Washington State Officials Drafting Same-Sex Marriage Certificat - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Washington State Officials Drafting Same-Sex Marriage Certificates

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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Washington state Health Department will be changing marriage and divorce certificates in response to the same-sex marriage law that takes effect Dec. 6.
    
Words such as "bride," ''groom," ''husband" and "wife" will likely be gone. The department wants to use gender-neutral terms.
    
Spokesman Tim Church told KIRO-FM (http://is.gd/qO94io ) they could be replaced with something like "Spouse A" and "Spouse B."
    
The forms will still include gender so the state can track the number of same-sex couples in the state.
    
The department is asking the public for suggestions. A public hearing on wording marriage certificates will be held Wednesday in Tumwater.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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