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Gregoire OKs gay marriage; ballot challenge launched

Gregoire OKs gay marriage; ballot challenge launched

Joseph Backholm pays the $5 filing fee as he files R-73 Monday afternoon. Feb. 14 UPDATE: The referendum number has been changed to R-74. Challengers of Washington’s newly signed gay-marriage bill have filed a referendum challenge.  Less than four hours after Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law the bill authorizing civil marriage for same-sex couples, SB6239, Joseph Backholm of Preserve Marriage Washington filed Referendum 74 seeking to overturn the law. Backholm, who has the backing of a number of in-state…

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FAQ on pending gay-marriage referendum

FAQ on pending gay-marriage referendum

UPDATE:  Washington’s gay-marriage legislation, Senate Bill 6239, easily cleared the House 55 to 43 Wednesday after 2 1/2 hours of emotional debate. It now heads to  Gov. Chris Gregoire for her signature, probably in a big ceremony next week. And challengers already are making plans for a ballot challenge. How would that work? What’s the timeline?  What does the filing of a referendum mean to people who were thinking about a summertime wedding? Here is a look at how a…

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Lawmakers kick off election-year session

Lawmakers kick off election-year session

Washington lawmakers are back at work, confronting a $1.5 billion budget gap, the possibility of a tax referendum, and a number of touchy social issues, including gay marriage, marijuana, and abortion — all within the context of 2012 being the first election since redistricting. The session got off to a very quiet start at noon Monday, with few speeches and few protesters outside.  That was in marked contrast to the noisy reception lawmakers got when Occupy Olympia and thousands of…

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Gregoire urges lawmakers to OK gay marriage

Gregoire urges lawmakers to OK gay marriage

Gov. Chris Gregoire is urging the Washington Legislature to make the state the seventh in the US to authorize same-sex marriage. The Democratic governor, in an emotional press conference at the Capitol, said she had struggled with the issue for years, primarily because her Catholic faith opposes gay marriage. She said public opinion, particularly among young people, has shifted toward favoring same-sex marriage.  She added: “I’ve been on my own journey. … It is the right thing to do and…

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R-71 petitions sealed as foes appeal

R-71 petitions sealed as foes appeal

Protect Marriage Washington, which is appealing the Doe v. Reed ruling that upheld release of Referendum 71 petitions, has filed an emergency motion with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to halt further release of the petitions while the appeal proceeds. The State Archives in the Office of Secretary of State already has released more than 30 sets of the 137,000 signatures, and has two more pending. But on advice of counsel, further releases are suspended until the court considers…

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R-71 petition challenge heads back to court in May

R-71 petition challenge heads back to court in May

(UPDATED AT 12:25 p.m., Nov. 19 to show Eyman has dropped his state lawsuit.) Protect Marriage Washington, gay-marriage opponents who sponsored a public vote on the state’s new domestic partnership law last November, have been given a May 31 trial date for their effort to ban public release of the 138,000 names of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions. In the meantime, the names will remain sealed, under a ruling from the bench this week by U.S. District Judge Benjamin…

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Initiative petition release green-lighted

Initiative petition release green-lighted

The Office of Secretary of State has begun the process of releasing copies of petitions for about a dozen initiatives, most sponsored by initiative activist Tim Eyman. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks on Friday lifted his previous ban on releasing initiative and referendum petitions under the state’s voter-approved Public Records Act.  The Secretary of State’s public records officer, Brenda Galarza, on Tuesday began making arrangements with individuals who had requested the petitions submitted for 11 initiatives in earlier…

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R-71 public records update: Release ban continues

R-71 public records update: Release ban continues

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has ruled that Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed   will continue to be blocked from releasing Referendum 71 signatures while challengers mount a federal court case that aims to keep the 138,000 names under wraps permanently. The judge, in a brief hearing in his courtroom in Tacoma on Wednesday, agreed to the Reed’s request for an expedited hearing schedule. The challengers, Protect Marriage Washington, will release a list of its witnesses so the Attorney General…

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R-71 petition challenge heading back to court

R-71 petition challenge heading back to court

Protect Marriage Washington, gay-marriage opponents who forced a public vote on the state’s new domestic partnership law last November, are heading back to court to try to ban public release of the 138,000 names of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a case called Doe v. Reed, ruled 8-1 on June 24 that, as a general matter, release of petitions does not violate voters’ constitutional rights. But the court also left open the possibility of…

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WA Poll: Dino-Patty, pot, income tax and more …

WA Poll: Dino-Patty, pot, income tax and more …

The Washington Poll from folks at U-Dub shows a potentially tight race for U.S. Senate and support for both a state income tax on high-wage earners and re-asserting a two-thirds supermajority requirement for raising taxes in Olympia. The statewide poll, conducted May 3-23, has Democratic Sen. Patty Murray at 44 percent and Republican Dino Rossi at 40 percent.  Rossi, the Republican candidate for governor in the past two elections, was expected to jump into the Senate campaign on Wednesday.  The…

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