SUQUAMISH, Wash., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A lesbian member of Washington's Suquamish Tribe said she was surprised when tribal officials extending marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The Tribal Council voted unanimously Monday to change the law, the Kitsap Sun, of Bremerton, Wash., reported.
Heather Purser, 28, has been spearheading the campaign to get the tribe to change its law since she came out as a lesbian about four years ago, the newspaper said.
"I wanted to feel accepted," she said. "The Suquamish Tribe has always been my home."
She spoke in March at the tribe's general council meeting, asking for recognition for same-sex couples and requesting a vote of the entire audience.
Purser was surprised by the amount of support she received.
"I was expecting a major fight. I didn't think anyone would support me," she said, adding that she did not hear any voiced dissent.
"Really it was the Suquamish people who approved this," she said. "The general council is really what made everything happen."
