Swing vote now says he'll vote yes on gay civil rights bill

OLYMPIA – Sen. Bill Finkbeiner said today that he will vote for a gay civil rights bill, reversing his decision last year to stick with Republican colleagues who oppose banning discrimination against gays and lesbians in jobs and housing.

Finkbeiner's decision to vote no on the measure last year led to its one-vote defeat in the Senate, after sailing through the House last year.

"I've had a number of conversations over the past year that have led me to more fully understand the level of discrimination against gays and lesbians, and I now find it is both appropriate and necessary for the state to make it clear that this is not acceptable," Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, said in a written statement obtained by The Associated Press before it was widely released.

The bill has been introduced — and rejected — annually for nearly 30 years in the Legislature.

The state House passed the bill 61-37, with six Republicans joining 55 Democrats to pass it. But it lost in the Senate, where Two Democrats, Jim Hargrove of Hoquiam and Tim Sheldon of Potlatch, joined 23 Republicans in defeating the bill.

Finkbeiner, who stepped down as Senate minority leader last year, is a former Democrat who supported the bill once before when he was a House member.