When some West Seattle gay marriage advocates heard the news Friday night, June 24, that New York lawmakers led by Governor Andrew Cuomo voted to legalize same-sex marriage, their reaction was, “That’s great for them, but what about us?” Seattle’s 37th Annual Pride weekend followed, where the New York news was the buzz on Broadway at the Capitol Hill Pride Festival.

The Empire State becomes the sixth and largest state where same-sex couples can wed. Others include Iowa, and the New England states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire, plus the District of Columbia. Washingtonian same-sex couples who marry elsewhere may register their marriage as a domestic partnership. The 2009 reforms are called "all-but-marriage".

Last February President Obama and Attorney General Holder announced that DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, is unconstitutional and indefensible. Obama instructed the Justice Department to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, the legal prohibition on federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

"I learned that the Senate had passed it last night when I was at dinner,” said King County Council member and West Seattle resident Joe McDermott, an outspoken advocate of same-sex marriage who lives openly with his domestic male partner, Michael. “I was thrilled to hear that the House (passed) deferred the amendment and the governor and he signed it. Usually you don’t do all that at one time.

“New York is the most populated state (to pass the bill) and this can help impact other states,” he said. “I look forward to Washington State moving toward marriage equality.”

McDermott said that a lot more citizens than just those in the gay and lesbian community are moving toward the mindset of marriage equality.

“Today more and more people know somebody who is gay or lesbian who is out, a family member, friend, co-worker, and don’t see it negatively affecting their quality of marriage.”

Rev. Dr. Donald Schmidt is pastor of the Admiral Congregational United Church of Christ and said the announcement about the New York law was well timed for him. He and his domestic male partner, also named Don, were together in a musical event.

“We were at the Seattle Men’s Chorus which is a predominantly gay chorus and it was really cool,” Rev. Schmidt said of first hearing the news from the artistic director. “The crowd erupted. The director who is also a friend of mine, Dennis Coleman, said, ‘So I hope that next year we’ll be able to celebrate this as a reality of Washington.’

“I think it’s fantastic because it’s such an important human rights issue,” he said. “DOMA is a crock. It’s such a ludicrous thing because it is claiming that it is defending marriage, and if marriage needs a defense from the law we have a social issue we need to deal with. It’s not a legal issue. Canada has had same-sex marriage for about eight years and their divorce rate happens to have gone down, so it is not exactly threatening marriage.

“I think it’s when people open their minds and realize, you don’t have to like gays,” the reverend said regarding the issue of all states legalizing same-sex marriage. “You don’t have to approve of gays. You can be bothered by gay sex. You can have a lot of difficulties with it. That does not mean we have the right to deny people their basic human rights.

“My partner Don and I have been married seven years next month. We got married in Canada where I am from, in my parents’ church. It feels good to honor that commitment in the church. We live together, work together, and we plan to grow old together. We still feel kind of second-class. According to the law we don’t quite count. ‘We’ll let you pretend.’ I shouldn’t have to sit in the back of the bus for who I am.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that the law passed in New York because there are so many people living this life who feel they deserve to be protected, to fight for their right to live as any other human being,” said Heather Hansen, who works with the Virginia Mason Medical Center. She lives in West Seattle with her female domestic partner, Bret Meaker. “I think it’s amazing, and a huge accomplishment. I am really happy about it.”

Zoë Dixon recently lived in the Delridge neighborhood with her partner Tiffany Stonecipher for several years. Dixon, a talented singer, works for PlayNetwork in Redmond that creates original media content for Starbucks and other corporations. Stonecipher is a cook at Quinn's, a Scott Staples restaurant on Capitol Hill.

"I think the victory in New York is incredible," said Dixon. "However, as far as our fight for human equality, we still have a long way to go. If it was up to Western Washington we could potentially pass something like that in Washington State. Other parts of Washington I'm not sure. When I was at Central Washington Univ. in Ellensburg I was president of 'GALA', an activist organization. With a group of others, I gave Ellensburg their first gay pride festival. Ellensburg is known for two things, the university, and their annual rodeo.

"We still have a long way to go," she acknowledged. "All we want are the same rights as everyone else. I just want to be able to share the rest of my life with my domestic partner. The fact that people have the right to tell me 'no' hurts."