by Tom Flint
Seattle Gay News Friday  March 12,1993
Posted with permission


Gay/Lesbian civil rights bill moving forward in Olympia

The Gay/Lesbian civil rights bill is moving steadily forward in 
the  legislature,but political pundits warn that "its's nor over 
until it's over."  The community should expect some creative 
attempts to derail the bill before the end of the legislature.

Currently Republicans are attempting to add an amendment 
to the bill which would automatically put it up for a 
referendum vote in the November elections.  Gay/Lesbian 
activist are strongly opposed to the referendum amendment.

By no means do we want an automatic referendum on this 
bill," said Don Moreland, political director of the Privacy 
Fund.  "Most likely we will eventually have to defend the civil 
rights bill during a referendum. But let the right wing 
Citizen's Alliance follow the political process and collect their 
signatures. We don't want the legislature dong their work for 
them."

The Gay/Lesbian civil rights bill will be voted on in the those 
within the next few days an is expected to pass without 
difficulty.  It will then go to the senate, which historically has 
been the main obstacle to passage of the bill.

Wayne Ehlers, the Privacy Fund lobbyist in Olympia, said he 
has ben busy lining up supporters of the bill in the Senate.  
Ehlers has met with Senate Majority Leader Mark Gepard. 
Several other major constituency lobbies ar lobbying in 
support of the bill , including the Washington Education 
Association , the Nurse Association, business lobbies, and 
many others.

Several pundits believe there are enough votes in the 
Senate to pass the bill. But Moreland warned against being 
overly confident. "The votes may be there but you can't 
count them until they're cast.   We've been surprised before 
and supporters of the bill should bot consider this a done 
deal."

Moreland said chances for the civil rights bill are very good 
right now, "but [it] is going to pass only if we as a community 
do our work.  Many of the legislators are very skittish about 
this vote and they have to hear form us and know that they 
will have our support, because they are hearing from the 
opposition." 
Moreland said it is especially important for Senators from 
rural areas to hear from voters in their districts who support 
the bill.

Governor Lowry and his staff are playing an instrumental 
role in aggressively lining up support for the bill in the 
Senate, "and that may make the difference," said Moreland.