Domestic Partnership Press

July 2007

The media response to the new domestic partnership law has been overwhelmingly positive! Publications around the state and country have run stories focusing on the positive aspects of the new law, and pointing out that we still have a long way to go to full marriage equality.

See some editorials and opinion pieces: here at the Seattle PI, here at the Seattle Times, here at the Bellingham Herald, and here at the Columbian

Also take a look at some fantastic letters to the editor at these links: Seattle Times, Seattle PI, News Tribune, News Tribune, and  The Olympian

Here's a sample of the newspaper stories we've seen:

Seattle Post Intelligencer

Same-sex couples register vows in Olympia

by Chris McGann

7/23/07

Same-sex couples came here Monday with mixed feelings, lining up to register as domestic partners with the Secretary of State's Office.
They said the new set of legal rights that went into effect Monday morning -- including hospital visitation, property inheritance and funeral planning -- were steps in the right direction but still a far cry from full marriage equality. read the full story

The Olympian

Couples celebrate registry, but dream of much more

by Venice Buhain

7/24/07

Thomas Duguay and Jon Curtis of DuPont now have three anniversaries to commemorate, after being one of dozens of couples who filed as domestic partners in the state of Washington on Monday.

“We had a ceremony in 1995 in Texas, another in 2003 in Toronto,” Curtis said, as he and Duguay drove away in their cream-colored convertible PT Cruiser from the Dolliver Building. read the full story

Bellingham Herald

Gay issues lose their sting; marriage next?

by David Ammons, AP

7/21/07

After three decades of controversy and contention, Washington has quietly adopted back-to-back gay rights laws with little pushback from critics and no blowback from the voters. read the full story

Kitsap Sun

Couples Register Mixed Emotions
by Curt Woodward, AP

7/23/07

Barbara Steele shuffles her paperwork after she and Elizabeth Reis registered as domestic partners. Couples registered as domestic partners will get enhanced rights, including hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations and inheritance rights when there is no will.

But many in the crowd had another message: the fight won't be over until they hear wedding bells. read the full story

News Tribune

Domestic partnership has pitfalls

Rachel La Corte, AP

7/22/07

Tom Richardson and Salvador Valenzuela first marked their commitment to each other with a city domestic partnership in Seattle. When Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage, they married and hyphenated their last names. read the full story

Seattle Times

A festive scene in Olympia today as domestic partners register

By Andrew Garber

7/23/07

Richard Sturgill and James Malatak are Washington's first card-carrying domestic partners — the result of arriving at the Secretary of State's office in the middle of the night Monday.
"It's an important day for all gays in Washington state," said Sturgill, 53, who has been partners with Malatak, 65, for 30 years. "This is a significant first step in the evolution for getting our rights." read the full story

Bellingham Herald

Legal rights for gay couples coming Monday

by Mary Lane Gallagher

7/21/07

Washington state’s new domestic partnership law, which takes effect Monday, is a bittersweet landmark for one Bellingham couple.

The new law grants samesex couples who register their partnership with the Washington secretary of state several rights such as hospital visitation and the right to inherit property in the absence of a will. But it’s a far cry from the rights afforded to married couples, said Stephanie Kountouros. read the full story

Spokesman Review

Domestic partners begin registering

by Richard Roesler

7/24/07

In what for many was the first official acknowledgement of years-long commitments, gay and lesbian couples began lining up before dawn Monday to add their names to a new statewide registry of domestic partners.
Many brought cameras or flowers. Some brought veils or rings or the children they'd raised together. read the full story

Bellingham Herald

Couples line up early to register as domestic partners

by Venice Buhain

7/23/07

Dozens of gay and lesbian couples lined up in front of the Dolliver Building on Capitol Way this morning to register as domestic partners.
Some lined up as early as 4 a.m. to make sure that they could get into the building, where five windows were open for people to register. By 3 p.m., 130 couples had registered. read the full story

Spokesman Review

Domestic partners law takes effect Monday

by Richard Roesler

7/22/07

In a first for Washington, state officials will on Monday morning start accepting registrations for domestic partnerships. Some couples are mailing the forms in, but many are hoping for a sense of ceremony by registering in person at the sole office accepting the forms: a branch of the secretary of state's office in Olympia. read the full story