Is this fair or wise?

As recently reported, the Domestic Partnership Enhancement Bill of 2009 was filed this week in Olympia, Washington.  The bill is touted as making Registered Domestic Partnerships equal to civil marriage in all but name.  

But there’s a catch.  Numerous sections of the bill that involve retirement benefits for civil servants, taxes and other items won’t go into effect until January, 2012 or August 2012.  (See the last page of the bill for the list of sections of concern, and cross reference with this website to understand to which statutes they refer.)

According to the Seattle PI, the delay in the effective date of these sections is in response to the bad economic situation in the State of Washington.  But doesn’t encoding a delay set a bad precedent that it’s ok to continue to withhold civil rights from minorities if the state is hard up?  Presumably, any heterosexual couple getting married today or on the day the DP legislation is signed would be eligible for these benefits immediately.  And there are a lot more married heteros than there ever will be DP’d LGBTs burdening the system.

So, I ask again.  Is this delay fair or wise?  I haven’t yet had a chance to call my reps or senator to ask their thoughts. (more…)