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Sponsors sometimes call it "everything but marriage." The Washington Legislature has voted to extend to state-registered domestic partners the full list of benefits and responsibilities that straight couples get when they marry. The state House passed the measure as approved by the Senate earlier. Governor Gregoire has said she will sign it soon.

The Legislature created a domestic partnership registry in the Corporations Division of the Office of Secretary of State in 2007 for same-sex partners or opposite-sex partners where one of the two is 62 or older. In the past two years, lawmakers approved more rights and responsibilities for domestic partners and this year's bill says that for purposes of state law, state-registered partners will be treated the same as married people.

The AP says Washington will join Oregon, California, New Jersey, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia in authorizing civil unions or domestic partnerships with rights similar to marriage. Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts have gay marriage, and until overturned by voters last year, California did also. New York and other states have marriage legislation pending.

As of Thursday afternoon, 5,246 Washington couples were registered. There is no breakout of same-sex couples and opposite-sex registrations. A look at the registry home site is here.

Teresa Glidden, state initiatives supervisor, says no one has filed an initiative on the subject and that a referendum to place the law on the fall ballot for an up-or-down vote cannot be filed before the governor signs it. Since there was no emergency clause on the bill, it takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session, roughly late July, and it is subject to referendum. That would require about 120,000 valid signatures, with a late July deadline. If there is a referendum, it would freeze the new law from taking effect until after the vote is held and certified.