Queersetti
Bastardo Suave
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Seattle Mayor to Recognize Gay Marriages
Mon Mar 8, 8:00 AM ET
By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE - Seattle's mayor said Sunday the city will begin recognizing the marriages of gay employees who tie the knot elsewhere, although it will not conduct its own same-sex weddings.
Mayor Greg Nickels was to sign an executive order Monday giving same-sex spouses of city employees all the benefits of heterosexual spouses, including health insurance.
He also planned to send a proposal to the City Council that would extend that recognition to employees of city contractors and protect the rights of all same-sex married couples in Seattle.
"The basic message is one of fairness, and that is that people who are willing to make a commitment to one another, who love one another, and who are willing to take on the responsibilities of marriage ought to be able to, regardless of their gender," Nickels told the Associated Press.
Rick Forcier, head of the state Christian Coalition, called Nickels' plan "anarchy."
"We have to have uniform laws," Forcier said. "People cannot be recognized as married in one jurisdiction and not in another. ... He's pretending to recognize counterfeit licenses that will have no value."
Seattle has offered domestic partnership benefits to its employees since 1989, but the process requires workers to fill out extensive paperwork. Under the new order, married same-sex couples will be able to skip that process, officials said.
Nickels said he cannot follow the lead of mayors in San Francisco and New Paltz, N.Y., by allowing same-sex weddings because counties, not cities, have the authority to issue marriage licenses in Washington.
More than 3,600 same-sex marriages were performed in San Francisco over the last three weeks, and hundreds of gay couples were granted wedding licenses last week in Portland, Ore. The marriages are being challenged in court.
King County Executive Ron Sims, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said the law prevents him from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Washington is one of 38 states that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Sims' spokeswoman Elaine Kraft said the executive had no comment on Nickels' announcement Sunday.
The ordinance Nickels was to send to the City Council on Monday defines "spouse" as a husband or wife in a same-sex or opposite-sex marriage.
If approved, the ordinance would protect gay married couples from discrimination in employment, housing, parks and other city facilities. It also would require contractors doing business with the city to recognize gay marriages among their own employees.
Mon Mar 8, 8:00 AM ET
By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE - Seattle's mayor said Sunday the city will begin recognizing the marriages of gay employees who tie the knot elsewhere, although it will not conduct its own same-sex weddings.
Mayor Greg Nickels was to sign an executive order Monday giving same-sex spouses of city employees all the benefits of heterosexual spouses, including health insurance.
He also planned to send a proposal to the City Council that would extend that recognition to employees of city contractors and protect the rights of all same-sex married couples in Seattle.
"The basic message is one of fairness, and that is that people who are willing to make a commitment to one another, who love one another, and who are willing to take on the responsibilities of marriage ought to be able to, regardless of their gender," Nickels told the Associated Press.
Rick Forcier, head of the state Christian Coalition, called Nickels' plan "anarchy."
"We have to have uniform laws," Forcier said. "People cannot be recognized as married in one jurisdiction and not in another. ... He's pretending to recognize counterfeit licenses that will have no value."
Seattle has offered domestic partnership benefits to its employees since 1989, but the process requires workers to fill out extensive paperwork. Under the new order, married same-sex couples will be able to skip that process, officials said.
Nickels said he cannot follow the lead of mayors in San Francisco and New Paltz, N.Y., by allowing same-sex weddings because counties, not cities, have the authority to issue marriage licenses in Washington.
More than 3,600 same-sex marriages were performed in San Francisco over the last three weeks, and hundreds of gay couples were granted wedding licenses last week in Portland, Ore. The marriages are being challenged in court.
King County Executive Ron Sims, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said the law prevents him from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Washington is one of 38 states that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Sims' spokeswoman Elaine Kraft said the executive had no comment on Nickels' announcement Sunday.
The ordinance Nickels was to send to the City Council on Monday defines "spouse" as a husband or wife in a same-sex or opposite-sex marriage.
If approved, the ordinance would protect gay married couples from discrimination in employment, housing, parks and other city facilities. It also would require contractors doing business with the city to recognize gay marriages among their own employees.
