On Sunday, December 19 the First United Methodist Church in Lower Queen Anne awarded Washington State Senator Ed Murray with the Herman and Margarita Will Peace and Social Justice Award, a symbol of appreciation for his long-time civil rights work and “life-long commitment to building a just and peaceful society.”
“Few local citizens have done as much to improve the lives of LGBT families as Senator Murray,” said First Church pastor Rev. Dr. Sanford Brown in a statement. “His work has moved Washington State towards a more just future for all Washington families.”
For 15 years Senator Murray worked in the Washington legislature to pass landmark LGBT civil rights and domestic partnership legislation. Senator Murray led the 2007 effort to pass Senate Bill 5336, Washington’s historic domestic partnership law. In 2008, he co-sponsored a second bill that vastly expanded the rights, responsibilities, and protections of that law, and in 2009, his final bill in the domestic partnership effort was signed into law. Known as the “Everything but Marriage” act, the law grants all state rights and responsibilities associated with marriage to registered domestic partners.
As Majority Caucus Chair, Senator Murray is the highest ranking gay elected official in the state.
The Herman and Margarita Will Peace and Social Justice Award was founded in 2003, recognizing “individuals who have committed themselves to transforming society’s laws, economic arrangements, and social practices to improve the quality of life for all God’s people.”
Past recipients include Tony Lee, Advocacy Director for the Fremont Public Association (now Solid Ground) and Director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network, and Paul Benz, Director of the Lutheran Public Policy Office and The Religious Coalition for the Common Good.
The award is open to any person, regardless of religious affiliation, and includes a $500 donation to the charity of their choice.