![Washington_390_2](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/washington-390-2.jpg?id=32707096&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Washington governor Chris Gregoire will sign into law a marriage equality bill at a historic Monday ceremony in Olympia.
The Associated Press reports that the governor will sign the bill, recently passed by state House and Senate lawmakers, at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time in the state capitol's reception room. A live stream of the signing ceremony will be broadcast here.
"I knew now was the time to face it," Gov. Gregoire said in an interview with The Advocate last month after throwing her political weight behind the bill. "And as I faced it, both as a mom and as a wife, and as a Catholic, as a governor, and wrote it down on a piece of paper, the logic of it all fell into the words that I put down there."
The law, which would make Washington the seventh state plus the District of Columbia where marriage rights for same-sex couples are legal, will go into effect on June 7, the AP reports. Social conservative groups have vowed to collect the requisite signatures needed to put a referendum or an initiative on the November ballot.
Such a move would almost certainly be challenged in court if antigay advocates were successful, given the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling last week that California's Proposition 8 violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it took away the right to marry for same-sex couples.
In Washington, LGBT rights have been under attack by a ballot measure campaign before. In 2009, following passage of an "everything but marriage" domestic partnership bill, antigay groups sought to repeal the legislation via Referendum 71. The effort failed, however, with 53% of voters opposing it.
Passage of the bill is likely to prompt a response from Republican presidential candidates who reiterated their opposition to marriage equality during appearances at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. last week. Rick Santorum will be speaking with marriage equality opponents in Olympia today a few hours after the governor signs the bill, followed by a campaign rally at the Washington Historical Museum in Tacoma at 7 p.m.
Advocate.com will have updates on the bill signing later today.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM
Record 1.2 million people show out for Cologne’s Pride parade
July 23 2024 10:51 AM
Here's how far-right activist Leonard Leo helped fund Bud Light boycott
July 23 2024 10:27 AM
Elon Musk’s comments about his trans daughter prove why she doesn’t speak to him
July 23 2024 9:16 AM
Nancy Pelosi endorses Kamala Harris for president
July 22 2024 4:07 PM
Charli XCX declares Kamala Harris IS brat & our next President's campaign agrees
July 22 2024 3:08 PM