From all across Washington State, organizations and individuals have come together to ensure that families remain protected by the domestic partnership law. We call ourselves Washington Families Standing Together to reflect our values and the breadth of support for the state's domestic partnership law. The law provides essential protections to families formed by gay and lesbian couples and couples where one partner is over the age of 62. Now there is an attempt to repeal the law by getting a referendum on the ballot.We hope you'll join Washington Families and pledge to decline to sign Referendum 71 petitions. Click:
Please encourage your friends, colleagues and family to also decline to sign. If enough signatures are collected and the Referendum is qualified for the November 2009 ballot, then voters will need to vote "YES" in order to retain these legal rights and protections already granted to domestic partners by the legislature. To learn more about our efforts and to find out other ways you can help to protect Washington families, click here.
On May 18, Governor Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5688, a law ensuring that all Washington families are treated the same, with the same protections, the same rights and the same obligations as their neighbors. Under this law, registered domestic partners (same-sex couples and opposite sex couples over age 62), and married couples, are treated equally under the law in all parts of the state.Key rights and obligations in the law include death benefits for the partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty; pen sion benefits for the partners of teachers and other public employees; victims' rights, including the right to receive notifications and benefits allowances, and the right to adopt a partner's child without paying for a home study.
These rights and obligations for domestic partners were passed following those adopted in 2007, when the Legislature established a domestic partnership registry and granted registered couples rights to make health care decisions for a sick partner, to visit a partner in the hospital, the right to consent to an autopsy, and some property rights, and those adopted in 2008, including community property rights, probate rights, joint responsibility for debts, and other protections.
A group has filed a referendum - Referendum 71 - to try to repeal the law. They have until July 25 to collect 120,577 signatures to get it on the ballot. We - and many, many people across the state -worked togd together to get this law passed. We are now going to have to work together to keep it from being repealed.
As was the case in 2006, strategic, early action may help avoid yet another costly campaign battle, especially important with all of the needs facing our citizens in these tough economic times.
So many people have asked how they can help, that we have formed a coordinated campaign to help keep the law from being repealed. It's called Washington Families Standing Together - a coalition of community partners committed to working together to protect Washington's families.
Please click here to contribute - $25, $50, $100 or $71 to help us retain the domestic partnership law so that all of Washington's families have the protections and rights every family deserves.
Decline to sign handouts are available here and Domestic Partnership law FAQs are here. Please distribute at social events like barbeques, fairs, farmers markets, parties or any gathering of family or friends. As you distribute these, please say "Protect all Washington families by declining to sign Referendum 71". When you do so, please avoid saying things like "Oppose Referendum 71" because if the referendum qualifies then we will need to ask voters to vote YES to retain the recently passed Domestic Partnership law.
The Washington Families Standing Together coalition is endorsed by the following organizations:
Among other inanities, such as thes the lie that children need a mother and a father to be healthy as a reason to preserve man-woman marriage, Gallagher also said that just because the polls show that younger people support same-sex marriage isn't reason to "change the definition of marriage." Why? Because they need to listen to the "wisdom of the older generation." You know, some of the folks in that same crowd who opposed desegregation of the schools and inter-racial marriage. That's a good model.
Even host Kitty Pilgrim sounded a bit tired of the NOM schtick. The full transcript is here. A snippet:
PILGRIM: Let me just bring up for our viewers some public opinion polls because I think they're quite interesting. We have a CNN poll that says gays and lesbians have the constitutional right to get married; 54 percent say no.Related:Let me contrast this with another Gallup poll that found that 59 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds favor making gay marriages legal. We have a big national debate about this.
This is not an individual sort of private sort of discussion at this point. This is a large, national, interesting debate. What do you think about these two kinds of polls? To me, it suggests that younger people are perhaps more accepting.
WOLF: Well, I think it speaks to a key issue. I'd actually like to take this as a point of departure to pose a question to Maggie, if I could.
PILGRIM: Go right ahead.
WOLF: By conservative estimates, there's about 10 million to 12 million gay people in the United States. No matter what we do in our laws, they're going to be there and they're going to be having families and they're going to be having relationships and they have kids and they have parents and they have brothers and sisters.
And Miss Gallagher has used some very strong language to say what she thinks gay and lesbian couples should not be able to do. I'd like her to tell us what she wants those couples to do. What should those couples do?
PILGRIM: We're almost out of time but I will let you respond. Go ahead.
GALLAGHER: I think that they're free to live as they choose. What they shouldn't do, either gay or straight, is redefine marriage. There is a reason a marriage means a husband and wife. These unions are really special and distinct.
Part of the reason is that children need a mother and father. Whatever you're going to do for gay people, I don't think you should mess with that.
By the way, that Gallup poll you mentioned, 57 -- growing opposition to gay marriage, the highest level since 2005; 57 percent of Americans do not support gay marriage. I don't think we should go to 18 year-olds and ask them to determine the future of marriage. I think the wisdom of the older generations is something we should be listening to right now.
PILGRIM: You know, I have to say that sometimes you get a good bit of wisdom from young people, too. I have to disagree on that one point.
* The complex questions about the marriage equality movement and the Olson/Boies federal lawsuit
On the issue of gay marriage -- which Clinton, like President Obama, personally opposes -- Clinton said of his position: "Frankly, it's evolving" as he sees more committed gay couples raising kids.Bush and Clinton were at one of those "conversation with presidents" tours, this one held at Toronto's Convention Centre. There were no recording devices in the room and the media was allowed if it paid to attend -- tix ranged from $229 to as much as $2,500. The high-priced ticket gave the attendee a photo with the former presidents. Some comments at the ABC site:As ABC political director David Chalian has pointed out, Clinton isn't the only Democrat whose position on gay marriage is moving.
Clinton also expressed optimism that the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" -- which he helped enact -- will eventually come off the books, allowing gay members of the armed services to serve openly.
"I think that time will lead to a repeal of this ban," Clinton said.
Bill's view of gay marriage is "evolving"? Is anyone supposed to care? This is the man who saddled us with the odious Defense of Marriage Act - one of many Clintonian acts of unprincipled political calculation.
Posted by: skipper | May 30, 2009 12:47:00 AMI'm so relieved that President Clinton's view of "gay" marriage is evolving. My view of his brand of "straight" marriage is evolving too - in the late '90s I thought, "So he got a blow job, so what!" Today, I've evolved to the point that I realize that Wild Bill is a sex addict who will compromise everything - his marriage vows on the alter before God, his wife, family and friends, his own dignity, the dignity and respect of his wife and daughter, the stability of the country, and the trust and respect of both his closest friends and the millions of citizens who believed the words that came out of his mouth.
And I"m supposed to be, what? Appreciative that his views about my equal rights are evolving?
Posted by: NewYorkJoe | May 30, 2009 1:26:45 AMSo a man who get's outside martial sexual favours from interns determines when he is okay, comfortable with gay marriage, when it's evolved.
these guys just need money.
Posted by: ritchie | May 30, 2009 8:20:21 AM
On the eve of the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall, come join us in celebrating the achievements of the LGBT equality movement:
I'll Toast to That Thursday, June 25th, 2009 6:00pm Charles Froelick Gallery 817 SW 2nd Avenue $40 beforehand, $50 at the door (tickets available here)
Attire: pizazzulous
A special thank you to our sponsors: Organic Nation Spirits Devil's Food Catering Raptor Ridge
Music by: DJ Scotty D
Ticket price qualifies for the Oregon Political Tax Credit which means you can get every penny of your ticket price back at tax time! Click here for more information on the Oregon Political Tax Credit. Questions? Call 503/222.6151
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