House Bill 1515

Recently, our Washington state senators voted on House Bill 1515, which would have made discrimination against gays and lesbians illegal in this state. Unfortunately, the bill failed by 1 vote. We can thank senators Jim Hargrove and Tim Sheldon (both conservative democrats) for joining the republican ranks to defeat the bill.

Hargrove is quoted as saying, "I have nothing against anybody who participates in this behavior...This issue is whether I believe the behavior is right or wrong."

Errrr - wrong Senator Hargrove. Was the bill called "House Bill 1515 - Homosexuality is Okey Dokey by Me"? I don't think so. The issue was not for you to determine whether homosexuality is right or wrong; it was about discriminatory practices aimed at homosexuals who are (among other things) trying to get jobs without being scrutinized for their sexual orientation. I fail to see how that is anything other than a civil rights issue.

While I understand that some people disagree with homosexuality, I don't understand why they think that discrimination against gay and lesbian people is OK. By not supporting such a bill, they are at the very least tacitly agreeing that discriminating against someone for a job, insurance, loans, etc. is OK. And it most definitely is not OK.

More details on the Seattle Times article, Gay-rights bill falls 1 vote short of becoming state law.