The initiative process will take over immediately on this, you can bet on it. The WA Supreme Court just gave that a green light. About the only way to diffuse that is for the Legislature to pass some sort of civil union statute. It takes the steam out of a gay marriage initiative.
Wasn't Washington one of the states which enacted a gay marriage ban in 2004? Or was that Oregon? There were 11 or 12 states which enacted such bans by initiative in 2004, and I can't recall if Washington was one of them.
As well they should. I'm embarrassed to admit I don't know the Wasghington Initiative Process that well, does it allow for Ammending the Constitution? That would be the best tactic for the gays to try. It would be up front, in keeping with the spirit of how you change laws, allow a full and fair debate, and fail by a wide margin as it has everywhere else it has appeared, including Oregon.
While I disagree with the desired outcome (gay marraige) I support using the processes as designed to change laws. I abhor trying to end-around using courts, which is what they attempted (in a coordinated multi-state attack following the Mass. win). It is a good day for democracy and the rule of law.
Neither a gay marriage or civil union initiative would pass in WA. They would probably have a struggle just to gather enough signatures to get it on the ballot. Their only hope would be for the legislature to pass a modification to the DOMA that would then would be tested in the courts for constitutionality.