Washington House Passes Gay Civil Rights Bill
    By Rachel La Corte
    The Associated Press

    Friday 20 January 2006

    Olympia, Wash. - The state House on Friday passed a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, sending the measure to the Senate, where it failed last year by a single vote.

    The measure would add sexual orientation to a state law that bans discrimination in housing, employment and insurance. Businesses with fewer than eight employees would be exempt.

    Lawmakers voted 60-37 to approve the bill. Sixteen states have similar laws.

    "This legislation is about more than just changing the law, it is about sending a message," said Rep. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who has sponsored the measure for 11 years. "A message that the United States and Washington state is a place of tolerance."

    The measure was first introduced in 1976. The state's first openly gay lawmaker, Democrat Cal Anderson of Seattle, sponsored it for eight years before he died of AIDS in 1995.

    Gov. Chris Gregoire, also a Democrat, has said she will sign the bill if it reaches her desk.

    The proposal failed in the Senate last year by one vote, but Republican Sen. Bill Finkbeiner announced earlier this month that he would switch his vote to yes, all but assuring its passage.

    Republican Rep. Don Cox said some lawmakers were concerned the measure could result in lawsuits against people who do not realize the person they failed to hire, or fired, was gay.

    "This bill doesn't lead to love tolerance and understanding," he said, saying the bill "overreaches" in several ways.