Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed into law a bill that grants same-sex partners most the same rights as married spouses.
The bill calls for more legal protections to domestic partners, such as public pension benefits for partners and their children.
Opponents of the bill have made their concerns and opinions known, and have filed a statewide referendum to overturn the law. If they can gather more than 120,000 signatures by late July, the decision to overturn the law will be left up to voters in November.
Proponents of the law, however, say that the law is a matter of fairness, and is a good next step towards equality.
In 2007, Washington lawmakers passed similar legislation, granting hospital visitation rights, funeral decisions, and some inheritance rights to registered same-sex couples.
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