Wash. Gay Couples Line Up for New Rights
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wash. Gay Couples Line Up for New Rights*
Monday July 23, 2007 5:31 PM
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Dozens of gay and lesbian couples lined up to
register as domestic partners Monday as a new Washington state law went
into effect.
The secretary of state's office registered the first couple shortly
after opening its doors at 8 a.m.
Couples that register as domestic partners get enhanced rights including
hospital visitation, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ
donations, and the ability to inherit in the absence of a will. They
won't get all the rights that traditionally married couples have,
though, and the state's registry is not the same as civil unions offered
to gay couples in other states.
In order to register, couples must share a home, not be married or in a
domestic relationship with someone else, and be at least 18.
The state Supreme Court last year upheld Washington's ban on same-sex
marriage, ruling that state lawmakers were justified in passing the 1998
Defense of Marriage Act, which restricts marriage to unions between a
man and woman. The Legislature approved the new domestic partnerships
this spring.
In a provision similar to California law, unmarried, heterosexual senior
couples also are eligible for domestic partnerships if one partner is at
least 62. Lawmakers said that provision was included to help seniors who
are at risk of losing pension rights and Social Security benefits if
they remarry.