Hotline, web site set up to

protect petition backers

Concerned Washingtonians seek to

keep traditional definition of marriage

    OLYMPIA, Wash. — Concerned Washington residents — many of them representing churches and evangelical Christian groups — have until July 25 to gather enough signatures for a statewide vote this fall on a controversial measure they say pertains to marriage. A Christian legal rights agency has stepped forward to help protect supporters of the effort from any potential retaliation by opponents.
     Last month the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) opened a free telephone hotline (1-800-655-6592) and web page (www.telladf.org/r71) for Washingtonians who believe they have credible reports of retaliation against them because of their support of Referendum 71. Referendum 71 is a citizen initiative that would allow voters to decide on a state Senate bill that, according to ADF, makes marriage and “registered domestic partnerships” effectively the same except in name. To make this November’s ballot, 120,577 valid signatures of registered voters must be secured by July 25. As of late June, 60,000 petition sheets had been distributed statewide.

    Opponents of Referendum 71 say domestic partnerships are not equal to marriage. Some of the opponents have promised to post on the Internet personal information about referendum supporters.
   “No one should have to worry about their own personal safety because of the way he or she wants to vote,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “Washington voters shouldn’t have to choose between being involved in the democratic process and opening themselves up to possible acts of retaliation as a result of having their personal information posted on the web.
    “If that happens to anyone, we invite them to use the free hotline or web page specifically set up for such reports. Public information should never be used as a means of political intimidation.”
    There is no fee to phone the hotline or to register any report of retaliation through the web site. Any legal services ADF provides are free of charge.
    If Referendum 71 supporters gather a sufficient number of signatures by July 25, Washington voters would be able to approve or reject Senate Bill 5688, which states, “It is the intent of the Legislature that for all purposes under state law, state registered domestic partners shall be treated the same as married spouses.”
    Christian groups such as Protect Marriage Washington (www.protechmarriagewa) and Faith and Freedom Network (faithandfreedom.us) contend that while SB 5688 was presented to the Legislature as an expansion of benefits for domestic partners, that it actually will erode the state’s historical understanding and definition of marriage as that of uniting a man and a woman for life. They say the state goverment would face lawsuits by same-sex partners demanding the courts overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and impose same-sex marriage as happened recently in California, prior to passage there of Proposition 8.
     ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith and aiming to preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.