SEATTLE — Heather Purser has no immediate wedding
plans, but thanks to her persistence, she and her partner can now
legally marry on Suquamish tribal land. The tribe this week made it
legal for same-sex couples to marry.
Purser, 28, a commercial diver who lives in Seattle
but was raised in Kitsap County off the reservation, said she had been
trying to get the law changed for years. She came out as a lesbian while
she was at Western Washington University and felt isolated by her
tribal community.
“When I came out I felt even more isolated from the
world, and decided if I could get my people to support me and allow gay
marriage, maybe the hurt would go away,” Purser said.
For months, she said she went to Suquamish tribal
meetings and asked that gay marriage become part of the tribal
constitution. She was assigned a tribal attorney who asked her to get
proof that the tribe recognized homosexuals by collecting stories from
the elders. She started that effort, but then dropped it.
Then, Purser moved to Seattle where, she said, “I met someone incredible.”
So in March, she went to a tribal meeting and
reiterated she wanted gay marriage considered. Urged by her family
members, she asked that it be voted on then. The vote was unanimous, she
said.
In June, the tribe held a public hearing on the
issue. Then on Monday, the tribal council unanimously adopted the new
ordinance, according to Purser and a report by the Kitsap Sun.
Purser said she has no plans to marry her partner, but would like that option available.
“People keep asking me when the wedding is,” she
said. “I’m in a committed relationship right now, and it could lead to
marriage.”
The new law allows the tribal court to issue a
marriage license to two unmarried people “regardless of their sex” if
they are at least 18 and one is an enrolled member of the Suquamish
Tribe, according to the Kitsap Sun.
Six states issue marriage licenses to same-sex
couples: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and
New York, as well as the District of Columbia. California’s law is on
appeal.
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