Most Influential: Gay Rights

The driving forces behind the landmark act, Referendum 71

Ed Murray, Jamie Pedersen & Charlene Strong [ gay rights activists ]
 
Last May, Governor Christine Gregoire signed the “everything but marriage” law, granting domestic same-sex partners in Washington the same state legal rights as married couples. The driving forces behind the landmark act were state Senator Ed Murray (D–43rd District), a longtime proponent of gay and lesbian rights, who first submitted the bill in January, pushing it through to the House; and Representative Jamie Pedersen (D–43rd District), who picked up the torch. Adding spark to the fire was Seattleite Charlene Strong, whose testimony before the House and the Senate put a human face on the issue. Strong dealt with the inequities firsthand in 2006 when she was denied entrance into her dying partner’s hospital room because she wasn’t recognized as Kate Fleming’s next of kin. Fleming, a well-known audiobook narrator, tragically drowned when rainfall flooded the couple’s Madison Park basement. Even in victory, these activists carry on the fight; all are working for the approval of Referendum 71 (on the November ballot), which would affirm the just-passed legislation, and all continue to push for gay marriage. Strong is also coproducing a documentary about her struggle, titled For My Wife, while Pedersen has his hands full with triplets he and his partner, Eric Pedersen, welcomed in July.