Okay, so we’re not performing the ceremonies yet, but it’s a start. Mayor Greg Nickles issued an executive order today declaring that the City of Seattle will recognize gay marriages.
“Seattle has often been in the forefront of protecting all its citizens regardless of sexual orientation,” Nickels said at a news conference announcing the order. He also proposed an ordinance to extend protections for gay married couples throughout the city.
At the same time, six couples prepared to file suit to force the state to reconsider its discriminatory “Defense of Marriage Act” and allow them to marry.
The six couples here applied for and were denied marriage licenses Monday morning in King County, which includes Seattle. Ron Sims, who is the King County executive, a supporter of gay marriage and a candidate for governor, participated in a staged event encouraging the couples to sue him and other county officials. They did so, filing a challenge to Washington’s 1998 Defense of Marriage Act.
“I have always said I will follow the rule of law,” Mr. Sims said. “I will not issue licenses, but I thought it was appropriate to have a challenge through the court system.”
Lisa Stone, executive director of the Northwest Women’s Law Center, one of the legal groups representing the six couples in the suit, said she thought it was more effective to mount a legal challenge to the state law, rather than encourage city, county or state officials to issue marriage licenses in defiance of the law, only to have them legally challenged later.
iTunes: “Ocean Size” by Jane’s Addiction from the album Nothing’s Shocking (1988, 4:19).