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via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Love made history in Seattle on Thursday.

In the predawn darkness 300 couples got licenses that will allow them to marry their same-sex partner.

The event began at 12:01 a.m. as men and women stood in line to take advantage of the marriage law that the Legislature passed early this year and voters approved in November.

They formed an eager, festive crowd, with couples young and old braving a night-time chill and wee-hours wait for the chance to make history at the normally dull King County Administration building. Supporters cheered for them with roses, coffee, hand-warmers and serenades of "Going to the Chapel."

The licensing marathon was expected to last more than 18 hours. By 6 a.m., more than 300 licenses had been issued.
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Nationally known sex-advice columnist Dan Savage and his partner were also among the first couples to pick up a marriage license.

"It's really a remarkable journey we've been on and such a remarkable sea change," he said. "And not just for gay people, but straight people have changed, too. It's gotten better for us because straight people have gotten better about us."

King County issued 1,889 marriage licenses to heterosexual couples during July. It expects to equal that number in the first three days of licensing.

"The marriages will be the real fun," said George Bakan, editor-in-chief of Seattle Gay News. On the other side of James Street, City Hall will play host to 142 marriage ceremonies on Sunday, the first day that same-sex couples can get hitched.

Dan Savage is planning something special on Sunday at City Hall.

On Sunday, Dan Savage, gay columnist and founder of the It Gets Better Project, plans to host a mass same-sex wedding inside Seattle City Hall, reports Towleroad. Savage teamed up with set designer Jen Zeyl to create beautiful, intimate settings more than 140 couples wanting to get married at City Hall, and will be orchestrating the mass weddings free of charge.

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MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell reminded viewers why, even though millions of voters are apathetic as to whether making their voices heard on election day matters or not, if the Supreme Court and its impact for generations to come isn't enough to make people realize that it does make a difference -- maybe seeing what happened in Washington State will.

Marijuana possession cases in Washington state going up in smoke:

Prosecutors in Washington state's two most populous counties plan to dismiss scores of misdemeanor marijuana possession cases following passage of a landmark voter initiative earlier this week to legalize pot for adult recreational use.

Washington and Colorado became the first U.S. states to remove criminal sanctions for personal possession of an ounce (28.5 grams) or less of marijuana as voters approved ballot measures on Tuesday to legalize recreational use of the drug, setting up a possible showdown with the federal government.

Washington state's legalization measure passed with more than 55 percent of voters supporting it and fewer than 45 percent opposed, and will take effect next month.

But prosecutors in Washington's King and Pierce counties - which contain the cities of Seattle and Tacoma - moved swiftly to announce they were dropping 225 pending possession cases currently in the pipeline.

"The people have spoken loudly in Initiative 502, and there seems to be no point in continuing to prosecute cases for conduct that's going to be legal in a couple of weeks," King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg told Reuters.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said, "I don't believe any jury is going to convict on a simple marijuana case after this initiative has passed."

Now if we could see something done on the federal level on this issue, we'd be getting somewhere. As more and more states continue to legalize, I think we're going to see that happen sooner and not later.

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December 28, 2009 KOMO 4 News

Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, a Seattle Democrat who is sponsoring the legalization bill in Washington state, said that she "wanted to start a strong conversation about the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana."

Under her bill, marijuana would be sold in Washington state's 160 state-run liquor stores, and customers, 21 and older, would pay a tax of 15 percent per gram. The measure would dedicate most of the money raised for substance abuse prevention and treatment, which is facing potential cuts in the state budget. Dickerson said the measure could eventually bring in as much to state coffers as alcohol does, more than $300 million a year.