From: jwilk@eskimo.com (John Wilkinson) Subject: Washington State Marriage Group Forms 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: jwilk@eskimo.com 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 (jwilk@eskimo.com) __ Eskimo North Timeshare Service -- Seattle, Washington, USA \/ http://www.eskimo.com/~jwilk/ ******************************************************************************* To send a message to the entire list "marriage", email marriage@abacus.oxy.edu To unsubscribe, send a message 'unsubscribe marriage' to MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu. To subscribe, send a message 'subscribe marriage' to MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu. *******************************************************************************