Battle to Overturn Washington's Same Sex Partnerships
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- An effort to overturn Washington state's same-sex domestic partnerships law is on pace to qualify for the ballot, with the next several days determining its fate.
Referendum 71, as it is called, would go on the November ballot and reverse a law that grants homosexual couples all the legal benefits of marriage, minus the name. Supporters submitted 137,689 signatures July 25 and have been waiting since then to see if they met the threshold of 120,577 valid signatures.
So far, they're OK, but barely.
Through Wednesday's count by the Washington secretary of state's office, 103,198 signatures had been declared valid and 13,871 invalid, which comes to an 11.85 percent rejection rate. For it to qualify, the rejection rate must stay at or below 12.4 percent. At the current signature-checking rate, supporters should know by Monday or Tuesday if they were successful. Signatures are rejected for a number of reasons, such as the person not living in the state or having signed the petition twice.
Including Washington, five states have so-called "everything but marriage" laws for homosexual couples. Washington, though, would be the first one to put the issue on the ballot.
Washington state Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire signed the bill into law in May, waiting as long as she could to give bill opponents less time to gather signatures. That delay, the Seattle Times reported, eliminated about one-third of the 90 days supporters had to gather signatures.
The law has not gone into effect.
"While the signature count is still considered 'too close to call' by the Secretary of State, we are holding onto a pace that will exceed the 120,577 required signatures," a statement on the Protect Marriage Washington website reads. "My friends, we are very, very close to declaring a victory for this phase one of the R-71 campaign!"
Domestic partnerships and civil union laws often are promoted as a "middle of the road" approach, but opponents argue that they simply are stepping stones to "gay marriage," as has been shown to be the case in Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire, three states that formerly had similar laws but now recognize "gay marriage."
Russell Johnson, director of governmental affairs for the Family Policy Institute of Washington, previously told Baptist Press that Washington state now is in a position similar to where California was last year, when the California Supreme Court legalized "gay marriage" and said the state could not have "separate but equal" institutions for opposite-sex and same-sex couples. In other words, the court used the state's domestic partnerships law as a reason "gay marriage" must be legalized (a ruling eventually overturned by Proposition 8).
"The supporters of this bill have publicly said at press conferences that the intent of this legislation is to create a legal precedent and a legislative precedent for either the courts to impose gay marriage or for the state legislature to adopt terms that redefine marriage," Johnson said. "Those who support domestic partnerships on the legislative level are pretty clear and up front about their positions."
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During the horrendous sixth months of the Prop 8 campaign here in California, the "Protect Marriage" people swore up and down that they "only wanted to 'protect' the term, 'Marriage,'" but were not out to take away rights from gay families. Baloney. Now they are conducting the same campaign, calling themselves "Protect Marriage," and trying to directly take away ALL rights from gay couples, not just the word, "Marriage."
Liars.
They will not be happy until all gays have been rounded up, sent to concentration camps and either converted or eliminated.
"attacked by our enemies again and it will make 911 look like a pot luck luncheon in the park" Quote: Angelmama
They honestly believe that jihadist islamics attacked this nation because we don't execute our gays. Or that god ordained the attack because we are so wicked and sinful. And he throws in a couple natural disasters just for good measure. It is kind of funny though that the hijackers took out commercial / governmental targets. You would have thought that they would have attacked San Francisco and dropped the planes on "gay street". Those silly little terrorists. They just never get to bomb the people they really want, the gay folk. In fact, I heard that Fred Phelps has been invited into the radical Muslim fold as a folk hero and that they would forget everything about him being part of the west if he would only tell them where we kept all our gays. Again, those silly little terrorists. All they had to do was watch his actions and see that we kept all our gays at military funerals.
"destroy the fabric of our country" Quote: Angelmama
The only gas I see poured on our fabric and being lit over and over again is from those that "are doing it for our own good". But she's right. Since gays are loving each other, loving those in need, preaching tolerance and acceptance (exceptions exist of course), and wanting equality for all, they must just be the most horrible thing ever.
You said it.
Homosexuals are not a threat to others, gay marriage will no magically invalidate straight marriage ... fire will not fall from the sky and rain down from the sky and kill us all if homosexuals are allowed to live their lives free of harassment.
We really need to think hard why we want to get in the way of people trying to be happy and true to themselves. This "all they need is to accept God's grace and be 'cured'" is nonsense garbage. God made gay people too, so stop messing with God's design for their lives. If two dudes want to be domestic partners, how is that going to hurt my marriage of 10 years to my wife? I think people who spend all their time trying to knock other people down need a new hobby. Live and let live. Christ never said a word about domestic partners, but he had a lot to say about divorce. Get the hint? It's always easier to find fault with others than to look at ourself, isn't it?
it will hurt MARRIAGE period. I am quite offended that you would put down people I admire who have left homosexuality for a better life, you show no respect for them and yet you want respect for those who are trying to destroy the fabric of our country, why?
You are wrong. SSM's hurt children who could be adopted by them, they hurt woman and children much like ERA hurt them by degrading traditional marriage which was designed to protect woman and children in society, it will destroy this country, we will be attacked by our enemies again and it will make 911 look like a pot luck luncheon in the park. The potential ramifications are devastating and only someone who doesnt understand how things work in life wont get it.
Marriage has been declining for 40 years. ERA, which was never enacted, wouldn't have given women any more rights then what the 14th Amendment did already. No-fault divorce is what degraded marriage . No one has yet explained how gay marriage would degrade it any more.
It encouraged woman to leave their homes and take their kids to day cares and work.
It encourage woman to hire someone to do their domestic cleaing and cooking and child rearing.
It encouraged woman to push for more rights int he work force and that masculated them while demasculating men.
It encouraged latch key children , and children raised themselves because both parents where working.
It encouraged obesity in children because mothers where no longer there to direct their families every nutritional concern. Woman became fatter, not thinnner, because of pizza and fast food pick ups and micro wave meals and hamburger helper.
It encouraged more debt because the family had more money .
It encouraged infidelty because the wife was not at home when the husband got there, where there was no supper, where there was no clean house, where the kids were cranky because they had been ignored all day at school and then all day at home.
I realize this is a generalization but its pretty right on and we cannot blame all the woes on ERA but so much of that movement lied by promising a better life for woman, more respect, more freedoms...what a load of sh..t that was! Same with the homosexual movement and ssm it promises their people more freedoms, more respect...bs! If you want respect...GIVE IT! If you want more freedoms..GIVE IT! By taking you will never achieve what you are looking for in life...take that from an old woman!
Working class women have always had to work to help support the family. The family survived just fine. ERA encouraged more women to stand up for their rights and this caused what? That then lead to all those thing you have listed. The cause and effect is missing.
Then you throw in gays and ssm? What do gays have to do with anything? Again, no cause and effect.
I guess if you were needing to make a point on equal rights it would but since you arent using them at the moment but the emancipation of the blacks is the hot association right now I guess.
I found it rather amusing that the homosexual movement attempts to use the slavery issue when they enslave their own by telling them they cant leave homosexuality because its what did they say, nonsense, and yet cry out for social freedom when in fact they have every freedom anyone else in America has. They just arent getting it that ssm is not a human right its a behaviour of which they have every right to partake of; I see ssm as the same as the those who wish to use marijuana ; its a behaviour not a fundamental right. I guess the next thing well hear about is the discrimination toward pot smokers and theyll start teaching that diversity in schools next. I sound like an old fogy...well wisdom comes with age.