Washington

C’mon, all you locals. Washington makes this whole voting thing really easy to do. So how come so many of you haven’t sent in your ballot yet?

With a week to go until Election Day, less than a fourth of the state’s voters have returned their ballots.

Ballots were sent out Oct. 17, and must be postmarked by Tuesday.

Thirty-seven of the state’s 39 counties are voting entirely by mail. King and Pierce Counties still have poll sites, though a majority of voters in those counties already vote by mail.

Grab your ballot, fill in the little bubbles, and send it in. This isn’t a time to set it aside to “take care of it later,” only to find it buried in a stack of bills on Nov. 5th.

Some helpful suggestions when filling it out (however, I’d be fine…almost…with an opposing vote, as long as it meant that you voted):

• President: Barack Obama (A no-brainer.)
• WA Governor: Christine Gregoire (Another no-brainer. Dino Rossi is scary, and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near government.)
• Superintendent of Public Instruction: Randy Dorn (On the advice of Prairie — an educator — and everyone she knows involved in education, Terry Bergeron needs to go.)
• I-1000: Tough call. (I wanted to vote yes on this one, and I personally would want to have this option available should I ever need it. However, I’m not convinced that the wording is written well, and worry about insurance companies pushing physician-assisted suicide over treatment. I ended up voting no, but I wouldn’t hold voting either way against anyone.)
• I-985: No (Tim Eyman’s a dork, and I’ve never been convinced any of his ideas had merit.)
• I-1029: No (Sounds good on the face, but introduces unnecessary red tape, and would throw the existing system of long-term care into disarray.)
• Proposition 1: Yes (Transportation is good.)

Meh. Not a happy thing.

Reports on the decision:

• Washington Courts: Press Release
  

  This morning, the Washington Supreme Court issued a decision in Andersen v. King County, a consolidated case regarding Washington’s Defense of Marriage Act.

  The Court’s lead opinion was authored by Justice Barbara Madsen, holding the Washington Defense of Marriage Act does not violate the Washington State Constitution. This decision overturns trial court decisions in King and Thurston Superior Courts in this case.

• Seattle PI: State’s high court upholds ban on gay marriage
  

  The state Supreme Court today upheld Washington’s law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, rejecting the argument of 19 same-sex couples that they’ve been unfairly denied the right to wed.

  In a splintered decision, Justice Barbara Madsen wrote that the state’s marriage law was enacted to “promote procreation and to encourage stable families.”

  “The legislature was entitled to believe that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers the State’s legitimate interests in procreation and the well-being of children.”

• Seattle Times: State Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban
  

  The decision came as a sobering defeat for gays and their advocates, who’d hoped the court would strike down the so-named Defense of Marriage Act — DOMA — which restricts marriage to one man and one woman.

  Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Barbara Madsen said DOMA is constitutional because in establishing DOMA “the legislation was entitled to believe that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers procreation, essential to the survival of the human race and furthers the well-being of children by encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by children’s biological parents.”

  As such, DOMA does not violate the state Constitution’s privileges and immunities clause, which requires that any benefit granted to one group must be granted equally to all. “Allowing same sex couples to marry does not, in the legislature’s view, further these purposes,” she wrote.

It’s all about the children. Meh. What a crappy argument. Admittedly, I haven’t read the official arguments yet (the court documents are linked to in both newspaper articles), so maybe there’s a bit more to it than that, but from what the papers boil it down to…meh.

So marriage is about procreation and the survival of the human race? What about married couples who either cannot or choose not to have children? Does this mean that according to our state Supreme Court, it’s better to be in an unhappy, unfulfilling, loveless relationship that’s pumping out another child every ten months than it is to be in a happy, committed, healthy, loving relationship that happens to be childless?

And if we’re “encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by children’s biological parents,” then shouldn’t we be outlawing adoption? Sorry, you had the kid, it’s better for the kid if you raise it, even if you’re a teenager, unable to support yourself, on drugs, or any number of other reasons why you might not want to raise the child you just bore. Don’t even get us started on gay couples adopting children!

Sorry gays. We don’t care if you love each other. You don’t have children, and marriage is all about the children, so you can’t get married.

Meh. What a stupid, weak, cowardly cop-out. I expected better.