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Lambda Legal Encourages Washington State Senate to Support Domestic Partnership Bill (SB 5336)

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"[W]e are acutely aware of the daily struggles, persistent vulnerabilities, and sometimes wrenching tragedies that same-sex couples face without the critical protections that SB 5336 would afford them."
January 25, 2007

(Olympia, Washington, January 25, 2007) — In a letter sent today to the Chair of the Washington State Senate Committee On Government Operations and Elections, Lambda Legal urged legislators to allow same-sex couples to marry and called on them to pass SB 5336 in order to provide immediate protections to same-sex couples in Washington.


“Lambda Legal hears from vulnerable same-sex couples all the time in Washington who simply want basic protections like the ability to decide what to do with their partner’s remains after they die,” said Tara Borelli, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney in its Western Regional Office. “That’s why we worked with Senator Ed Murray to provide technical assistance on this legislation—to ensure it would cover the most basic, pressing protections that same-sex couples need immediately to secure their families. Furthermore, it couldn’t be more fitting that this critical legislation is championed by Senator Murray. He is one of the first openly gay members of the legislature, and the currently the only openly gay senator, who led the determined fight for the antidiscrimination law for years until reaching success last year.”


Borelli, a member of the Washington State Bar, worked with Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Jennifer C. Pizer in providing technical assistance on both the domestic partnership bill and the bill to provide same-sex couples the freedom to marry. Lambda Legal issued a statement in support of both bills, which were announced in a press conference convened by the bills’ sponsors in Olympia on Thursday, January 11, 2007.


Lambda Legal’s letter sent today to the Honorable Darlene Fairley reads, in part, “Lambda Legal’s family protection advocacy has included providing technical expertise to legislators across the nation on dozens of bills relating to marriage, domestic partnership, and parenting rights and duties for same-sex partners, including primary drafting of the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003.” The letter goes on to say, “Lambda Legal believes firmly that the right way to remedy the systemic inequality same-sex couples face under Washington law is to offer them the same legal rights and status as the state offers to different-sex couples, which means an equal opportunity to marry. At the same time, we are acutely aware of the daily struggles, persistent vulnerabilities, and sometimes wrenching tragedies that same-sex couples face without the critical protections that SB 5336 would afford them.” The entire letter can be read online at http://www.lambdalegal.org/news/publications.html=2125.


Lambda Legal worked with Rep. Jamie Pedersen, the Northwest Women’s Law Center and the ACLU of Washington in the landmark lawsuits that argued for the right of same-sex couples to marry in Washington. Lambda Legal also argued the lawsuit in New Jersey that brought about that state’s civil union registry that was signed into law last month. The organization is currently arguing cases in California and Iowa that seek the right of marriage for those state’s same-sex couples.


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Mark Roy: 212-809-8585 ext. 267


Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

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