Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 14:05:17 GMT Subject: LMA (Washington): HB1130 IS DEAD! -- A message from the LMA Director Reply-To: jwilk@eskimo.com A message from Janice Van Cleve, Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington Statewide Director === Dear Friends, Today we can celebrate. House Bill 1130 died a quiet death late last night (Sunday, April 27) in the House Rules Committee. We have blocked the ban on same-sex marriages in Washington State for the second year in a row. This is a fabulous victory and one that was very hard fought. Washington State joins Wyoming, Iowa, Maryland, Rhode Island, and West Virginia all of which have defeated the religious political extremist agenda against same sex marriage. You can all be very proud of your work! All of your letters and calls to the legislature paid off. Your lobbying paid off. Your memberships in LMA, your buttons and bumper stickers, your testimony to your friends, your coming out and spreading the word all paid off. You have personally made a difference in the life of the State of Washington and in the liberation of our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. Most of all, you have supported and affirmed our female couples and male couples who are struggling to raise their families, to build their lives together, and to get their fair share of the American Dream. The Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington is proud to have helped win this victory! We want to acknowledge with deepest gratitude the work of Hands Off Washington and their lobbyists who gave unstintingly of their talents, resources, and clout to fight HB1130. We want to thank Representative Ed Murray, the Democratic leadership, and our allies in business and labor all across the state who have made this victory possible. This is not only a victory for LMA or for our community. It is not only a victory for justice and truth. This is also a victory for the moderates in the Republican Party who stood up to the threats and pressures of their leaders and the religious political extremists and voted with us. They are liberating the Republican Party from the stranglehold of the Christian Coalition. So we acknowledge with deep appreciation the 8 Republican representatives and at least 3 Republican senators who voted for us. HB1130 was defeated by bi-partisan cooperation. Celebrate! Then get back to work. We have a lot of Washington State to educate about marriage and we have to pass Initiative 677 - protection against discrimination in the workplace. You can all be proud of this day! Janice Van Cleve State Director, Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington --- John Wilkinson, Media Relations Director The Legal Marriage Alliance of Washington 1122 E. Pike St., Suite 1190, Seattle, WA 98122-3934 (206) 689-6280 e-mail: jwilk@eskimo.com Web site: www.buddybuddy.com/lma.html