[Vision2020] Make Equality Equal

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (April 12, 2007) Spokesman Review -

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Our view: Make equality equal
Our View: Same-sex partner bill a start, but more needed

April 12, 2007

There was a time in this country when schools had to deal with that misfit,
that aberrant child, that freak who insisted on trying to write with his
left hand. Misguided educators did all they could to wipe out such sinister
(the Middle English word for "left") behavior by forcing left-handed
students to be right-handed like everyone else.

Those narrow-minded days are pretty much over. But narrow-mindedness lives
on.

So let's give the Washington Legislature credit for lowering the barriers
that keep equal opportunity beyond the reach of some citizens just because
they aren't like everyone else. This week, lawmakers sent Gov. Chris
Gregoire a bill extending same-sex couples many of the rights that married
couples receive automatically.
 
This is a fitting add-on to last year's passage - after two decades of
trying - of legislation that added sexual orientation to the list of
considerations that can't be used for discrimination in housing, hiring and
financial affairs. 

As it happens, the Oregon Legislature is making headway on both of those
human rights fronts, too. Social attitudes are showing welcome signs of
maturation that transcend state lines.

Still, closed-minded opposition persists, as demonstrated by Rick Forcier,
the director of the Christian Coalition of Washington, when he conceded
ruefully that the domestic partnership bill would pass. He said he and his
associates would be praying for "earthquakes, famines or lightning strikes"
if those things would have any chance of heading the bill off.

And what causes Forcier such dread that he must appeal for divine
intervention? Perhaps it's the opportunity for committed same-sex couples to
avoid the anxieties that arise when a loved one is hospitalized or injured
and someone needs to make critical care decisions. Or the simple ability to
buy a house jointly, or to count on inheritance laws to protect ownership
rights over mutually acquired possessions.

Married couples take all that for granted. Now, pending Gregoire's expected
signature, same-sex couples will enjoy similar rights.

Fortunately, lawmakers in Washington, Oregon and elsewhere are coming to
realize that same-sex couples shouldn't have to hire a lawyer to draw up a
thick sheaf of legal documents just to secure the same rights that
heterosexual couples obtain when they marry. 

The simplest way to correct the inequity would be to allow gays and lesbians
to enter a true marital relationship that honors their emotional as well as
economic commitment to each other. 

That should be the next step.

And if the earthquakes, famines and lightning fail to materialize, maybe
Forcier will conclude that there's more support for equal rights than he
thought.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in
Albany, Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the
Civil Rights Movement.  Many of these courageous men and women were fighting
for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and
I salute their contributions."

- Coretta Scott King (March 30, 1998)