http://www.kirotv.com/...
The Washington legislature will be voting soon on an anti-sexual orientation bill this month. A hearing today pitted opponents against supporters. Please check yes at the poll link.
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Dozens of people made emotional arguments during a public hearing Tuesday on a gay civil rights bill. Some insisted the measure was a long-overdue change to the state's anti-discrimination laws, others contended it only creates a special status for one group of people.
Some opponents argued that the measure would put an undue burden on business; others argued it would create confusion for children; one woman simply read from the Bible until the committee chairwoman cut her off.
Supporters -- including a Catholic woman whose son is gay -- appealed to the House State Government Operations & Accountability Committee that all people deserve protection from discrimination in housing and jobs.
The measure would add "sexual orientation" to a state law that already bans discrimination in housing, employment and insurance based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, marital status and other factors.
The bill has been introduced -- and rejected -- annually for nearly 30 years in the Legislature.