Oregon Public Broadcasting

Gay rights advocates expect the Washington legislature to easily pass a bill that would expand domestic partnerships.

The new measure would give same-sex couples all the legal rights and benefits of heterosexual couples.

Washington state law bans same-sex marriage. But Democratic Representative Jamie Pedersen says the proposal is one step toward some day legalizing gay marriage in Washington.

Jamie Pedersen: “We have never been about this to build the perfect domestic partner registry. The purpose of this legislation is to provide a way to talk about how our families are harmed concretely by their exclusion from civil marriage.”

The new bill would expand spousal rights to include laws covering sick leave, adoptions, and workers compensation benefits among other things.

Social conservatives are opposing the bill which will come up in House and Senate Judiciary committees next week.

Washington and Oregon both passed state laws recognizing domestic partnerships in 2007.