Big day in long fight over same-sex marriage

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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Big day in long fight over same-sex marriage
Court ruling could open state's doors to gay weddings

By TRACY JOHNSON
P-I REPORTER

By midmorning today, same-sex couples could be planning their weddings as Washington becomes the second state to legalize gay marriage.

UPDATE

State's highest court upholds gay marriage ban

Or they could be planning the next step in their years-long fight, as religious leaders and other same-sex marriage opponents celebrate affirmation that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

Or all eyes could fall on the Legislature, which might be left to decide what to do.

At 8 a.m., the state Supreme Court will announce its decision on the momentous social question of who can marry, a ruling left hanging for more than a year.

"My heart is pounding," said Brenda Bauer of Seattle, who's been with her partner, Celia Bauer, for 18 years. "I'm thrilled by the prospect that our relationship might be recognized."

She said their 11-year-old daughter has never understood why they can't be treated like any other family.

The Rev. Joseph Fuiten of Cedar Park Assembly in Bothell, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and a state law banning discrimination against gays, said he was also "on pins and needles."

"There's a lot at stake, obviously," Fuiten said. "If we have a judiciary that isn't absolutely radicalized, we have a chance to win it."

In Washington, a ruling that lets gay couples marry could be much more significant than even the May 2004 court decision that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage.

Unlike Massachusetts, Washington has no laws that would keep same-sex couples around the country from coming here to tie the knot.

"It does pave the way for nationalizing the issue," said attorney Steve O'Ban, who represents religious leaders and two state lawmakers against same-sex marriage.

Though the court typically hands down its decisions on Thursdays, Chief Justice Gerry Alexander said Tuesday that the ruling would be issued today simply because it was ready to go.

"We've been aware from the start that there has been intense public interest in this issue," Alexander said.

As of late Tuesday, news conferences were planned across the state, and some lawmakers and activists were already devising responses to whatever the court decides.

Sen. Dan Swecker, R- Rochester, said any ruling other than upholding the existing definition of marriage would likely trigger a call from Republicans for a special legislative session.

Fuiten said he and others would respond to a decision legalizing gay marriage by launching efforts "to amend the constitution to put it out of the reach of the courts."

Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, led the fight to pass gay rights legislation this year, and he's vowed to make marriage equality his new priority.

"If the court says that it's up to the Legislature, I'll introduce a marriage bill," Murray said. "If the court says it's legal, we will fight a constitutional amendment."

Gov. Christine Gregoire would not comment on what she would or would not do until the court releases its decision, a spokesman said.

Justices heard the case on March 8, 2005, when attorneys made constitutional arguments inside the Temple of Justice as thousands of people rallied outside.

Attorneys for the state and King County -- as well as a group of state lawmakers and religious leaders opposing same-sex marriage -- argued that the question of who can marry should be left to the Legislature.

They said lawmakers had a rational reason for limiting marriage to people of the opposite sex: Only those couples are biologically capable of having children, and keeping them together is generally best for those children.

But attorneys for the same-sex couples -- whose case was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Northwest Women's Law Center and Lambda Legal -- say the law discriminates against loving couples.

They argued that keeping same-sex couples from marrying makes it more difficult for them to raise their children, though it still accomplishes nothing for the kids who are being raised by a mother and a father.

The case was an appeal from two lawsuits, one in King County and one in Thurston County, filed by 19 same-sex couples who sued for the right to wed.

Justices must decide the fate of state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act. The law, passed by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers over Gov. Gary Locke's veto, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Superior Court judges in both counties struck down the law banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional in 2004.

More than 40 states have a law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, and about 20 have written that definition into their constitution.

Earlier this month, New York's highest court ruled that preventing gay couples from marrying did not violate the state constitution -- a blow to same-sex couples who had high hopes that the case would go their way.

In Washington, Jeff Kemp, a former Seattle Seahawks player who's active in groups that promote families with one mother and one father, said society has ignored the importance of marriage for far too long.

Kemp said he "would be concerned if the decision were to turn over the male-female union meaning of marriage."

But Johanna Bender, who has been with her partner, Sherri Kokx, for almost 10 years, said she is hopeful that the court will see "the drastic importance of treating our family with equality and dignity under the law."

"On a personal level, it's been difficult," Bender said. "She's the person I want to marry -- and I can't."

TWO SIDES

A look at some of the people on both sides of the case challenging Washington's gay marriage ban:

OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE:

Joseph Fuiten

For more than a decade, Fuiten, a pastor at Bothell's Cedar Park Assembly of God, has been working to get religion into politics. In the national debate surrounding same-sex marriage, he found an ideal vehicle.

"All of life should be informed by religious conscience -- that includes politics," he said. "If your politics aren't informed by religion, they're informed by something else and that's probably scarier."

As president of Washington Evangelicals for Responsible Government, which last year changed its name to Faith and Freedom Network, Fuiten was integral to the 1998 lobbying effort that resulted in a state law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

He believes the issue ultimately will be decided by legislators and is already traveling the state to speak with every one.

Steve O'Ban

There are lawyers and then there are lawyer-advocates. O'Ban would fall into the latter camp.

An attorney at Ellis Li & McKinstry in Seattle, O'Ban's firm helped found Washington Evangelicals for Responsible Government in 1993 and the lawyer himself argued before state Supreme Court last year in support of Washington's heterosexuals-only marriage law.

Same-sex couples claim they are merely fighting for the same rights and protections that other married couples receive. But in O'Ban's mind, that is a red herring. "This case is really about state recognition of same-sex relationships being the equivalent of heterosexual relationships," he said. "My own personal views certainly line up with my clients.' "

Ken Hutcherson

In 2004, as gay couples in New York and California grabbed fleeting opportunities to marry, Hutcherson stood by, watching with a grimace. But when commissioners in Portland jumped on the bandwagon, he could hold back no longer.

The Antioch Bible Church pastor -- a former pro football player with a combative spirit -- has since gained national notice for rallying supporters against gay marriage.

His Mayday for Marriage gatherings in Seattle and Washington, D.C., drew a combined 120,000 people. Later, Hutcherson testified in Olympia against including sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws, and threatened to boycott Microsoft and other corporations for endorsing such statutes.

"Anyone can do what they want within their four walls," he said. The problem, he added, comes "when you make your policy, my policy."

-- Claudia Rowe

SUPPORTERS OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE:

Johanna Bender and Sherri Kokx

Seattle attorney Bender and eighth-grade science teacher Kokx have each given birth to one son whom the other partner has adopted. They've tried to protect their legal rights through wills and other documents, but they say they still endure anxiety and run into difficulties that come from not being legally recognized as a family.

They recall once, when their newborn was having trouble breathing, becoming angry and frightened as paramedics wasted time trying to figure out how to handle the paperwork for a child with two moms, delaying their trip to the hospital.

They want to be married but haven't had any kind of commitment ceremony because Bender says it feels like it would be "pretend."

Michael and David Serkin-Poole

The couple, who adopted three developmentally disabled children, have been together for about 25 years and say they dream of having their kids witness "a proper, legal and public wedding ceremony."

The Bellevue men, in their early 50s, once considered getting married in Canada and even bought gold wedding bands. They decided to wait until it's legal here. The bands remain in their boxes, tucked away in a drawer.

They say they've developed a strong definition of family: people who love each other unconditionally, no matter what.

Michelle Esguerra and Boo Torres De Esguerra

The Shoreline women know they should take legal steps to protect their rights in case of tragedy but say they don't exactly know what they need to do -- and can't afford to pay a lawyer to do it.

The women, in their 20s, worry about questions that legally married couples already have answered:

Will one be able to make medical decisions if the other ends up in the hospital? If one dies, will the other be able to keep their home? How can they make sure they both have health insurance, especially in transitional periods when only one has a job?

-- Tracy Johnson

P-I reporter Chris McGann contributed to this report. P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com.

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