Hopeful News for Washington State Gay Rights

Friday saw a very good vote in the Washington House of Representatives for a gay rights bill that has been attempted for decades--recently, positive votes in the House have been stymied by the Senate. But it looks like the bill might finally make it to the Governor's desk this year. From the Seattle P-I:

The state House passed a much-anticipated gay rights bill Friday by a bipartisan 60-37 vote and kept the legislation on track for expected passage in the Senate.
[...]
The House has passed various incarnations of House Bill 2661 many times in years past. But the measure has languished for more than three decades because of a blockade in the Senate.
[...]
Supporters of the measure called last year a breakthrough when the Senate brought it to a vote for the first time. But a unified minority Republican caucus killed the bill with the help of two Democrats.

This year, the gay rights opponents' one-vote margin appears to have reversed. Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, announced this month that he would break ranks and support the legislation.

With Friday's House vote, the bill proceeds to the upper chamber, where Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, has said she will act on it quickly.

Democrats rejected several Republican amendments that addressed DeBolt's concerns but agreed to one GOP request: to make it clear that the legislation should not be construed as an endorsement of gay marriage.

Today also marks a rally on "Equality Day" (I don't think this is a nationally recognized holiday) down in Olympia (the state's capital) by the Religious Coalition for Equality. If you're down that way and can make it, the rally begins at 11:45am today.