Wash. Gov. Gregoire announces support for marriage equality

At a press conference today, Governor Chris Gregoire (D-Wash.) announced that she will propose legislation to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in the state.

“It’s time, it’s the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to do it,” Gregoire said. “I say that as a wife, a mother, a student of the law, and above all as a Washingtonian with a lifelong commitment to equality and freedom. Some say domestic partnerships are the same as marriage. That’s a version of the discriminatory ‘separate but equal’ argument.”

Washington currently offers domestic partnerships, but this legislation would make Washington the seventh state in the nation to allow the freedom to marry. Read Gov. Gregoire’s full statement here.