Decline to Sign Referendum 74 &
Initiative 1192
Initiative 1192
Protect Marriage Equality
in Washington State
As Washington State ventures to join the ranks of states that recognize marriage equality, there is a significant group of people out there bound and determined to define marriage for everyone else. Opponents have already received pledges from outside the state to spend millions to attack marriage equality in Washington State.
In the past, they have done everything they could to prevent anything that could be construed as equal rights for gays and lesbians in this state. When the state passed "Everything But Marriage" legislation, they immediately filed for a Referendum to prevent it from becoming law. In the process, they managed to block the release of any names that signed the petitions. They did it under the pretense that signers would be harassed. It seems more likely that they didn't want independent verification of their petitions.
Fortunately, Referendum 71 passed AND the U.S. Federal Courts ruled that Referendum Petitions must be released under Washington's Open Government laws. You can now search and see who signed Referendum 71 here. As it is no surprise that opponents would file to repeal Marriage Equality before Governor Gregoire's ink has even dried, take heart in knowing that the petition drive will not be done in secret this time.
It is time that Washington State makes Marriage Equality the law in our state. "Liberty and Justice for ALL"*
*No exceptions
Decline to sign Washington Referendum 74!
Wait a minute! I thought we are supposed to APPROVE Referendum 74!
Well, yes. That is, if Referendum 74 is on the ballot this November, you will want to vote to "Approve" it. As it stands now, marriage equality will become law in Washington State on June 7th: IF EQUALITY OPPONENTS DO NOT SUBMIT ENOUGH VALID SIGNATURES TO FORCE A VOTE ON THE LAW. By declining to sign, voters are saying that marriage equality is important enough that it should not be subject to vote, but put right into law. If opponents appear to submit enough valid signatures, I will change this page into an "Approve Referendum 74" page. I know that it is confusing. Opponents are counting on that. They will try to convince people that they have to sign the petitions in order to get marriage equality.
In 2009, opponents of domestic partnerships needed 120,577 valid signatures of registered Washington voters. They turned in 137,881. Of those, 15,874 were rejected by the Secretary of State's office. Most were not registered voters, but some were duplicates or the signatures did not match the registration. That means that there were only 122,007 signatures that were accepted. With a margin of 1,430 and no means for equality advocates to independently verify the petitions (remember, they were sealed by court order), it seems that maybe Referendum 71 never should have been placed on the ballot to be voted on. This time, with the ability to check petitions and voters knowing that their signature is public record, we may be able to avoid a vote, securing marriage equality! It is not a forgone conclusion that out of state groups will be able to buy their way onto the ballot! Please, spread the word.
Decline to sign Washington Referendum 74!
In the past, they have done everything they could to prevent anything that could be construed as equal rights for gays and lesbians in this state. When the state passed "Everything But Marriage" legislation, they immediately filed for a Referendum to prevent it from becoming law. In the process, they managed to block the release of any names that signed the petitions. They did it under the pretense that signers would be harassed. It seems more likely that they didn't want independent verification of their petitions.
Fortunately, Referendum 71 passed AND the U.S. Federal Courts ruled that Referendum Petitions must be released under Washington's Open Government laws. You can now search and see who signed Referendum 71 here. As it is no surprise that opponents would file to repeal Marriage Equality before Governor Gregoire's ink has even dried, take heart in knowing that the petition drive will not be done in secret this time.
It is time that Washington State makes Marriage Equality the law in our state. "Liberty and Justice for ALL"*
*No exceptions
Decline to sign Washington Referendum 74!
Wait a minute! I thought we are supposed to APPROVE Referendum 74!
Well, yes. That is, if Referendum 74 is on the ballot this November, you will want to vote to "Approve" it. As it stands now, marriage equality will become law in Washington State on June 7th: IF EQUALITY OPPONENTS DO NOT SUBMIT ENOUGH VALID SIGNATURES TO FORCE A VOTE ON THE LAW. By declining to sign, voters are saying that marriage equality is important enough that it should not be subject to vote, but put right into law. If opponents appear to submit enough valid signatures, I will change this page into an "Approve Referendum 74" page. I know that it is confusing. Opponents are counting on that. They will try to convince people that they have to sign the petitions in order to get marriage equality.
In 2009, opponents of domestic partnerships needed 120,577 valid signatures of registered Washington voters. They turned in 137,881. Of those, 15,874 were rejected by the Secretary of State's office. Most were not registered voters, but some were duplicates or the signatures did not match the registration. That means that there were only 122,007 signatures that were accepted. With a margin of 1,430 and no means for equality advocates to independently verify the petitions (remember, they were sealed by court order), it seems that maybe Referendum 71 never should have been placed on the ballot to be voted on. This time, with the ability to check petitions and voters knowing that their signature is public record, we may be able to avoid a vote, securing marriage equality! It is not a forgone conclusion that out of state groups will be able to buy their way onto the ballot! Please, spread the word.
Decline to sign Washington Referendum 74!
Did you know that there is an application that allows you to find out which of your Facebook "friends" signed Referendum 71 in 2009? Check out the great site at letstalkaboutmarriage.org! It connects to your Facebook account and checks it against the list of Referendum 71 signers from whosigned.org. Start a civil conversation and we just may get a few less signatures this time around!
Share on Facebook
Visit my page on Facebook or you may feel free to copy and paste this picture to Facebook, and let your friends know that you are declining to sign Referendum 74:
Donate to Protect Marriage Equality
This site is ran by one guy in Aberdeen. I don't want your money, as a website doesn't take a lot to fund. I would love it, though, if you could support those that are making marriage equality happen in Washington State. I would suggest donating to Washington United for Marriage, a coalition that, with its member groups have done all the heavy lifting to make marriage equality reality:
Please consider giving a small (or big!) contribution to help deliver the message of marriage equality. Opponents are already raising millions of dollars from outside the state deliver their anti-equality message.
To be clear, this website (Referendum74.org) is NOT an official website of Washington United for Marriage, but is solely ran by Steven Puvogel of Aberdeen.
Please consider giving a small (or big!) contribution to help deliver the message of marriage equality. Opponents are already raising millions of dollars from outside the state deliver their anti-equality message.
To be clear, this website (Referendum74.org) is NOT an official website of Washington United for Marriage, but is solely ran by Steven Puvogel of Aberdeen.
Talking Points
A great list of many of the important talking points for marriage equality can be found at Washington United for Marriage's website. I highly recommend reading them and sharing them. You can find that link here.
Also, if you are interested in volunteering for their campaign, sign up on their volunteer page here.
If you are interested in equality and civil rights in general, visit their member organization, Equal Rights Washington:
