WA marriage ruling

Seattle-based correspondent Neal Karlinsky blogs: At dinner last night, a friend of my wife and his same-sex partner were wide-eyed at the prospect. “Did you hear about the ruling — what do you think the Court’s going to do?” They were talking about the WA Supreme Court’s soon to be released decision regarding same-sex marriage. While it’s true reporters often have an inside line about developing issues — I couldn’t pretend to know which way this state’s high court would rule. But I did have a feeling the justices didn’t sit on the case for 16 months — watching as other states ruled on the very same issue — so that they could break new ground. But as the 8am PT ruling neared — there was a sense of energy among gay-rights advocates that maybe — just maybe — they might get a win on the issue that’s been knocked down in every state it’s been tested except Massachusetts. If the ruling upheld same-sex marriage it would be big news — at ABC we prepared our coverage plan for a story with widespread interest nationwide. The implications were broad; especially considering the WA law would allow same-sex couples from out of state to come here to get married — making the Pacific Northwest a sort of Las Vegas of same-sex marriage. As the little clock in the corner of my computer screen struck eight-am, a click on the Supreme Court’s website put all the speculation to rest — and revealed a clean black and white text document to settle an issue filled with shades of gray. Here’s what it looked like when the AP alert beeped loudly on my computer: AP-APNewsAlert,0015
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has upheld Washington’s ban on gay marriage. And that was it. No need for a big story to report the status quo. But wait — it’s not over! Click on a Supreme Court website near you, because several states across the country are getting ready to weigh in on the very same issue. And between California and New Jersey—someone’s bound to make some news.