A sad day for faith and freedom

SB 5688 was approved by the state Senate last night. The bill will allow registered domestic partners to enjoy virtually all of the legal rights and benefits afforded to married couples within Washington state. There remain, of course, innumerable federal rights that these partners remain ineligible for. The bill now moves to the state House where it is expected to pass as well. (Story: "Washington senate approves rights for same sex couples," Spokesman-Review).

The Faith and Freedom Foundation (who supported Kevin Parker in the fall), lobbied hard against this bill along with some other "family values" organizations in the state. They specifically target senators in conservative districts or those with upcoming elections, encouraging their followers to pester them. Sen. Chris Marr of the 6th LD was listed as a target of their effort. I am pleased to note, however, that their efforts failed and Sen. Marr (along with Sen. Lisa Brown) voted yes on the bill.

I'm sad to report, however, that this development has really, really hurt the feelings of Gary Randall, president of the Faith and Freedom Foundation. Quoth Mr. Randall on Faith and Freedom's blog:

This is a sad day in Washington State. Standing against economic concerns, religious concerns, tradition and marriage itself, the Washington State Senate passed SB5688 at 9:51PM tonight, thus setting the stage for homosexual marriage in Washington State.

I cannot tell you how profoundly saddened I was, personally, as I watched the proceedings tonight.

My heart is going out to Mr. Randall this morning, who I imagine spent the night weeping silently into his pillow and praying to his imaginary god, hoping to save our state from the smiting that we've most definitely got coming.

I mean, how tragic, two adults in a loving and committed relationship and now the government wants to tell us we have to give them "rights"? You know what's coming next don't you? Homosexual marriage, followed by people marrying their dogs, followed by teaching kindergartners about gay sex, followed by the aforementioned smiting. It's all downhill from here folks. It was nice knowing you.

But seriously, this is a great step forward for real freedom in this state and my hope is that this is yet another step toward true marriage equality in this state and in this nation.