DignityHeroes: Christine Gregoire, Catholic Governor of Washington

It has been a busy week, coast to coast, when it comes to realizing marriage equality in our nation. And recent developments are nothing less than stunning. Roman Catholics are standing up and speaking boldly to the Gospel values of inclusion, equality and compassion. And one of those Catholics is Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington state. She's our DignityHero this week . 

Gov. Gregoire is a life-long church-going Catholic who has not been afraid to evolve in her beliefs about dignity and equality for LGBT persons. You can bet she's been mightily pressured by the state's Catholic Bishops, but you can bet that many baptized Catholics have been fully supportive of her growing resolve to bring gay couples and parents fully to the table of marriage rights and responsibilities. This has been a soulful journey for her, and in an NPR interview, she looks to her own youth for a reference to her current convictions:

It's very interesting for someone my age where, when I was young, we had racial inequality in this country. And my generation fought it and could not understand how the older generation could stand by and allow racial inequality. If we listen to the younger generation today, like my two daughters, the very same message is being sent to my generation, which is to say, why are you denying recognition of the same sort of love between a couple who are raising their families and struggling with the same issues as any other married couple? Why can't they, in the eyes of the law of the state, be recognized? So I think it's time for my generation to listen to that generation. I think Washington state is doing just that. So I want us to pass the law. I want to sign the law.

Thank you Washington legislators. Thank you Governor Gregoire. Thank you for listening to a new generation of Gospel convictions.