petitions

...now browsing by tag

UK: Catholic Church in Hot Water Over Petition Push in Schools

Friday, April 27th, 2012

A row has erupted over correspondence issued by the Catholic Education Service to nearly 400 Catholic schools in England and Wales which asked them to ‘draw the attention’ of pupils to the Coalition for Marriage’s anti-equality petition, first revealed by PinkNews.co.uk yesterday.

Several organisations believe the action may have violated education and equality laws, suggestions denied by the Catholic body.

The Catholic Education Service is the government liaison agency for the Catholic bishops in England and Wales for the support and promotion of Catholic education.

Full Story from Pink News

Find more articles and gay wedding resources in the United Kingdom.

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. We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: catholic church, children, marriage equality, petitions, schools, united kingdom

WA, USA: Despite Rebellion, Many Catholic Parishes Collecting Signatures for Marriage Equality Repeal

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Responding to an appeal from their archbishop, most Catholic parishes in Western Washington are collecting signatures after Masses this weekend and over the next few months for Referendum 74, the ballot measure seeking to overturn the state’s new same-sex marriage law.

But pastors at a small yet growing number of parishes – including one in Tacoma – are saying no to Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain’s request. They are refusing to allow petition signing.

The outcome of the petition drive among Catholics could play a major role in whether R-74 makes it to voters. The campaign has a long way to go with nearly 100,000 valid signatures still needed in less than two months.

Full Story from The News Tribune

Click here for gay travel resources in Washington State.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: catholic churches, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, parishes, petitions, repeal

Scotland, UK: Marriage Equality Opponents Turn in 1,000 Signatures to Deputy First Minister

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

More than 1,000 Catholic constituents of the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, have signed a petition calling for her to oppose changing the law to allow gay couples to marry.

Representatives from the Catholic Knights of St Columba collected signatures at five churches in the Ms Sturgeon’s constituency and handed the petition to her this morning.

More than 50,000 people responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on introducing full marriage equality in the country. Ms Sturgeon had previously stated that the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) Government was minded towards introducing equality.

Full Story from Pink News

Click here for gay wedding resources in the United Kingdom.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, marriage equality, opposition, petitions, scotland, united kingdom

WA: Marriage Equality Repeal Effort Off to Slow Start?

Monday, April 9th, 2012

The drive to repeal marriage equality in Washington State is not off to an auspicious start, if the campaign’s reported number of collected signatures supporting a November referendum is accurate.

Though a judge approved ballot language for Referendum 74 nearly one month ago, the group Preserve Marriage Washington, the NOM-backed group pushing for repeal of the the new law, reports that only 5,680 signatures have been collected. 120,577 valid signatures are needed by June 6 to put the measure on the November ballot, and the organization says it’s aiming to collect 150,000.

A spokesman for the group told the Seattle Times that it would consider hiring paid signature gatherers to reach the minimum threshold needed.

Full Story from The Advocate

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: effort, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, petitions, repeal, signatures, washington

WA, USA: Competing Sides on Marriage Equality Law Gathering Support

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

There was a time when gay-rights supporters fought fire with fire, when they staged operations with names like “Bigot Busters” — showing up in parking lots, fairs and festivals — places where their opponents were collecting signatures with the goal of mixing it up.

Now, as the campaign to put same-sex-marriage legislation on the November ballot gets under way, those wishing to repeal it are making petitions available in hundreds of churches, businesses and private homes across the state, while their opponents have turned not to parking lots and community events, but to the Internet, hoping to “log” as many supporters as the other side can collect signatures.

Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, a broad coalition seeking to defend the same-sex-marriage legislation, said the campaign rejected the more direct, face-to-face strategy as negative, choosing instead to focus on urging people to show their support by completing and returning postcards available online.

Full Story from the Seattle Times

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: churches, marriage equality, petitions, postcards, signatures, washington state

WA: Judge Dumps “Redefine Marriage” From Referendum 74 Language; Signature Gathering to Begin

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

The two sides in Washington’s same-sex marriage debate argued for changes in the ballot wording for Referendum 74 today. The hearing lasted all morning, and Judge Tom McPhee finally approved the wording this afternoon in Thurston County Superior Court.

“It’s much worse,” Joseph Backholm of the Family Policy Institute of Washington said of McPhee’s changes to wording submitted by the Attorney General’s Office Backholm is part of the Preserve Marriage Washington campaign that now plans to print petitions this afternoon. “They’ll be out by tomorrow,” Backholm said.

Preserve Marriage is the sponsor of R-74, which in a nutshell seeks to ask voters whether they will ratify or reject legislation passed in February that legalizes same-sex marriages in Washington. The wording choices by McPhee appear to be a victory for the pro-gay side in that it did not say R-74 will redefine marriage, which attorney Austin Nimocks sought on behalf of the Preserve Marriage campaign.

Full Story from The Olympian

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: marriage equality, petitions, redefine marriage, referendum 4, repeal, washington state

ME: Update on the Marriage Equality Petition Drive

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Days after marriage equality proponents turned in petitions to the Maine secretary of state’s office to put the question on the November ballot, both supporters and opponents of the measure are gearing up for a political fight. Again.

On Jan. 26, supporters turned in petitions with 105,000 signatures, nearly double the 57,000 signatures required to put a citizens’ initiative on the ballot.

This is not the first time a marriage equality proposal has come before voters. In 2009, opponents successfully mounted a citizens veto of a gay marriage law passed by the Legislature.

Full Story from Seacoast Online

Click here for gay wedding resources in Maine.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, maine, marriage equality, petitions

CA: Love Honor Cherish Begins Gathering Signatures to Repeal Prop 8

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

As the fight to repeal Proposition 8 on the November ballot begins, Love Honor Cherish has partnered with the NOH8 Campaign to create a public education campaign telling voters why marriage equality is important.

The partnership will launch at a party being organized by nonprofit group “Reason to Party” in San Francisco this Sunday, Jan. 22.

Love Honor Cherish was formed in 2008 and has dedicated itself to repealing Prop. 8 in November. Last month, the group brought on Eric Harrison, formerly of EQCA, to serve as its first paid staff member to help coordinate its effort.

Full Story from SDGLN

Click here for gay wedding resources in California.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Responses »
Tags: california, love honor cherish, petitions, prop 8, repeal

CA: Prop 8 Repeal Gets Go Ahead for Signature Collection

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

A gay rights group that wants to repeal the state constitutional amendment that stripped same-sex couples in California of the right to get married received clearance Friday to start gathering signatures for a measure that would rescind the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8.

Los Angeles-based Love, Honor, Cherish has until May 14 to collect the 807,615 voter signatures required to qualify its initiative for the November 2012 ballot, the secretary of state’s office said.

California voters passed Proposition 8 with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage by striking down a pair of laws that had limited marriage to a man and a woman. The measure inserted the one man-one woman provision into the state Constitution, thereby overruling the court’s decision and halting same-sex marriages in California.

Full Story from SFGate

Click here for gay wedding resources in California.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: california, initiative, marriage equality, petitions, prop 8, signatures

Equality Maine Collects Signatures at Polls – 60K Down, 15K to Go

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Supporters of same-sex marriage hoped to use the critical mass of voters on Election Day to reach their goal of gathering more than 75,000 petition signatures to put a question on next year’s ballot.

In August, a coalition led by EqualityMaine launched a petition drive for a citizens’ initiative that would ask Mainers the following question on the November 2012 ballot:

“Do you favor a law allowing marriage licenses for same-sex couples that protects religious freedom by ensuring no religion or clergy be required to perform such a marriage in violation of their religious beliefs?”

Full Story from the Bangor Daily News

Click here for gay wedding resources in Maine.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: maine, marriage equality, petitions, signatures