Anti-gay Petition Fails to Gather Signatures

The people of Washington strongly rejected a petition drive to repeal a recently-passed gay civil rights bill. In January, by a 25-23 vote, the state legislature passed a law that would prohibit discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people in employment, housing, and lending, making Washington the seventeenth state to extend such rights.

Immediately after passing the law, LGBT people were once again under attack when anti-tax initiative organizer Tim Eyman and a network of conservative evangelical organizations, including the Faith & Freedom Network and the Christian Coalition, joined forces to begin a petition drive to place a referendum on the November ballot to recall the civil rights law.

Despite a well-funded and well-organized anti-gay propaganda campaign and a "Referendum Sunday" effort to collect signatures at churches throughout the state, organizers collected only 105,103 signatures out of a required 112,440. The failure of the referendum effort forced organizers to reconsider their alliance of convenience. The evangelicals were not impressed with Eyman's arrogant showboating, including showing up to the press conference with the results of petition drive in a Darth Vader costume.

Washington's civil rights bill quietly went into effect on Wednesday, June 7.

The resounding defeat of anti-gay bigotry in our state should send a clear message to the people of Washington that the struggle for civil rights for everyone, including marriage equality, enjoys the support of the majority of the state's population. The struggle for gay liberation has been uneven, but with this victory, the US Supreme Court's declaration of sodomy laws unconstitutional, and the victory for marriage equality in Massachusetts, the struggle is building momentum. Gay rights organizations can now look to this positive public support to reinvigorate and mobilize the fight for marriage equality.