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January 2008Bar News welcomes letters from readers. We do not run letters that have been printed in, or are pending before, other legal publications with overlapping readership. Letters must be 250 words in length or less, and e-mailed to letterstotheeditor@wsba.org or mailed to: WSBA, Attn. Letters to the Editor, 1325 Fourth Ave., Ste. 600, Seattle, WA 98101-2539. Bar News reserves the right to edit letters. Bar News does not print anonymous letters, or more than one submission per month from the same contributor. Not our morals I write in response to “Legislating Morals” by Jeanette Burrage in December Bar News (Letters to the Editor). Any argument can be won when the proponent defines the terms. Ms. Burrage is entitled to feel the issue of sexual orientation is one of morality but could she refrain from foisting her baseless assumption on the rest of us? Morals are fluid — subject to change and refinement. In the middle ages, the Catholic church felt it moral to sanction torture or death upon those the church believed had committed heresy. Nowadays, most of society does not automatically consider others immoral for disagreeing with the Catholic church. (Please forgive me if this is not the perfect analogy — I bear no animosity to present-day Catholics.) At one time in the United States, slavery and discrimination of women was considered moral, not to mention, legal. Many reputable professional organizations including The American Medical Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and The American Psychological Association, consider sexual orientation to be a legitimate part of who one is — not a moral choice. Viewed in this light, since mainstream scientific associations hold that sexual orientation is not morality based, then it is entirely appropriate for the WSBA to hold a position (hopefully against) discrimination against others predicated upon sexual orientation. An orientation, which like other immutable characteristics, is a result of birth, not a character flaw. In the “Letters” section of the December Bar News, Jeanette Burrage of Des Moines writes, “When the legislature recently created domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, they knew the majority of the people of this state would not agree. That is why they wrote the bill so that a referendum by the people was not allowed.” Ms. Burrage is mistaken. Chapter 156, Laws of 2007 (Substitute Senate Bill 5336) does not contain a declaration of emergency and was therefore subject to referendum under Article II, sec. 1(b) of the state Constitution. The act took effect on July 22, 2007, which date followed by 90 days the April 22, 2007, adjournment of the Legislature. It is this 90-day period that our state Constitution (Art. II, sec. 41) provides for the filing of referendum petitions. In the case of Substitute Senate Bill 5336, no such petition was filed.
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