Washington Referendum Shows it's Not Really About the Word "Marriage"

With all the attention that Beyond Chron has given to Maine’s Question 1, we would be remiss not to mention that Washington State has a similar ballot fight November 3rd. The difference is that in Washington the battle is over domestic partnerships (not gay marriage), which makes a victory there less historically significant. I also felt from the start that Referendum 71 was a more winnable cause, because a number of swing voters who are uncomfortable with granting marriage rights to gay couples strongly support civil unions. But you wouldn’t know this based on how the right in Washington has waged their campaign. Opponents of Referendum 71 say their fight is about “protecting marriage” – and view Washington’s domestic partner law as an assault on their theocratic agenda. Meanwhile, their allies in Maine claim to have nothing against gay couples having all of the same rights and benefits – but their problem is with re-defining the term “marriage.” How they’re waging the campaign in Washington exposes this as a bald faced lie. In Maine, the state legislature and Governor passed a marriage equality law – and the right has used the “People’s Veto” process to collect signatures and put it on the ballot. In Washington, the legislature and Governor passed Senate Bill 5688 to create a domestic partnership law similar to what we currently have in California – and the right has used the “referendum” process to collect signatures and put it on the ballot. Full Story from Beyond Chron: http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7459#more

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.

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