From the Family Policy Institute
By Rebecca Faust
The Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee and the House Judiciary Committee both held public hearings on the respective marriage redefinition bills on Monday.
Both hearings required the use of overflow rooms to accommodate the unusual crowds.
The hearings started with the usually summaries of the bill and statements from the bill's sponsors, followed by pre-arranged panels for each side, and finally testimony from randomly selected members of the public. There wasn't enough time for everyone's testimony, and except for the opening speakers, those who did testify were allowed one minute each.
The Family Policy Institute of Washington's executive director, Joseph Backholm, spoke on one of the opening panels at the Senate hearing. He encouraged the legislature not to redefine marriage themselves, without a vote of the people.
The chair of the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee announced that his committee would hold an executive session on SB 6239 on Thursday, January 26th, at 10:00 a.m.
The chair of the House Judiciary Committee announced that his committee would hold an executive session on HB 2516 on Monday, January 30th.
In the legislature, executive sessions are open to the public, but the public are not allowed to comment on the bills under consideration. They are held following a public hearing, for the committee to take action on a bill.
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