Guest columnists
State constitution shouldn't be used to discriminate

By Roberta Domos, Jennifer Lindenauer and Dan Kully
Special to The Times

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No matter what happens with the recount in the governor's race, one thing is for certain — Washington state is the next battleground over the issue of gay marriage.

In the coming months, the state Supreme Court will rule on the two cases that are moving through the courts challenging the constitutionality of the state's Defense of Marriage Act.

We believe that the highest court of the state will affirm two lower-court rulings that said that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, thereby granting equal protection under the law for committed same-sex couples.

That's why anti-gay extremists are moving so fast to try to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage — joining 11 other states that banned gay marriage on Election Day.

Proponents of banning gay marriage in other states argued that the intent of their measures was simple: defending the sanctity of marriage. But the reality is that these measures will be used to take away basic rights from millions of Americans — gay or straight.

Kentucky's measure was so broadly written that constitutional lawyers believe it could prevent hospital visits for committed couples and even deny emergency protective orders for unmarried domestic-violence victims — gay or straight.

In Utah, the state's Republican attorney general came out against the ban because it will take away domestic-partner benefits for gay and lesbian couples.

In Ohio, many Republican politicians and business leaders opposed that state's amendment because they fear the legislation is so vague that it could be used to discriminate against unmarried heterosexual couples.

Oregon's measure, which narrowly passed, could prevent civil unions, hospital visitation, and even put at risk the contracts that gay and lesbian couples have drafted to take responsibility for each other.

As former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Jacob Tanzer put it, "Whenever we meddle with the constitution, there are unforeseen consequences."

Some argue that the matter is simple — defending traditional marriage.

The results of the other states' measures banning gay marriage couldn't be more clear, though.

It comes as no surprise that the same forces that are backing a constitutional ban on gay marriage have blocked basic protections of gays and lesbians from being passed in the Washington Legislature for the past 25 years.

That's why it is still legal in most of the state even today to fire someone or deny them a place to live simply because they are gay. That's discrimination and it is wrong.

We are confident that legislators in Olympia are finally ready in the next session to support a bill to end discrimination.

But we're also afraid that there will be a long, drawn-out fight to ban gay marriage as well.

We all know that Washington faces real problems, such as a struggling economy, school-class sizes that are among the highest in the nation, and health-care costs that are squeezing middle-class families. Instead of dealing with these important issues, politicians in Olympia will spend valuable time debating whether to permanently write discrimination into our state's constitution.

Proponents of anti-gay amendments also claim to base their beliefs on family values and a concern for children.

Jeff Kemp of Families Northwest and the Rev. Harvey Drake Jr. of Emerald City Outreach Ministries recently wrote, "The marriage movement recognizes people's freedom to choose their relationships and will never dictate what other people should believe" ("Marriage still matters to Washington's children" Times guest commentary, Oct. 25).

But this nice-sounding language masks their true intentions. In fact, their proposal would do exactly what they say it won't do: It will create a permanent second class of citizens, enshrine unequal treatment in our constitution, and harm the thousands of children in Washington state who are being raised by committed same-sex couples.

Washington's constitution should not be used to discriminate. If we stand together, Washington will bring an end to this organized campaign by the religious right to add unequal treatment to state constitutions all over the country.

Roberta Domos, Jennifer Lindenauer and Dan Kully are board members of Equal Rights Washington, a statewide organization working to end discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons in Washington, www.equalrightswashington.org