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Tag: domestic partnerships

Reminder: Many domestic partnerships converting to marriage

Reminder: Many domestic partnerships converting to marriage

Secretary of State Kim Wyman and her Corporations and Charities Division are reminding state-registered domestic partners that on June 30, the new same-sex marriage law will automatically convert roughly 6,500 state-registered domestic partnerships into marriage. The division is sending a letter this week to nearly 7,500 active domestic partnership couples, including a copy and summary of the Marriage Equality Act of 2012, a letter from the Department of Health, a request for information with return envelope, and a sample of…

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Doe v. Reed: Appeals Court upholds R-71 petition releases

Doe v. Reed: Appeals Court upholds R-71 petition releases

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge to Washington’s policy of releasing initiative and referendum petitions, specifically the Referendum 71 signatures submitted to force a public vote on the “everything but marriage” law three years ago. Secretary of State Sam Reed said he was pleased with the decision and that it honors the state voters’ commitment to the Public Records Act and transparency in government.  Reed said he hopes the challengers will let the decision stand, now…

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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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R-71 sponsors renew bid to ban petition release

R-71 sponsors renew bid to ban petition release

UPDATE:  The Friday hearing referred to by anti-gay marriage activists will not occur. The judge has temporarily dismissed their motion to ban release of R-71 petitions, but they can re-file the request after the U.S. Supreme Court officially returns the case to the U.S. District Court in Tacoma. Original post, with the new timing information added: It’s back to court again, as foes of last year’s Referendum 71 renew a request that the petitions be sealed from public disclosure. Protect…

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R-71 records: McKenna, Reed head to Supreme Court

R-71 records: McKenna, Reed head to Supreme Court

Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed hope to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the state’s strong voter-approved Public Records Act and the policy of allowing release of initiative and referendum petitions, as most states do. Reed, the state’s chief elections officer, is the respondent in the closely watched Doe v. Reed lawsuit that could affect how petitions are handled across America.  He and McKenna met with the press on Monday to describe the landmark…

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R-71 petitions: Attorneys press case to high court

R-71 petitions: Attorneys press case to high court

In the run-up to the U.S.  Supreme Court’s April 28 hearing on public release of initiative and referendum petitions, the state is underscoring that the voter-approved Public Records Act requires release.  The public’s demand for transparency and accountability of the government is “compelling and substantial,” attorneys for the Secretary of State said in a brief submitted to the high court on Thursday. The thick 60-page brief is a reply to the efforts of Protect Marriage Washington (foes of the state’s…

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Post R-71: Domestic partner registrations boom

Post R-71: Domestic partner registrations boom

In the months since Washington lawmakers expanded the state’s domestic partnership law, the popularity of the program has steadily risen, most notably in the past two months. Officials of the state domestic-partnership registry in the state Corporations and Charities Division say that since the Legislature created the registry three years ago, the average weekly sign-ups have between about 35 or 40.  The registry is for gay and lesbian couples who maintain a household together, and for heterosexual domestic partners where…

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5 Questions with the Corporations Director

5 Questions with the Corporations Director

A new domestic partnership law goes into effect today. Pamela Floyd, Director for the agency’s Corporations and Charities Division, fills you in on how state domestic partnership registrations are impacted by the new law: Q.) Domestic partnerships are registered with your agency’s Corporation Division. Now that the law is in effect, does the process stay the same? The registration process stays the same. Domestic partnerships are still registered with our agency’s Corporations Division. Couples who want to register as domestic partnerships…

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Thurston judge OKs pause in Eyman lawsuit

Thurston judge OKs pause in Eyman lawsuit

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks has granted the state’s request to pause  further proceedings in initiative activist Tim Eyman’s court challenge of the Secretary of State’s policy of releasing initiative petitions under terms of the Public Records Act. Hicks agreed with a motion brought by a senior official of the Attorney General’s Office, Deputy Solicitor General James Pharris, to put a hold on the Thurston County lawsuit while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to review a federal…

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