Bills' goal: "marriage equality"

OLYMPIA — A coalition of gay lawmakers in the state House and Senate plans to introduce legislation that would extend the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples.

Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, and four lawmakers in the House said they'll release details Thursday. They've announced plans to introduce what they call the "marriage-equality" bill and a measure that would grant domestic-partnership benefits to same-sex couples.

"The goal is marriage equality," Murray said Tuesday, a day after the Legislature went into session. "It's an important statement that our eyes are on the prize, and the prize is marriage."

The move comes in the wake of a ruling last summer by the state Supreme Court upholding a gay-marriage ban. The majority opinion said the state's ban was not unconstitutional. However, several justices stressed they weren't saying the Legislature could not legalize gay marriage.

Gay-marriage opponents already are lobbying in Olympia to block such legislation, saying it would pose a burden to business and conflicts with their beliefs.

"We feel it's contrary to our biblical and theological beliefs on marriage and morality," said Gary Randall, president of the Faith and Freedom Network.

Murray said he's realistic about the odds of getting a bill passed this year allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry: basically nil.

"It's always hard for people who work on this to realize that most members have not really thought a lot about the issue. Most people in the state have not thought about the issue," said Murray, who led a long and ultimately successful effort to pass gay-rights legislation last year.

"It's going to take a number of years to educate people in the state as a whole and not just the Legislature," he said.

In addition to Murray, Reps. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, are working on the legislation.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, agreed same-sex marriage legislation likely won't get far this year.

"I don't see that actually happening just because of the divisiveness in our Democratic caucus," she said.

Last year, the House passed a bill that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation by a 60-37 vote. The Senate approved it 25-23.

Same-sex-marriage legislation is much more controversial. Supporters see a much better chance of the Legislature passing bills that extend other rights to same-sex couples, while avoiding the issue of marriage.

"The ability to visit a loved one in the hospital, the ability to make funeral arrangements for a loved one after they've passed away. The ability to make end-of-life decisions, things that everyone deserves a right to do with their loved one," Upthegrove said.

"The kinds of benefits we'll be talking about are the kinds of things that you'd have to be pretty coldhearted to oppose," he said.

Randall said his group will oppose such legislation and is building a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to join his side.

"We're not opposed to equal treatment of people, we're just opposed to anything that would begin to redefine marriage as it now stands. We're not trying to deny people rights, we're trying to protect marriage as it has been," he said.

His group sees granting same-sex couples hospital-visitation rights on par with married couples as a steppingstone to gay marriage.

Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, supports allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry and said he expects the state to do so "about when I leave this earth, and my genes are pretty good."

"I see this as a long haul," said Kline, 62.

Andrew Garber: 360-943-9882 or agarber@seattletimes.co. Seattle Times reporter David Postman contributed to this story.