FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 24, 2009
Contact: Josh Friedes, Washington Families Standing Together, cell 206-324-2570
Referendum 71 Signature Verification Process Underway
SEATTLE, Wash. – According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Protect Marriage Washington, the conservative organization that has been collecting signatures in an attempt to repeal the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009, has collected sufficient signatures to meet the threshold for the Secretary of State to begin the process of signature validation. The group needs 120,577 valid signatures to qualify Referendum 71 for the November ballot, only about four percent of the state’s registered voters. The Secretary of State will scan all the petitions and by mid-week and then start verifying signatures.
The groups trying to repeal the domestic partnership law began collecting signatures immediately after the Governor signed the law in May, and although a referendum requires only half the signatures of an initiative to be placed on the ballot, the number of signatures collected appears to be barely enough to qualify, if all signatures are confirmed as being valid.
This was the second attempt in the last three years by religious conservatives to repeal a law protecting gay and lesbian individuals. 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. They failed to collect enough signatures to get that referendum on the ballot.
“The fact that this referendum may be on the ballot and that the law providing legal and financial protections for their families might be repealed would be very disheartening to the over 5,000 couples, many with children, who are registered with the state as domestic partners,” said Josh Friedes of Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST). “The idea that people have to campaign to keep their rights and protect their families is just wrong. Washingtonians are good and caring people. They want to ensure all families are equally protected and do not want to see their neighbors hurt in this way.”
According to WAFST, the outpouring of support by those offering to work against any attempt to repeal the domestic partnership law has been remarkable and shows no signs of stopping. In only eight weeks, a broad array of over 120 organizations – faith-based groups, labor unions, seniors, communities of color, children’s organizations, firefighters, teachers, statewide and local groups – have joined the WAFST coalition dedicated to preventing the domestic partnership law from being repealed. While opponents of the law were using paid signature-gatherers in an attempt to repeal the law, over 40,000 people pledged to decline to sign the petitions to put Referendum 71 on the ballot, editorial boards all across the state urged voters to retain the law, and more than 85 clergy and congregations signed a faith statement in support of the domestic partnership law.
Since it is often the case that some petition signatures are not valid, members of WAFST will be keeping a close eye on the signature count. “We support the democratic process but if this law is repealed thousands of families will be left without legal and financial protections, so we must take all prudent steps to make sure the process used is correct,” said Friedes. “If the referendum does move forward we are prepared to wage a winning campaign and it will be made much easier because so many voters, fully 77 percent, according to the University of Washington poll, support legal recognition of gay and lesbian families,” said Friedes.
The Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009 is the third of three specific laws designed to protect domestic partnership rights. The signature validation process by the Secretary of State could take several days. If Referendum 71 does make it to the ballot, voters wishing to keep the domestic partnership law intact, would vote to retain it by voting “approve”.
To view the complete list of organizations in support of the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law, see below or visit the Washington Families Standing Together Web site: www.wafst.org.
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Organizations in the WAFST Coalition Supporting the Domestic Partnership Law
(as of 7-24-09)
