Gay-rights legislation on domestic benefits covers unwed seniors

OLYMPIA — Democratic lawmakers proposing a domestic-partnership bill for gay and lesbian couples want to extend those same rights to heterosexuals 62 and older.

The legislation would give gays, lesbians and unmarried seniors the right to visit a partner in the hospital, inherit their property without a will and make funeral arrangements, among other things. It's expected to be introduced next week.

The move to include seniors in the domestic-partnership bill could broaden its appeal to lawmakers. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said that including seniors in the bill could help attract votes and show that gays and lesbians aren't the only ones dealing with the problem.

Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, one of the bill's sponsors, said "seniors are particularly vulnerable because of the possibility of losing pension rights and losing Social Security benefits if they remarry."

The legislation, and a companion bill that would extend the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples, quickly spurred Republicans to draft a measure calling for a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

"We are diving into a morass that we will not be able to control legislatively or socially. And it will have irreversible damage on marriage," Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, said Thursday.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said they don't expect Swecker's bill to get far this session.

State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, and Reps. Pedersen, Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, and Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, drafted the gay-marriage and domestic-benefits legislation. They've formed a de facto gay caucus in the Legislature.

"We are here and we are not going away until we have achieved marriage equality for everyone in this state," said Pedersen, who served seven years on the national board of Lambda Legal, which fights for gay and lesbian civil rights.

He also was the group's lead volunteer lawyer in a state Supreme Court case that last year upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

Pedersen and other lawmakers acknowledged that extending the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples isn't going to happen anytime soon because of divisiveness over the issue.

But there is support among Democratic leaders in the House and Senate and Gov. Christine Gregoire for extending certain benefits to gay and lesbian couples. The governor has declined to state her position on gay marriage.

Among other things, the bill would allow domestic partners to:

• Inherit when there is no will

• Give consent for health care if a partner isn't competent

• Make funeral arrangements

• Authorize organ and tissue donation

The bill requires a central state registry of domestic partnerships that would be kept at the Secretary of State's Office. Couples would have to file an affidavit of domestic partnership with the office and pay a filing fee.

AARP, the senior-advocacy group, won't take a position on the legislation, said Lauren Moughon, a lobbyist for the organization. "We tend to stay away from bumper-sticker issues," she said.

However, Moughon said the legislation identified a legitimate problem for some seniors. "It is an issue, and there are a number of ways to go about addressing it. This is one way," she said.

Hugh Spitzer, a Seattle attorney, law professor and gay-marriage advocate, said the state Supreme Court ruling that upheld the ban on gay marriage also cleared the way for the type of law the Democrats are proposing. In essence, Spitzer said, the justices said "the Legislature can do what it wants" when it comes to marriage and domestic partnerships.

Swecker said the types of rights offered under the partnership legislation poses "a direct attack on the important element of marriage."

He argued that "every one of these options that we're creating could ultimately become available to everybody," and provide a disincentive for couples to get married.

Advocates for the legislation talk of gays and lesbians who were unable to visit ill partners or make funeral arrangements and lost their homes when a partner died.

"Lesbian and gay families in Washington are hurt because of this state's failure to recognize our relationships," Murray said.

The group of lawmakers say that, ultimately, nothing less than the right to marry will suffice.

"The word 'marriage' matters. It's both a legal concept and a cultural concept that is understood everywhere in the world," Pedersen said. "It is important in the long term, to achieve equality, that what we get is going to be called marriage."

Andrew Garber: 360-943-9882 or agarber@seattletimes.com