News Oct 1, 2009 at 4:00 am

Without You, Referendum 71 Could Lose in the Election (but Helping Defend Gay Rights Is Easy—Here's How)

Mark Kaufmann

Comments

1
Rule of thumb: tell annoyed friends that you'll stop talking the moment they show you their ballot marked "approved" going into the mail box. But you may consider quieting down a little sooner if they show you a nice juicy Approve71.org donation receipt first.
2
There's between 70k and 75k GLBT folks in Seattle proper, and if they all vote and tell 5 friends to vote and to tell 2 friends to vote, that's up to 750k potential voters right there that would likely swing to our side.

Seriously, it's not that hard. Call your 5 friends and ask them if they voted and ask if they called their 2 friends to ask them if they voted. Heck, you can have your FOAF ask 2 people just to ice the cake and make sure everyone knows.

Also, make sure at least one of those 5 folks is from east of the cascades!
3
For this week, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to get people REGISTERED TO VOTE!!! The regular registration deadline is Oct. 5. If you have a Washington State driver's license or ID, you can register online; if not, you can print the paper form you'll need to register. In any case, DO IT NOW!!!

You can register at https://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/secure/….

If you're registered, it's a good idea to check to make sure you're active. To check your registration, enter your name and birthdate in the form at http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/VoterVau…. If you've received a ballot in the mail, you know that they have your address right. (If you've moved since, update your address.)

People, this takes less than five minutes. DO IT NOW, then ask your friends if they're registered and get them to if they're not. AND, most importantly, ask THEM to ask THEIR friends to register and ask THEIR friends....keep the "chain" going.

We will lose this one if we don't get people to register and vote. Period. On Sept. 22, we had the barest of majorities: 51%. That number will go down when the scare tactic ads hit. Our side isn't likely to be able to do much advertising because of the short time frame--so our ONLY hope is to get people REGISTERED and get them to VOTE.

Ask all your friends if they're registered. You'll be surprised at how many aren't! Help them get registered--it's the only way they'll be able to vote!
4
Found a site that will stick an "Approve R-71" icon on top of your twitter icon. Copy this link into your browser: http://twibbon.com/join/Approve-R-71

Then click the "login" link just below the Show My Support Now button, and lastly click the Show My Support Now button. Easy as can be.
5
I am appalled our government would let so many people waste so much time and effort to dictate the lives of so few.

I am appalled at how confusing this vote actually is as I do believe most who oppose gay rights will vote yes and approve and those who approve gay rights will vote no to oppose it.

I am appalled at how the ignorance and brainwashed ideals of a corrupted political media will lead to such a "Jug fuck of misery"
6
Come and meet Hot Homos TONIGHT as we have a Fundraiser and Awareness Event at Purr Cocktail Lounge from 7pm to 10pm - Purr is on 11th Ave bet Pike and Pine on Capitol Hill. 71 Citron Martinis with a portion going to the APPROVE Ref 71 Campaign, voter registration, raffles with fab prizes to raise money... APPROVE Ref 71 Campaign folks will be there to let you know what you can do!
7
Make sure to tell people to vote no on Eyman's I-1033 as well! The passage of that would be a disaster for Washington state as well as its cities and counties. It is opposed by groups from all parts of the political spectrum from the Seattle Chamber of Commerce to labor and environmental groups.

8
How about using the term "Christian fanatic"?

In this country it is "Muslim fanatic", "Jewish extremist", and Christians never go beyond "fundamentalist".

It is time we will label those doctors' shooters, science deniers, and rightcists racists as who they really are.

Ladies and Gentlemen..... "Christian fanatics"
9
5688 / Ref-71is bad legislation and has the at least the following problems.

1) A) It unnecessarily redefines Husband and Wife through out the entire Revised Code of Washington (RCW) to gender neutral. A point not mentioned by the lemming media or the Approve Ref-71 crowd.
B) The public schools by law will be forced to teach gay marriage as mainstream; the people of faith who have means will pull their kids from the public schools in mass and put them into private school hurting our public school system.
C) Since redefining Husband and Wife is pulling at a basic thread of our legal tapestry, this will need to be argued out in court at public expense; providing job stimulus to lawyers at public expense.
D) Shall we see future marriages of more than two people? Who will pay for the benefits of state workers if they have more than one wife? Will the state force businesses to pay for the benefits of multiple spouses?

2) It is budget negative. 5688 / Ref-71 will cost the state millions of more dollars each year according to an independent state study.

3) If it is Rejected, the legislators can re-write it next year and fix the above problems.

I will be advising people to Reject R-71
10
@9: Did you not read the article? The legislature is not going to revisit this issue next year if Ref 71 is rejected by voters. We're not stupid enough to fall for your bullshit.
11
@9: Washington State Law/DOMA is bad legislation and has the at least the following problems.

1) A) It creates a special class of citizen outside the normal means of Equal Protection as defined by the Constitution.
B)Public Schools are forced to teach students that being gay is wrong, contributing to already record suicide rates among teenagers.
C) Since defining Husband and Wife as a man and a woman is so restrictive, the state loses hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax money to the federal government every year and millions more in discretionary spending and additional buying power. It also puts a burden on loving couples in the realm of self-determination, self-sufficiency and matters of health and love.
D) Shall we see the state government restrict marriage to a certain race or religion? Will the government attempt to nullify standing marriages for not meeting a particular ideal?

2) It is budget negative. In additional federal taxes alone, same-sex couples send more than 10 million additional dollars in tax money to the federal government a year, millions more than the typical yearly cost incurred by this bill. This ignores discretionary spending and additional buying power, costing the state several hundred thousand dollars in additional sales tax a year. It also sends insurance money out of state as couples attempt to insure their loved ones at a rate much higher than a married couple, further eroding the state's tax base.
12
I am a local cable television producer, and on the 7th of October we will tape a power punch program with both sides present on Referendum 71. Yes, both sides will be present. We are the only media In Washington state that is going to air the full story. However, KING TV, The stranger and others have said they will be attending. This is a mile stone for me personally- yet, the Show's will air in South King county and Seattle proper, prior to November 3. Be watching Channel 77- for program times. Look for Hour Fourm. Visit us also at http://www.hourfourm.net for more information.
Folks, it is about rights, our rights, freedom.. our freedom.
13
#10, You don't understand politics very well. If this doesn't pass, next year is an election year and the liberal left will make passing this a priority to catch all those single issue votes. And who is the jerk here? If this is SUCH and important issue to them, why not revisit next year? Also #10 generally when you resort to the vernacular aspect of the language, you concede the point and tell the world your lexicon is limited..,

SB 5688 It is sub par legislation and they did a sloppy job writing it. They deserve to have it shoved back in their face for a re-write. Laws on the books are forever, let’s get it right before it is passed and try to minimize the budget sucking lawyers making easy money off the taxpayers…

Don’t forget, ya don’t have to marry the first beau who that ask you to dance…

As for the budget negative comment, well it was not my study, it was a non- partisan study done by the state. #11 in his comment revealed the real agenda behind SB 5688; an elimination of DOMA. That is the most honest comment I’ve seen in print by the Pro-5688 crowd to date.
14
It always has been seen by them as one more tool to be used for the elimination of DOMA. Gay lobbies have been very open about it. We just need to show the public what they have written and said.
15
One more thing you can do... PUBLICLY SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND OUR NUMBERS BY MARCHING FOR EQUALITY ON OCTOBER 12... It's a national event. There will be HUGE media coverage (more so if the Stranger gets involved)... FREE ADVERTISING FOR THE APPROVE REF 71 CAMPAIGN...

Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend October 10 – 11, 2009

Seattle OUTProtest has brought together a grassroots coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight people and organizations to organize a series of solidarity events to coincide with the National March for Equality this October.

March and Rally
Forty years after the Stonewall Rebellion, we march in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and allies in Washington, DC to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and to show our public support for the Approval of Referendum 71 here in Washington state.
Sunday, October 11
2:00 pm: Volunteer Park, 10th Ave E & E Prospect
5:00 pm: Rally, Federal Courthouse, 7th & Stewart

Thinking Queerly: Community Workshops on LGBT Issues
Community organizers and activists will present a series of workshops on a range of issues affecting the lgbt community including Stonewall and lgbt movement history, homelessness, hate crimes and self defense, lgbt health, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, lgbt legal issues, Gay-Straight Alliances, marriage equality, and more.
Saturday, October 10
9:30 am to 5 pm
Piggot Auditorium, Seattle University

HIV/AIDS Vigil
As the AIDS pandemic nears its fourth decade, we gather to educate and raise awareness about the continued struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, friends, and support networks as well as to demand all resources and all funding necessary for prevention, treatment, and a cure.
Saturday, October 10
Starting at 6 pm
Seattle Central Community College South Plaza, Broadway & E Pine

Generation Q Mega Mixer
Come mingle and mix with seasoned leaders and activists of the GLBTQ community at the Generation Q Mega Mixer. Young leaders (25 and under please) will have the opportunity to socialize, learn from, and quite possibly have a dance off with some of the community's most inspiring members in a relaxed social environment.
Sunday, October 11
6:30 pm
Sole Repair Shop, 1001 E Pike

Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend March & Rally
http://nationalmarch.seattleoutprotest.o…

Get involved with one of our planning committees! Contact for more time and details:
March/Rally Committee, March@seattleoutprotest.org
Workshops Committee, Workshops@seattleoutprotest.org
Outreach Committee, Outreach@seattleoutprotest.org
Mixer Committee, Mixer@seattleoutprotest.org
HIV/AIDS Vigil Committee, Vigil@seattleoutprotest.org

Biweekly General Organizing Meetings, please contact whitney@seattleoutprotest.org for time and location.

National Equality March: Equality Across America
www.equalityacrossamerica.org

Endorsed by Seattle Gay News, Washington Families Standing Together, Radical Women, Queer Ally Coalition, International Socialist Organization, Socialist Alternative, Freedom Socialist Party, Gay City Health Project, Entre Hermanos, Cascades Rainbow Community Center/Skagit, Seattle OUTProtest, Community to Community Development, Bellingham, Sub Pop Records, 5th District Democrats (www.5thdems.org), American Friends Service Committee, Inlaws & Outlaws and the True Stories Project, Pride at Work, Washington Jobs with Justice - MLK, Seattle Education Association, Out in Tacoma, Rainbow Center of Tacoma, Queer Kidz, Temple B'Nai Torah, PFLAG Olympia, Amnesty International, Metropolitan Community Church - Seattle, Center for MultiCultural Health, Washington Marriage Alliance, The Backpack Project, A.N.S.W.E.R., Party for Socialism and Liberation, PFLAG - Olympia, The Queer Foundation, PFLAG - Bellevue

Approve Referendum 71
Keep the Domestic Partnership Law
16
@13/@14: We have NEVER made it a secret that we don't like DOMA. It is simply unprincipled and unproductive legislation that does not serve its stated purpose.

There is no protection of traditional marriage via DOMA, it's simply the invention of a right to marriage and the acknowledgment of the existence of a special class of citizen. Saying there's a protection inherent to DOMA is like saying eugenics is protection of a particular race.

DOMA as a whole is useless. It results in a negative financial state for cities and states, it doesn't even approach actual protective measures for traditional marriages and it has no legitimate purpose except to codify an ideal, which we've learned is not a good way to govern.

If DOMA were really meant to protect marriages, it would address real-world problems, such as:
-Declining marriage rates
-Increasing divorce rates
-Domestic Violence
-Incongruity in wages and taxation
-Medical leave
-Infant mortality
-Healthcare disparity within marriages
-etc.
Instead, DOMA pointedly ignores all of those and leaves those problems to assault marriage. The only defense of DOMA is a handful of lies.

The oft-repeated lie is that restricting marriage to a man and woman legitimizes it, and opening it to same-sex pairings would erode it suddenly. Yet, with DOMA in place, marriage rates have plummeted and divorce rates have jumped. Failure on that end.

Another lie is that legalizing same-sex marriage would open the door to other types of pairings currently illegal. And yet, not a single piece of legislation has come forth with a legitimate chance of passing in any governmental subdivision where same-sex pairings are legal, except in Washington where we want to make it legal for senior citizens to maintain their financial well-being and the security of their current family structure. Equating same-sex and senior citizen partnerships with marrying a horse or 15 partners fails anything resembling logic.

Still another lie is that it would mandate teaching children that same-sex marriage is okay. And yet, with DOMA in place, support for marriage equality in Washington State is at 66% among 18-29 year olds, gaining 1-2 points per annum, also pushing support among 29 to 44 year olds to 56% and gaining 1-2 points per year as well. This is after two decades of a culture war that has tried hard to scream over and over about how marriage is a man and a woman.

I would say specifically that I'm anticipating a real rout against anti-equality activists with a specifically anti-family agenda in about 4-6 years, but I won't. Not today. Before a tidal wave comes, the ocean retreats and the fools rush forward, which is what I see with anti-equality activists and their assault on families. At some point, society will crash over the NOM and FRCs of the world and sweep them out to irrelevance.

For now though, we'll stand here on the moral high ground and watch you sling around in the mud.
18
You know what, at this point, I just don't give a shit any more. I've come to a point where yeah, sure, I support gay rights and all that noise, and I think bigots are basically big turds, but in the end I just don't *care* any more. I'd like to, don't get me wrong. But I don't. And I don't think I'm going to again, I just... I just don't care.
19
who agrees with this : to marry as a gay couple one could simply gain the churches recognition as a union no men can tear asunder
the church allows the bride to be wed in a veiled and voluminous costume that makes it possible for any man to be the bride
certainly the lesbian sector is able to pull off the needed accesorization to appear a man
what will the law have to say its a union in the eyes of god that is no different than any other
come on do you think the gay friendly catholic priesthood would be offended to find you had decieved them when the union is done and its time to kiss the bride?
why do you think they let you wear a veil for anyway
i will say this as a thought for food

should gays be allowed to marry? the battle rages on
consider for a minute the lies adultery donestic violence even death----
should gays be allowed to marry:? NO
NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO MARRY!!!!!!
lol
20
Who cares?
21
Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend October 10 – 11, 2009

Seattle OUTProtest has brought together a grassroots coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight people and organizations to organize a series of solidarity events to coincide with the National March for Equality this October.

March and Rally
Forty years after the Stonewall Rebellion, we march in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and allies in Washington, DC to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and to show our public support for the Approval of Referendum 71 here in Washington state.
Sunday, October 11
2:00 pm: Volunteer Park, 10th Ave E & E Prospect
5:00 pm: Rally, Federal Courthouse, 7th & Stewart

Thinking Queerly: Community Workshops on LGBT Issues
Community organizers and activists will present a series of workshops on a range of issues affecting the lgbt community including Stonewall and lgbt movement history, homelessness, hate crimes and self defense, lgbt health, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, lgbt legal issues, Gay-Straight Alliances, marriage equality, and more.
Saturday, October 10
9:30 am to 5 pm
Piggot Auditorium, Seattle University

HIV/AIDS Vigil
As the AIDS pandemic nears its fourth decade, we gather to educate and raise awareness about the continued struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, friends, and support networks as well as to demand all resources and all funding necessary for prevention, treatment, and a cure.
Saturday, October 10
Starting at 6 pm
Seattle Central Community College South Plaza, Broadway & E Pine

Generation Q Mega Mixer
Come mingle and mix with seasoned leaders and activists of the GLBTQ community at the Generation Q Mega Mixer. Young leaders (25 and under please) will have the opportunity to socialize, learn from, and quite possibly have a dance off with some of the community's most inspiring members in a relaxed social environment.
Sunday, October 11
6:30 pm
Sole Repair Shop, 1001 E Pike

Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend March & Rally
http://nationalmarch.seattleoutprotest.o…

Get involved with one of our planning committees! Contact for more time and details:
March/Rally Committee, March@seattleoutprotest.org
Workshops Committee, Workshops@seattleoutprotest.org
Outreach Committee, Outreach@seattleoutprotest.org
Mixer Committee, Mixer@seattleoutprotest.org
HIV/AIDS Vigil Committee, Vigil@seattleoutprotest.org

Biweekly General Organizing Meetings, please contact whitney@seattleoutprotest.org for time and location.

National Equality March: Equality Across America
www.equalityacrossamerica.org

Going to DC? Check in and meet other folks from Washington who are going to DC:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-E…

Approve Referendum 71
Keep the Domestic Partnership Law
23
@21
Lonnie, if you register on the website your comment will be visible to everyone.
25
It appalls me that this issue is even set to a referendum in the first place. I will use a simple syllogism to illustrate. In my understanding, a democracy is a system of government in which the majority rule on issues which affect the majority, not the minority. In Referendum 71, the majority are allowed to vote on an issue which affects not them, but only the minority. Therefore, majority rule on such a minority-only affair is undemocratic--even tyrannical.

The majority rule on issues which affect them. It does not affect Bob the Breadwinner if Sylvia gets to be with her wife, Elsie, as she dies of colon cancer in hospital. Therefore, Bob the Breadwinner and his majority have no say on the rights of Sylvia and Elsie.

How can such tyranny be allowed?
26
@ 24

We can direct our attention to both the tsunami tragedy in Samoa as well as gay rights in Washington state. The two are not mutually exclusive.
27
I just hope everyone knows that showing our numbers at the rally this weekend won't mean squat unless we also show our numbers and VOTE. There's only one tally that actually counts, and it's the one we do when we mail in our ballots.
28
oh, and @18...

If you don't care and want this issue to go away, then it's a pretty simple thing to fill out the "Approve" balloon on your ballot and send it in. We'll stop talking about it when the laws are written to protect everyone. Meantime - here's to annoying everyone into voting for equality. :)
29
http://approve71.org/ redirects to http://approvereferndum71.org, which is currently down:

"Service Unavailable

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable."
30
I live in Bothell. As far as I can tell, my girlfriend and myself are the only ones with a REF. 71 campaign sign, for or against, in the whole town.

I like to think that helps us make more of an impact, but I'd also like to see more of them hanging from apartment balconies or poking out of lawns and freeway ramps in smaller neighborhoods like mine.
31
less than an hour after we put it up, our Approve 71 yard sign was ripped out of our yard.

We live a block from the Men's Room/CCAttles, so we couldn't figure out if some drunk confused queers saw it and thought "Approve? Damn homophobes!" and ripped it up, or if non-confused actual homophobes saw it and ripped it up.

Either way, I'm out $15 bucks, and pissed off.
32
So Sherrold is stating that gays rip down signs with which they don't agree? How very Nazi of them...

Reject 71 and reject Nazi campaign tactics...

Please wait...

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