The Secretary of State continues to verify signatures during the referendum 71 qualification process. There is a lot of chatter on blogs and newspapers about whether referendum 71 will qualify, and several people are beginning to jump to the false conclusion that because the data is showing an increasing number of invalid signatures that this fight is nearly over. At this early stage it is not only mathematically inaccurate to draw conclusions based on daily counts, it is politically dangerous.

We should be more focused on telling our story and continuing the conversation about why LGBT families desperately need legal protection.  We need to invite those we know to approve referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships.  If we lull ourselves into complacency by believing we are out of the water now we could be caught with our pants down if referendum 71 pulls out ahead at the end of the signature count. It is simply too close to call.

The Secretary of State doubled the shifts so two numbers will come out daily until the predicted completion date of August 17. I expect that twice a day there will be  significant conversation generated about those numbers. Horse races are fun to watch and talk about, but again a year from now the horse race won’t matter.  What will matter is whether the domestic partnership law was preserved and whether our story continues to be told as we move forward.

I also want to address a second conversation trend that is gaining momentum. Some people are beginning to turn their frustration towards the Washington voter with this question: “How could so many people sign this petition in the first place?” When we compare the potential number of signatures with the actual number of voters in Washington State we learn that at least 96% of Washington voters chose to support equality by not signing the petition.  Millions of people did not reach out to sponsors of referendum 71 to help them. This is a significant point that should be celebrated.  We do live in a progressive state so LGBT residents should remain hopeful.

The Approve Referendum 71 campaign is running full steam ahead with preparations for an election this fall.  No one is taking anything for granted. Each side has three observers watching the count to make sure that the count is fair and accurate. Volunteers began to reach out to voters on Wednesday through phone banks. We need lots of volunteers to help out so please sign up if you have not already. You should also consider a donation to help fund the phone banks. They are not cheap so every donation is welcome large and small.

While you are out and about this weekend hanging out with friends and family, remember to tell them to approve referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships, and have a conversation with them about why legal recognition is so important. If you have been affected by the domestic partnership law I would love to hear your story in the comments section below.

Wisconsin started registering domestic partnerships yesterday. Wisconsin passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, so domestic partnerships are the closest to marriage same-sex couples can expect to get until the ban is overturned by the voters, or more likely the Federal Supreme Court.  Domestic partnerships were the consolation prize for gays and lesbians in states that have over zealous right wing activists who will jump at the opportunity to prevent gays and lesbians from having full marriage equality.  It was the “sanctity of marriage” argument that won them 30 state constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage.  Some in the gay community thought domestic partnerships were a safe alternative with the philosophy, “if it is the word that bothers them, let’s call it something else.”

It is not the word “marriage” that bothers them, it is gay people that bother them.  They would prefer our families to be completely isolated from society — completely separate.  They do not want to share ANYTHING with us. In Wisconsin the fundamentalists immediately filed suit against the state, claiming domestic partnerships are “close enough to marriage” to violate the constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Ultimately the court will decide whether domestic partnerships are marriage or not.  The court will determine if the thousands of families that register prior to the decision will get to keep their domestic partnerships or whether they will be invalidated.  If they lose at court, the fundamentalists will likely go back to the voters to change the amendment to prevent domestic partnerships. They won’t rest until all references to us in the law are gone, until we can’t visit our partners in the hospital, until we can’t leave our property to the people we choose, until we are illegal just for being who we are so they can lock us up.

They won’t rest and they will find every opportunity to attack us.  This morning I received an e-mail that AAA (American Automobile Association) finally recognizes same sex relationships for their family plans.  I thought it was AAA that sent the message because I’m a member, so I was feeling pretty good about it.  I was planning to call them at lunch to add my partner.  But no, it was from the American “Family” Association:

The American Automobile Association (AAA) has begun offering “Family Memberships” to homosexual couples, recognizing the homosexual couple as being “married,” according to a homosexual activist organization in Florida.

Thirty states have overwhelmingly voted to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Yet AAA is treating homosexual couples as if they are married.

The homosexual couples need only state that they are married to receive the family benefit. In the eyes of AAA two homosexuals living together constitute “marriage” and make a “family.” All they have to do to get the “family membership” benefits is to say “we are gay and married.”

They called on their followers to whine about this as much as possible.  They hope to reverse AAA South’s decision to include all families in their policy, even though AAA is a private club with private memberships. But I’m not surprised, the AFA would prefer to jail us.

If we allow extremists like the AFA and others to take away rights from one group of people, they will ultimately go after everyone’s rights.  They would like to rule this country with a theocratic hand similar to the Taliban.  They will lie, cheat, and do anything possible to get their way.  Fair minded Americans, hear my warning now.  Stop these people.  You must help us protect ourselves so we can protect each other from their heavy handed extremist point of view.

Yes,  business by business, state by state, our civil rights movement moves on as we defend ourselves. In Washington approve referndum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships. In Maine vote no on No. 1 to protect marriage equality. In Iowa elect fair minded representatives and do not change your constitution.  In California, overturn proposition 8 and return to marriage equality.  In Washington DC join us for the National Equality March October 10 – 11, because we will only achieve fully equality by winning at the Federal level.

I am hopeful when I think about our neighbors to the north in Canada.  They enjoy marriage equality at the federal level and have for several years. The debate is largely over for them. Their religious foes have moved on, because as we can all see the sky has not fallen.  The end of the world is not here.  Heterosexual marriages are not suffering.  Children are still children and they are happy to be happy. Our foes realize this, but they will continue to lie and scapegoat, and cheat and attack because this is their way.  This is their last stand. Once they lose Federally they will lose for good, because our country will know that their lies are evil and hate filled. We will learn our lesson.  We will learn like we have so many times before when civil rights are denied from one group of people.  We will learn like when we ended slavery. We will learn like when women became voters. We will learn like when we ended segregation. We will learn like when we elected our first black president.  We will learn that no one group is more superior to another, and the government — the people have no right to create artifical separations. Yes we will learn.  We will grow, and we shall overcome.

The Secretary of State announced today that they have a raw count of 137, 689 signatures on the R-71 petition. 120,557 valid signatures are needed to qualify referendum 71 for the ballot.  Historically 18% of signatures are invalid for various reasons.  The cushion for R-71 is 14.2 %, so we are still in the too close to call range. Because the margin is so close, the Secretary of State’s office will conduct a line by line review of the petition and will compare every signature against the voting record.  If a signature does not match the voting record it will be disqualified. If there are duplicate signatures the duplicates will be removed.

Meanwhile confusion about referendum 71 remains rampant as is evident in comments like these on the Seattle PI’s article about the petition. We must begin our campaign now as if Referendum 71 will qualify for the ballot.  We have nothing to lose by educating voters now that we must vote to Approve Referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships .  News articles and other local media outlets have not been adequately explaining how referendum 71 will function, so it is our responsibility as concerned citizens to educate our friends, neighbors, and strangers.  Use every resource you have.  Change your signature line in your e-mail account, change your voice mail, download an image to use on social networking sites like twitter and facebook from WAFST, print off a sign and put it in your window at work or home, write a song and sing it on the corner and raise some money for the campaign…. I think you get the idea.

Approve Referendum 71

The Secretary of State’s office announced on Tuesday through their blog that they will conduct a complete verification of the entire petition rather than a 3 % sampling.  While I think it is fantastic that every single signature will be scrutinized, it could be several weeks before we know the results.

It does not hurt to start thinking about the future.  What if Referendum 71 does qualify for the ballot?  What next? We need to switch our thinking from decline to sign to Approve Referendum 71, Preserve the Domestic Partnership Law. That’s right, Approve.  This is how the referendum will look if it makes the ballot in November:

REFERENDUM 71

Ballot Title
Statement of Subject: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners [and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill].

Concise Description: This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.

Should this bill be:

Approved ___
Rejected ___

Unfortunately misinformation is already creeping into the media, blogs, social networks, and voters’ minds. As an exercise in prudence and for the protection of our families and friends, let’s start talking about referendum 71 as if it was going to qualify for the ballot.  Please start the conversation now because if we wait, it could be too late.  In a post prop 8 world, supporters of equality are very used to saying “no”.  I certainly understand the impulse to say no to the discrimination Larry Stickney and Gary Randall embody, but be clear when you are thinking about Referendum 71.  It is not prop 8.  It is different. Read it carefully and do not be tricked, because if we have learned anything by the petition gathering period we know that Randall and Stickney are more than willing to lie to get their way.  If nothing else remember, approve equality, approve our rights, approve our families, approve our future, approve of the legislatures decision to give us equal rights, approve of the law the legislature passed in 2009, approve domestic partnerships, approve referendum 71.

One more time, say it with me now and say it loud, “I approve referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships!“  Great job!  Now go say it to at least 10 people you know.

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]]> http://blog.joemirabella.com/2009/07/29/what-next-for-referendum-71/feed/ 12 http://blog.joemirabella.com/2009/07/24/video-of-r71-petiton-gatherer-and-his-lies/ http://blog.joemirabella.com/2009/07/24/video-of-r71-petiton-gatherer-and-his-lies/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:35:51 +0000 Joe Mirabella http://blog.joemirabella.com/?p=329

Referendum 71 has absolutely nothing to do with same-sex marriage equality. This man is blatantly lying about his intentions.

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