Last month while I was camping with Occupy Olympia I had a chance encounter with my state senator Mary Margaret Haugen. I was coming out of the State Senate office building as Mary Margaret was approaching the steps up to the entrance. I said "Hii Senator" and told her I was down from Whidbey Island in her district. Even though it was very cold she stopped and we talked for about ten minutes, mostly about the enormous budget shortfalls the state is facing, and the need to find more revenue to avoid damaging cuts to education and other critical state services.
Today when the local TV News came on their top story was that the votes were there to pass Washington's Gay Marriage Bill. Then I learned that Mary Margaret provided the critical vote to enact Washington's bill legalizing gay marriage.
I transcribed a portion of the TV news report that's below the fold.
Robert Mak: Down stairs in the public hearing going on right now there are a lot of people who believe this will be an erosion of marriage
Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen: It doesn't threaten my marriage, I don't think it threatens anybody's marriage, if anything it will strengthen families.
Washington Legislature has the votes to legalize gay marriage as Sen. Haugen declares support
The announcement by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, that she would cast the 25th and deciding vote in favor of the issue came as hundreds of people filled the Capitol to advocate for and against gay marriage.
In a written statement issued at the end of a Senate committee hearing on the bill, Haugen said she took her time making up her mind to “to reconcile my religious beliefs with my beliefs as an American, as a legislator, and as a wife and mother who cannot deny to others the joys and benefits I enjoy.”
“This is the right vote and it is the vote I will cast when this measure comes to the floor,” she said.
The state House is widely expected to have enough support to pass gay marriage, and Gov. Chris Gregoire publicly endorsed the proposal earlier this month.
Haugen announces support for gay marriage bill
Haugen spoke with KING 5’s Robert Mak after she made her decision.
“I’ve had hundreds of very heartfelt, sincere letters,” she said. “I’ve had letters that are threatening and other letters that aren’t so pleasant, but I’m Christian, and I don’t believe it’s my right to judge other people, and I really try to live by the Golden Rule, and I believe I’m following my faith at this point. I really think it’s the right thing to do."
Sen. Ed Murray, a sponsor of the bill, issued a statement praising Haugen's decision.
"Her decision means families across our state may step out of a special second class and into equality this year," she said.
Do watch the video.
From Senator Haugen's statement:
Haugen announces stance on marriage equality
“To some degree, this is generational. Years ago I took exception to my parents’ beliefs on certain social issues, and today my children take exception to some of mine. Times change, even if it makes us uncomfortable. I think we should all be uncomfortable sometime. None of us knows everything, and it’s important to have our beliefs questioned. Only one being in this world is omniscient, and it’s not me.
“I have very strong Christian beliefs, and personally I have always said when I accepted the Lord, I became more tolerant of others. I stopped judging people and try to live by the Golden Rule. This is part of my decision. I do not believe it is my role to judge others, regardless of my personal beliefs. It’s not always easy to do that. For me personally, I have always believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. That is what I believe, to this day.
“But this issue isn’t about just what I believe. It’s about respecting others, including people who may believe differently than I. It’s about whether everyone has the same opportunities for love and companionship and family and security that I have enjoyed.
“For as long as I have been alive, living in my country has been about having the freedom to live according to our own personal and religious beliefs, and having people respect that freedom.
“Not everyone will agree with my position. I understand and respect that. I also trust that people will remember that we need to respect each other’s beliefs. All of us enjoy the benefits of being Americans, but none of us holds a monopoly on what it means to be an American. Ours is truly a big tent, and while the tent may grow and shrink according to the political winds of the day, it should never shrink when it comes to our rights as individuals.
“Do I respect people who feel differently? Do I not feel they should have the right to do as they want? My beliefs dictate who I am and how I live, but I don’t see where my believing marriage is between a man and a woman gives me the right to decide that for everyone else.
I am so very proud to have Mary Margaret Haugen for my State Senator today, I just had to share it with everyone.