On April 21, 2007 Governor Gregoire signed a bill (SSB 5336) into law that allows same-sex and elderly unmarried couples to register as domestic partners. Registration for eligible couples will occur later this summer allowing them to receive some of the legal rights and benefits that come with marriage.

Days before the bill was signed, Archbishop Alex Brunett, as Chair of the Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC), which represents the Catholic Bishops of Washington State, sent a letter to Governor Gregoire requesting that she veto SSB 5336.  Click here to read an excerpt of the Archbishop’s letter.

During the legislative session WSCC would have supported SSB 5336 if an amendment had been added expanding the benefits listed in the bill to include adult relatives, and removing references to unmarried heterosexual couples. The bill passed without the amendment, representing a dangerous major shift in social policy. The new law undermines the state’s support for marriage as a union between one man and one woman by allowing older, unmarried heterosexual couples to become domestic partners.

WSCC has repeatedly affirmed and supported in testimony (January 2007) that if the state creates a legal pathway to specific benefits for unmarried persons, such as making health-care and end-of-life decisions, it must include the adult relatives who often are the primary caregivers for members of their immediate families. These relatives were specifically excluded in the bill. With the new domestic partners legislation, many of our families, including immigrant families living in multigenerational households, will continue to be unfairly prevented from benefiting from the new legal provisions.