WA State Comprehensive DP Law Now In Effect!

The Approval of Referendum 71 was made official Thursday December 3rd. From the official blog of the Washington State Secretary of State:

Referendum 71, placed on the ballot by foes of same-sex marriage, was approved by a margin of more than 110,000 votes, or more than 6 percentage points. National media describe it as the country’s first voter-approved domestic partnership or “everything-but-marriage” law.

The new law had been on hold pending the public vote, and will now go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, 30 days after the Nov. 3 General Election. The law is Senate Bill 5688 and applies to state-registered domestic partners, both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples where at least one partner is 62 or older.

Congratulations, Washington! Now California (2005), Oregon (2008), Nevada (2009), and Washington (2009), as well as Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and New Hampshire have eliminated as many disparities between how the state treats opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples under state law. On the west coast we tend to call these laws "comprehensive domestic partnership" statutes. On the east coast they call them civil unions. Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont have now passed marriage equality laws (NH's goes into effect January 1) and New Jersey may join them very soon.