Gary Randall, the anti-equality minister from Oregon who is helping organize the referendum 71 petition drive announced moments ago in an e-mail to his supporters:
R-71 petition signature gathering count is too close to call…
We feel that by tomorrow morning we will have the 120,577 signatures required, however we also know that some will be invalidated for various reasons. We do not have an adequate cushion of signatures.
We can not believe everything their campaign says. They have a history of twisting the truth and this announcement could be just one more fib. However I am cautiously optimistic by this signal.
This was the second attempt in the last three years by the religious right to repeal a law protecting gays and lesbians.In 2006, Tim Eyman led an effort with these same groups to collect signatures in an attempt to repeal the state’s anti-discrimination law protecting gays and lesbians from job and housing discrimination. Washington Won’t Discriminate was formed to keep that off the ballot and Eyman and the others failed to collect enough signatures to qualify.
This year while Randall and friends were paying suspicious characters to gather signatures throughout the state to repeal domestic partnerships, a diverse group of over 120 organizations came together as Washington Families Standing Together. Those organizations were faith-based groups, labor unions, seniors, communities of color, children’s organizations, firefighters, teachers, statewide and local groups. Over 40,000 people took the pledge to decline to sign petitions to put referendum 71 on the ballot. While our opponents tried to claim the moral authority, 85 clergy and congregations signed faith statements endorsing the coalition, proving that all Washington families and citizens are valued regardless of their sexual orientation.
Check back for updates as they become available.
