Two local Republicans back equal rights for same-sex couples

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Two Yakima lawmakers are among a handful of Washington Republicans crossing party lines on gay rights.

State Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, was one of three Republicans to vote in favor of expanded domestic-partner benefits in the Senate on Tuesday night, helping the measure pass 30-18. And state Rep. Norm Johnson, R-Yakima, co-sponsored a similar bill in the House and says he will vote in favor of it when the House takes up the Senate version.

"Domestic partners that I know in our community are a vital part, a very important part, of the community," King said. "They're very good people who work toward the betterment of our community."

Johnson said he has two gay sons and that he believes in equal legal status for all Washingtonians.

"I know several gay people who are good citizens of our community," he said. "And I don't judge them on those grounds. I would rather judge them on what they do for the community."

Both men said they will draw the line at legalizing gay marriage, which the domestic partner bill's prime sponsor, Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, has said is his eventual goal. But their support for gay rights is already drawing fire from some local Republicans.

If the legislation, Senate Bill 5688, becomes law, the state will treat same-sex couples who register for domestic partnership the same as married couples. The "everything but marriage" bill expands on previous domestic partnership laws by adding reference to partnerships alongside all remaining areas of state law where currently only married couples are mentioned, statutes ranging from labor and employment to pensions and other public employee benefits.

It would be the third expansion of domestic partner benefits in the state in three legislative sessions. Two years ago, the Legislature approved hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations, and inheritance rights when there is no will. Last year, lawmakers expanded that law to give domestic partners standing under laws covering probate and trusts, community property and guardianship.

As of Wednesday, 5,141 domestic partnership registrations had been filed since the law took effect in July 2007.

The "everything but marriage" bill drew the ire of other Central Washington lawmakers, including state Sen. Janéa Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, whose district includes Kittitas County and part of Yakima County.

Holmquist released a statement saying that the bill essentially overturns Washington's 1998 voter-approved Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

"This bill effectively overturns the Defense of Marriage Act without being honest about it," Holmquist said in her statement. "Same-sex couples have a right to form meaningful relation-ships, but they don't have the right to redefine marriage for the rest of us."

She did not return a phone call seeking additional comment.

Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, who represents the 14th Legislative District alongside King and Johnson, said he opposes the measure because it's a slippery slope toward legalized gay marriage. If that kind of change is going to be made, it ought to be put to voters directly rather than decided by legislators, he said. That said, Ross defended his colleagues' right to vote across party lines.

"I have tremendous respect for my seatmate (Johnson) and for the senator (King)," Ross said. "That's what makes the Legislature a beautiful place; we all have different ideas."

Nevertheless, the county Republican Party could hold the vote against King in future elections, party Chairman Max Golladay said.

"It would seem to be a minority opinion in the Republican Party," Golladay said. "So in that respect, I suppose it could have a detrimental effect on his constituents and how they receive it."

Skip Schoff, vice president of Christian Broadcasting of Yakima and head of the local Christian Coalition chapter during the 1980s, was less diplomatic, saying he'll do everything he can to ensure King's defeat in the next election. King's statement that he supported this bill but would never vote to legalize gay marriage struck Schoff as dishonest.

"It's time for the Christian people of Yakima to stand up and oppose this guy," Schoff said.

The same goes for Johnson, he added.

Those on the other side of the political spectrum considered King's vote a brave stand, particularly considering the political reality in heavily conservative Yakima County.

"I salute him for having the courage to vote his convictions," said Ken Lewis of Yakima, president of the gay rights group First Fridays.

To Lewis, it's a matter of equality, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

"They don't want anything special," he said. "That's not what the gay community wants. They just want to be equal."

Only Connecticut and Massachusetts have legalized gay marriage. Same-sex marriage was legal in California for five months until a state referendum to ban it passed last fall.

Vermont, New Jersey, California, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia have laws that either recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships that afford same-sex couples similar rights to marriage. Thirty states have gay marriage bans in their constitutions.

* On the Web:

For information about the state's domestic partnership registration, visit www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships/

* Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.