Politics & Government

POLL: Shoreline Council to Vote on Gay Marriage Resolution Monday

Resolution more specifically calls for the Legislature to pass Senate Bill 6239, which passed the Senate last night and asks Congress to pass the Respect for Marriage Act

At the request of Mayor Keith McGlashan, who is openly gay, the Shoreline City Council will consider a resolution that would declare City Council support for marriage equality in Washington State.

The Council at its Jan. 23 meeting stated its support for gay marriage in a letter to local legislators, but Monday is the first time it will vote on a resolution.

The resolution more specifically calls for the Legislature to pass Senate Bill 6239, which passed the Senate last night. It would also urge the United States Congress to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and would recognize an individual to be married for federal law purposes if that individual’s marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into.

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Senate Bill 6239 will end discrimination in marriage based on gender and sexual orientation in Washington and will allow all persons in Washington state the freedom to marry on equal terms, while also respecting the religious freedom of clergy and religious institutions to determine for whom to perform marriage ceremonies and to determine which marriages to recognize for religious purposes.

In March 2011 companion bills were introduced into the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate that would repeal the federal DOMA. In November 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved sending the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. The House bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which referred it to the Subcommittee on the Constitution. No further action has been taken.

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The resolution reads as follows:

RESOLUTION NO. 322

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF SHORELINE, WASHINGTON, SUPPORTING MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN WASHINGTON STATE AND URGING THE WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE TO PASS SENATE BILL 6239 AND URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS THE RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT.

WHEREAS, the City of Shoreline believes that all individuals, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, should be granted the freedom to marry; and

WHEREAS, marriage equality is essential for the establishment and protection of strong healthy families and relationships; and

WHEREAS, the 2012 Regular Session of the Washington State Legislature is considering the adoption of Senate Bill 6239, introduced in January 2012, which will end discrimination in marriage based on gender and sexual orientation, while respecting the religious freedom of religious institutions to determine for whom to perform marriage ceremonies; and

WHEREAS, same-sex couples are denied over 1,000 rights and responsibilities under federal law due to the failure to recognize marriage equality, which have dramatic impacts on the health and well-being of families, including increased tax burdens, denial of health benefits, and risk of deportation of mixed-nationality families; and

WHEREAS, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage by recognizing individual’s as being married if the marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into, has been introduced in both houses of the United States Congress; now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHORELINE, WASHINGTON, AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1.            The City Council of the City of Shoreline fully supports marriage equality in Washington State and urges the Washington State Legislature, in its 2012 Regular Session, to pass Senate Bill 6239, ending discrimination in marriage based on gender and sexual orientation in the State of Washington.

Section 2.            The City Council also supports marriage equality at the national level and urges the United States Congress to pass the Respect for Marriage Act ensuring that legally married same-sex couples be granted the same rights, responsibilities and obligations granted heterosexual married couples under federal law.


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