Article by Erik Smith. Published on Monday, February 13, 2012 EST.

Bill-Signing Ceremony Brings an Unusual Show of Support for Gov. Christine Gregoire

Everyone had to get a picture as Gov. Christine signed the gay-marriage bill into law. Even legislators.

By Erik Smith

Staff writer/ Washington State Wire

OLYMPIA, Feb. 13.—Gov. Christine Gregoire might not be a big favorite in progressive circles these days after three years of the nastiest budget troubles imaginable, but she appeared to cement at least a part of her legacy Monday as she signed a bill that legalizes gay marriage in Washington state.

            It’s not often nowadays that you hear an enthusiastic crowd chanting “Gregoire! Gregoire! Gregoire!”

            And it’s even less often that you hear one chant “Four more years! Four more years!”

            But it really did happen Monday in the reception room of the state Capitol, as hundreds of onlookers craned their necks for a glimpse of the governor as she signed Senate Bill 6239.

            The measure, championed by the governor during what she has announced will be her final legislative session, makes Washington the seventh state to legalize marriage between same-sex couples, and the first to repeal “Defense of Marriage” legislation that swept the nation’s statehouses in the late ’90s. Washington has had a domestic partnership law on the books since 2009 that grants homosexual couples all the civil rights of marriage, and what the bill essentially means is that for the first time they will be able to use the “m-word.”

            It’s not going to last very long. Just a few hours after the governor signed the bill, gay-marriage opponents filed the inevitable referendum at the secretary of state’s office. Opponents are expected to easily gain the 120,577 signatures they need to place repeal before voters. The moment the referendum is certified, the law will be suspended until voters have their say in November.

            But at least for Monday at the statehouse, it was a time for huzzahs, giddy excitement among openly gay lawmakers who announced they would immediately schedule nuptials, and much congratulation for Gregoire.

            Historians Will Mark the Day

            “As governor for more than seven years, this is a very proud moment,” Gregoire said. “It is a day historians will mark as a milestone for equal rights. A day when we did what was right, we did what was just, and we did what was fair. We stood up for equality, and we did it together – Republicans and Democrats, gay and straight, young and old, and a number of religious faiths.

            “I’m proud of who and what we are in this state. I’m proud that children in our schools and neighborhoods will not have to wonder why their loving parents are considered different than other loving parents. I’m proud of parents who have fought so fiercely for the rights of their much-loved gay and lesbian children. I’m proud that children who discover they are gay and lesbian can feel good about themselves.”

            Standing with the governor at the bill-signing ceremony was a large percentage of the Legislature, virtually all who had approved the bill 28-21 in the Senate and 55-43 in the House.

            The room was filled with the cheering throng, and an overflow crowd lined the balconies in the rotunda and watched on closed-circuit TV. As far as anyone could tell, there was only one heckler.

            Gregoire Called a Hero

            State Sen. Ed Murray and state Rep. Jamie Pedersen, Democrats who represent Seattle’s Capitol Hill district, were the leads in the Senate and House respectively, and both were effusive in their praise for the governor.

            “History will remember you as the governor in U.S. history that did the most for equality for gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered couples,” Pedersen stated. And then promised to wed his partner, Eric, who was on hand for this ceremony as well.

            Murray said it was the culmination of his 17 years in the Legislature as an advocate for gay rights, and he described Gregoire as “our hero.”

“I would not have been here today on this historic day without the leadership, passion and courage of Gov. Christine Gregoire,” he said. “She was the first to agree to what some considered a questionable strategy and she never once wavered. On this journey, she has been on our side, on the civil rights bill, on the domestic partnership bill, and now on marriage equality.”

And once the deed was done and the governor was passing out the commemorative bill-signing pens, Murray and Pedersen were the first in line and they twirled them happily in the air.

            A Rather Different Ceremony

            Opponents were chomping at the bit to file their referendum. They turned up at the secretary of state’s office early in the day, but were told they had to wait until the bill actually became law before they could try to repeal it.

            So that ceremony was postponed until late afternoon. 
            Joseph Backholm of Protect Marriage Washington told reporters it would be an expensive and hard-fought campaign, but he expected to win. “I don’t think it’s that hard of a case to make,” he said. “There are lots of meaningful relationships that are not called marriage. Marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman and the children they raise.”
            Christopher Plante of the National Organization for Marriage said he expects each side to raise and spend between $2 million and $6 million. The measure has been designated Referendum 73.
            Another anti-gay marriage initiative has been filed. Activist Stephen Pidgeon has filed Initiative 1192, which also would enact a ban. It is not clear whether that campaign will actually launch, as Pidgeon has not yet been able to collect signatures. A ballot title for that initiative has been challenged by friends and foes, and a Thurston County Superior Court judge must settle the argument before petitions can be circulated. Pidgeon’s initiative faces a more difficult hurdle, because double the number of signatures are required for an initiative to the people.

            Sore Winners

            Feelings run hot on the issue, on both sides. The votes in the House and Senate of the last two weeks certainly didn’t end that. The gay-marriage measure was approved by a largely party-line vote in both houses, Democrats generally in favor, Republicans generally opposed, with a handful of defections on both sides.

            The thing is, once the vote took place, the calls kept coming. And some of those gay-marriage supporters have been mighty nasty, complained state Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, a firm opponent of the bill. “Some people don’t know how to be gracious winners,” he said.

            “When we have a very professional debate, a sensitive debate – there were some moving speeches on both sides – you know, the reality is that they should understand what gracious winners are, because there is no reason for that, to make those kinds of phone calls. I think it is shameful, a shameful state of affairs, and it is just disappointing personally.”

            Hinkle said most of the calls are coming to members who represent the “swing districts” surrounding the urban Puget Sound area. Some have even come to legislators’ homes. His own 13^th Legislative District, covering the wide stretch of Eastern Washington from Cle Elum to Moses Lake, is rather more conservative – anger hasn’t been such a factor there. But he said, “We all got a lot of ‘hate tweets’ and stuff – I mean, they were taking my name in vain in a lot of tweets. But you expect that. That’s a badge of honor.”

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