In his Feb. 17 letter, “Legislators wasting valuable time,” Ray Mongrain suggests that poor Washingtonians will die because the Legislature prioritized gay marriage over other legislation. I would submit that the Washington state Legislature can multitask.
By Mongrain’s logic, every gay or lesbian couple who marries under this law will be at the expense of the life of a poor, unemployed Washingtonian. But the Legislature has also spent time deciding whether or not adoptees should have access to birth records, on fees for electric cars and on regulating child pornography viewed by criminal defendants. Would you say these debates were at the expense of the lives of poor, unemployed Washingtonians as well?
I would also point out that those states that have passed gay marriage have seen significant boosts to their economies. So, if the Washington state Legislature has spent any time trying to legalize gay marriage it would follow that poor, unemployed Washingtonians would actually benefit from this legislation. Wouldn’t you agree?
Dave Kosloski
Vancouver
