Last week over 250 attendees were on hand at Equal Rights Washington’s breakfast event, “Toasting Equality.”
In addition to celebrating Washington state’s first open lesbian state legislator, Laurie Jinkins, the crowd heard from openly gay state Senator Ed Murray – the leading force behind many of Washington state’s LGBT legislative successes – Josh Friedes, Executive Director of Equal Rights Washington, and me about the effort to win marriage equality in Washington state in the next two years.
After the meeting, I sat down with openly gay King County Councilmember Joe McDermott and faith leaders who support marriage equality to discuss their key role in this effort.
While I was impressed with the turnout for a 7:30am meeting, I was moved by learning of the years of dedication by so many in the Seattle/Tacoma area to the ongoing fight for equality. I was humbled by their tenacity and their feeling of duty to do the long, unglamorous work that is needed to bring change.
While beautiful Seattle may be cloudy and rainy, the spirit of its people shines bright. I look forward to returning soon to this Emerald City. It’s a gem indeed.
