Subject: Washington State Marriage Group Forms
From: [email-masked] (John Wilkinson)
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 05:37:33 GMT

January 3, 1996
WASHINGTON STATE MARRIAGE GROUP FORMS

The Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington (LMA) has formed to prepare 
the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community and the general 
public for the impact of the Hawaii marriage decision on Washington 
State.  

The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the state 
must show "compelling state interest" to deny marriage licenses to same 
sex couples.  A special state commission has investigated the enormous 
economic and social disparity between couples with marriage licenses 
and couples without them.  The commission has recommended to the Hawaii 
state legislature that same sex marriages be allowed.  The Hawaii 
Supreme Court has given the state attorney until July 1996 to 
demonstrate "compelling state interest".  Failing that, the court is 
expected to rule that the state can no longer prohibit same sex 
marriages because it violates gender discrimination in the Hawaii state 
constitution.

The Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington is a group of gay and lesbian 
couples and supporters who believe that individuals, regardless of 
gender, who are prepared to devote the love, effort, commitment, and 
sacrifice to build families, deserve the right to legal marriage.  The 
institution of civil marriage recognizes and rewards the value of 
committed relationships to individuals and to society at large.  Civil 
marriage is a legal contract that carries with it certain 
responsibilities, rights, privileges, and consequences for both 
parties.  As such, marriage should not be denied to same-sex couples.

The mission of the LMA is to work within the State of Washington to 
achieve the right of same-sex couples to marry legally.  The LMA will 
function as the local resource for information on same-sex marriages, 
and the group will assist existing organizations by sharing information 
and coordinating strategies.

The impact of the Hawaii marriage decision could be very large.  The 
United States Constitution requires every state to give "full faith and 
credit" to the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every 
other state."  So will the other states honor Hawaiian same-sex 
marriage licenses?  Utah has passed a law to deny such marriage 
licenses.  Alaska and South Dakota have attempted similar legislation.  
A report on KUOW this morning (December 22, 1995) indicates that 
orthodox forces in Washington State are already drafting such legislation for 
the 1996 legislative session which starts January 8.

What can you do to help? -- 

* You can have your organization contact the LMAW Speakers Bureau to arrange for
an informational presentation on same-sex marriage. 

* You can volunteer your time as a speaker, or offer to share your other skills
and interests. You can donate time or money.

* You can ask your organization to add their name to the growing list of
national and local groups who have signed the Marriage Resolution being
distributed by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

To volunteer, or for more information, please contact:

	Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington
	1202 East Pike, #1190
	Seattle, Washington 98122
	phone: 206-689-6280
	email:  [email-masked]
	Web:  http://www.eskimo.com/~demian/lma.html

On the national level, please contact:

	Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
	666 Broadway #1200
	New York, New York 10012
	phone:  212-995-8585

************************************************
	- Janice Van Cleve
                     Outreach Coordinator
	   Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington

---
John G. Wilkinson ([email-masked])                          __
Eskimo North Timeshare Service -- Seattle, Washington, USA    \/
http://www.eskimo.com/~jwilk/

*******************************************************************************
To send a message to the entire list "marriage", email [email-masked]

To unsubscribe, send a message 'unsubscribe marriage' to [email-masked].
To subscribe, send a message 'subscribe marriage' to [email-masked].
*******************************************************************************