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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE February 10, 2012

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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

Washington marriage bill is headed for passage

by Anthony Glassman

Olympia, Wash.--After passing the Washington Senate on February 1 in a 2821 vote, the marriage bill introduced by Gov. Chris Gregoire passed the House Judiciary Committee on February 6.

The 7-5 vote came after public hearing, and a vote before the full House of Representatives was expected as early as February 8. The Senate was expected to be the real sticking point, until a 25th state senator indicated she would vote in favor of the legislation.

The House Judiciary Committee rejected a number of amendments, including adding private businesses to the religious exemption and automatically triggering a referendum.

When it hits the House floor, it should

pass easily, and given that Gregoire introduced the bill, her signature is guaranteed.

Opponents of marriage equality have vowed a referendum if the bill passes. They would need to gather over 120,000 valid signatures by June 6 to put the issue on the ballot.

The bill would give same-sex couples already registered as domestic partners in Washington two years to file an end to their domestic partnerships or get married. After that, remaining domestic partnerships would automatically be converted to full marriages.

The bill is supported by a number of incredibly large corporations with headquarters in the state, including Amazon, Nike, Microsoft and Starbucks.

New Jersey

Across the country, supporters of New Jersey's same-sex marriage bill are still trying to gather enough yea votes to pass their legislation. Even as the Assembly was ready to pass it out of the Judiciary Committee, Democrats in the chamber tallied 34 of the 41 votes they needed. The bill needs 21 votes in the New Jersey Senate to send it to Gov. Chris Christie's desk, where he is likely to veto the measure.

Christie has been the target of widespread criticism over the last few weeks as he puts his foot in his mouth over the issue. He believes the matter should be left to voters at the ballot box, and said that civil rights leaders in the 1960s would have preferred to leave their struggles to voters. He meant that

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they would have preferred that to the violence they faced in their protests, but had to explain it after drawing fire for the comments, which made it seem as if the general public would have voted in favor of civil rights legislation in the 1950s and '60s.

He then referred to a gay state legislator who criticized him for the remarks as a "numbnuts."

Maryland

Hundreds of people came out for Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearings on January 31 in Annapolis, Maryland, where Gov. Martin O'Malley followed Gregoire's lead in January and introduced full same-sex marriage legislation. A committee vote is expected within weeks.

New Hampshire

In New Hampshire, meanwhile, Republican state legislators seem to be backing off their threatened efforts to introduce legislation to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law, saying they would rather focus on economic issues than social issues.

They said something similar last year, but still pushed through bills mandating parental notification for abortions for mi-

nors.

In the governor's office, however, Gov. John Lynch promised to veto any bill repealing marriage equality.

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Cuyahoga Falls denies family swim pass to couple

by Anthony Glassman

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-The city's fitness center has refused a family membership to a same-sex couple who were legally married in Washington, D.C. last year.

Shane and Coty May asked to have their individual memberships changed. into a family membership, which would save them money. A single nonresident membership is almost $500, while a family membership is $730 a year. Their request was denied, and they were told that Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium rules do not allow same-sex couples to get the family rate.

Coty was injured in Iraq, and Shane is his primary caregiver. They use the facility as physical therapy for Coty.

According to the Akron Beacon-Journal, Medina, Akron and Twinsburg all have city-run health facilities that allow same-sex couples to get family rates. Medina changed its "married couple" requirement to any two people in the same household, and Akron allows samesex couples living together to do the same. Twinsburg Fitness Center allows domestic partners to obtain family memberships.

The Mays took their plight to the internet, where they quickly garnered thousands of signatures on a Change.org petition. Each signature sends e-mails to each member of the Cuyahoga Falls City Council, inundating members with e-mails of protest.

After a January 17 council meeting, Council President Mark Ihasz said that he will ask city law director Paul Janis to examine the issue, whether the city council has the authority to change the natatorium's policy. Councilor Diana Colavecchio, however, noted that an independent board sets the facility's rules. The Mays live across the street from Cuyahoga Falls, in Akron, but Shane May is a Cuyahoga Falls native.