Washington Senate Approves Recognizing Out-of-State Gay Marriages

Washington Senate Approves Recognizing Out-of-State Gay Marriages
The Washington Senate approved a bill this week for the state to recognize as domestic partnerships any same-sex marriages that have been enacted in other jurisdictions.
Under a law passed in 2009 that was upheld at the ballot, domestic partnerships in Washington are open to both same-sex and opposite sex couples and provide the same state-governed rights as marriage.
Washington already recognizes out-of-state civil unions and domestic partnerships, but current law excludes same-sex marriages.
Representative Laurie Jinkins, who was the lead sponsor of the bill in the House, has said she is "ecstatic" at the Senate vote but was quick to point out that this isn't a new right the Legislature has come up with, but rather an ironing out of an inequality in existing law.