On February 8, 2012, the Washington Legislature passed SB 6239
to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington State. Governor
Christine Gregoire has announced she will sign the bill on February
13. Meanwhile, opponents have promised to gather enough signatures
to force a referendum on the law.
Effective Date
The bill, commonly called the Marriage Equality Act, is set to
become effective on June 7, 2012. Its effectiveness will be
suspended, however, if opponents muster the 120,577 signatures
necessary to force a referendum. Those signatures are due by June
6, 2012. If a referendum is triggered, the Act will be placed on
the November ballot, and will become law only if approved by the
voters. In 2009, opponents of Washington's "Everything but
Marriage" law were successful in forcing a referendum, which
the voters passed by a margin of 53% to 47%.
