The Legislature took another step toward fairness this week when it voted to expand the rights and responsibilities of gay and lesbian couples who register as domestic partners.
The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill already passed by the House that would add about 170 benefits and obligations to domestic partnerships that already apply to married couples. They are sensible additions to the law in 10 major areas, adding domestic partners to sections of the law where currently only spouses are mentioned.
They build upon a domestic partnership law passed last year, under which about 3,300 committed couples have registered. That law established a handful of fundamental rights, such as hospital visitation and inheritance rights in the absence of a will.
The latest bill, expected to be signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire, grants same-sex couples who register with the state certain property and guardianship rights, and places responsibilities on them that already apply to husbands and wives. For example, domestic partners of elected officials currently aren’t required to submit financial disclosure forms, as spouses of elected officials are. The new law will change that.
It also deals with the inevitable failure of some relationships, establishing rules for dissolving domestic partnerships.
After the state Supreme Court upheld the Legislature’s ban on gay marriage nearly two years ago, domestic partnerships arose as a reasonable way to ensure a greater measure of fairness for same-sex couples and their families. Washington law already allowed same-sex couples to adopt children — their legal legitimacy as families was already established.
Those who pushed the domestic partnership bills the past two years have made no secret of their ultimate goal: They want the state to sanction same-sex unions through marriage. They realize that will take time, so they’re working through the political system at a measured pace to make progress. So far, that sound strategy is working.
Major cultural changes require patience. For now, we’re heartened that in Washington, there are fewer and fewer ways for basic rights to be denied on the basis of sexual orientation.
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