S. state to approve gay marriage.The vote was 25-21
Opponents, including Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D-Calvert, promised that if it does become law that a referendum question would be on the 2012 ballot so voters have the final decision.
Before it passed, senators amended the bill to include protections for religious groups and institutions to keep them from being forced to participate in gay weddings. The bill would grant the same title and rights to same-sex couples as married straight couples.
If the measure passes the House, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley has said he would sign it into law.
Great news! Our Senate passed a resolution condemning the Ugandan anti-gay bill.
DC Agenda reports:
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), chair of Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on african affairs, introduced the resolution in February. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were original co-sponsors.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, but the African nation’s pending legislation would, among other things, institute the death penalty in some cases for LGBT people and require citizens to report LGBT people to the police.
In a statement, Feingold praised “so many political, religious and civic leaders in Uganda and around the world” for speaking out against the Uganda legislation.
“Sadly, this legislation is just one example of actions taken around the world to restrict the rights of people just because of their gender or sexual orientation,” he said. ”We need to speak out consistently against all such discrimination. The Senate’s passage of this resolution begins to move us in that direction, and I will continue working with my colleagues and the administration to continue to address this issue.”
In addition the comdemnding the Uganda bill, the Senate resolution calls for repeal of the criminalization of homosexuality in other countries and urges the State Department to closely monitor human rights abuses against LGBT people abroad.
We were sending a strong message here.
Without a single Republican vote, the United States Senate passed a sweeping health care reform bill in a landslide, shortly after 7:00 in the morning on Christmas Eve. After months of intense back and forth, and more than three weeks of continuous floor debate, the bill moved through the Senate by a gaping 60-39 margin.
The House of Representatives previously passed a much stronger version of reform with a tighter 220-215 margin. The two versions will now be merged in conference committee negotiations, with the House pushing for more generous subsidies for those required to buy insurance and the Senate attempting to hold the line. The cross-Capitol negotiations will not involve the Republican Party.
I don't want to get hung up on what's in it or not. That can actually change as the year ends. I'm just happy they got this done.
