George Takei helps Olympia’s gay marriage debate go viral

If Star Trek star George Takei mentions you on his Facebook page, you’re bound to get some attention.

Take the speech on marriage equality given by state Rep. Maureen Walsh from Walla Walla on Wednesday. Walsh was one Republican who voted against party lines in support of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state.

On Thursday, Takei posted video of her speech. Takei, who is gay, added: “This mom of three really hits it home. It’s hard to watch without choking up as she does.”

After only a few hours of Takei posting the video, it had been shared with about 5,000 Facebook users, had more than 10,000 “likes” and had drawn about 1,000 comments.

In the video, Walsh talks about her lesbian daughter, and about the love Walsh had for her husband, who died six years ago. She said she wouldn’t want to deny any couple the chance at love and companionship that she had with her husband.

She also said wants to be able to see her daughter get married.

“My daughter came out of the closet a couple of years ago,” Walsh said during her speech, “and you know what? I thought I was just going to agonize about that. Nothing’s different. She’s still a fabulous human being and she’s met a person that she loves very much, and some day by God I want to throw a wedding for that kid.”

The same-sex marriage bill passed in the state’s House and Senate, and Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign it into law on Monday.

Stevie Mathieu: 360-735-4523 or stevie.mathieu@columbian.com or www.facebook.com/reportermathieu or www.twitter.com/col_politics