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Saturday, January 16th, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the names of Washington voters who sign a petition to put a law on the ballot can be made public. The high court could hear the case of Doe v. Reed as early as April, taking up the fight over the names and addresses of people who signed petitions to put Referendum 71 on last year’s November ballot.
That referendum sought to overturn expanded rights for same-sex and elderly heterosexual couples. Supporters of gay rights filed a public records request for the names of everyone who signed the petitions; referendum sponsors objected, saying they feared the signers would be harassed.
A few hours after the nation’s high court announced it was adding the case to its schedule, a state legislative committee considered dueling bills spawned by the dispute. One would provide an exemption to the state’s Public Records Act for the names and addresses on initiative or referendum petitions; the other would state categorically that they are public records.
Full Story from the Spokesman-Review
Click here for gay marriage resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in Gay Marriage, marriage equality, petitions, r71, referendum 71, same sex marriage, signatures, supreme court, wa, washington state | No Responses »
Friday, November 6th, 2009
Washington voters have approved the state’s new “everything but marriage” law, expanding rights for domestic partners and marking the first time any state’s voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box.
With about 72 percent of the expected vote counted Thursday in unofficial returns, Referendum 71 was leading 52 percent to 48 percent, with a margin of about 60,000 votes.
Sen. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who spearheaded the law, called it “a great step forward for equality in Washington state.”
Full Story from AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlGpneLaOG2koLv6cpbAJoCwS6jQD9BPNSL00
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resource in Washington State.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in domestic partnerships, Gay Marriage, r71, referendum 71, wa, washington state | No Responses »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
When Referendum 71 qualified for the ballot a few months ago, it made gay and lesbian couples uneasy.
The ballot measure was going to allow voters to decide whether same-sex partners would get many of the same rights as married couples. Post-election ballot tallies were putting their fears to rest, with their cause holding a slim but steady statewide edge on Wednesday.
“This is a historic vote,” said Joshua Friedes, campaign manager for Approve 71. “It is the first time that any state has affirmatively voted to protect gay and lesbian families with a system of comprehensive legal protections.”
Full Story from HeraldNet: http://heraldnet.com/article/20091105/NEWS01/711059859
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in domestic partnership, r71, referendum 71, slim lead, wa, washington state | No Responses »
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Maine — Question 1. Maine votes Yes on Question 1 — which means no on gay marriage — by a margin of about 52-48. Turnout was extremely high and should eventually surpass 500,000 voters, about where it was during the 2006 midterms. This fact was initially thought to favor the pro-gay marriage side — but, obviously, it didn’t. The results showed a very strong urban-rural divide, with the initiative being rejected by a margin of about 2:1 in Portland but racking up big margins in smaller towns and rural areas, especially in the north of the state.
We had given Question 1 about a 70 percent chance of being defeated based on a combination of an analysis of the polling and a statistical model. I don’t know how much time I’m supposed to spend defending being on the wrong side of a 70:30 bet — we build in a hedge for a reason — but here comes a little self-reflection. As for the polling, I think we have to seriously consider whether there is some sort of a Bradley Effect in the polling on gay rights issues, although one of the pollsters (PPP, which had a very bad night in NY-23) got it exactly right.
As for the model, I think I’ll need to look whether the urban-rural divide is a significant factor in a state in addition to its religiosity: Maine is secular, but rural. At the end of the day, it may have been too much to ask of a state to vote to approve gay marriage in an election where gay marriage itself was the headline issue on the ballot. Although the enthusiasm gap is very probably narrowing, feelings about gay marriage have traditionally been much stronger on the right than the left, and that’s what gets people up off the couch in off-year elections.
Full Story from Five Thirty Eight: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/11/what-happened-and-why.html
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in Gay Marriage, maine, question 1, r71, referendum 71, washington | No Responses »
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Tacoma City Council has weighed in on a hot-button measure on the state ballot this year, one putting rights for domestic partners up for a public vote. On Oct. 20 eight members voted for a resolution endorsing approval of Referendum 71, with Councilmember Mike Lonergan abstaining.
During the 2009 session the legislature passed a bill giving domestic partners many of the rights enjoyed by married couples. It applies to same-sex and senior citizen heterosexual couples.
Opponents of the legislation gathered enough signatures to put the matter before voters for the final decision. A vote to approve Referendum 71 keeps the state law; a vote to reject will overturn it.
Full Story from Tacoma Weekly: http://www.tacomaweekly.com/article/3690
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in city council, domestic partnerships, ensorses, r71, referendum 71, supports, tacoma | No Responses »
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
The yearly Washington Poll shows the statewide Referendum 71 for gay couples’ rights passing one week before the Nov. 3 election, while Tim Eyman’s tax-limiting Initiative 1033 is trailing.
The poll was conducted by a social research school at the University of Washington that has a track record of correctly forecasting election results. Its poll shows:
R-71 is winning by a 56 percent to 39 percent margin among registered voters. The edge was 57-38 among likely voters; likely voters were those who have sent in ballots already or said they voted in November 2007.
Full Story from the Olympian: http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/1016921.html
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State .
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in domestic partnerships, Gay Marriage, poll, r71, referendum 71, washington state | No Responses »
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Starbucks added its name to the list of major Northwest employers who support referendum 71, which would uphold Washington law that extends marriage-like benefits to gay, lesbian and some senior couples.
Last month, Boeing, Nike, Microsoft, Puget Sound Energy, RealNetworks and Vulcan issued a joint statement in favor of the measure.
Last Tuesday, Starbucks said it endorses and supports the approval of Referendum 71 because “it is aligned with our business practices, providing domestic partner benefits, and one of our core values of treating people with respect and dignity.”
Full Story from the Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/coffeecity/2010140831_starbucks_endorses_referendum.html
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in domestic partnerships, endorses, Gay Marriage, r71, referendum 71, starbucks, wahsington state | No Responses »
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Stephen Colbert returned to air last night after a week off with a particularly funny and diverse episode, tackling everything from George Will’s sartorial hypocrisy to gay rights. The latter segment focused on recent legislation passed in the state of Washington called “Everything But Marriage” which expanded the state’s domestic partnership law to offer same-sex couples the same rights as straight married people.
This legislation was met with deep dismay by Protect Marriage Washington, an anti-gay marriage group which collected signatures to get a referendum on the ballot to overturn the law, but refuses to produce the list of those who signed the petition to prove its validity to detractors. Enter Stephen Colbert. The host used rhetoric usually reserved to discuss the rights of homosexuals to turn the whole debate on its head and expose the inherent hilarity:
“I don’t believe it is a choice, I believe you’re born thinking gays don’t have the right to get married or even be joined in union. And folks, the gays have no right to out those people.”
Full Story from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/colbert-eviscerates-gay-m_n_335076.html
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in colbert report, Gay Marriage, r71, referendum 71, stephen colbert, washington state | No Responses »
