Tag Archives: domestic partners

The bigots behind Washington state’s Referendum 71 are using the iconic 50s television show Ozzie & Harriet in their latest leaflet. Of course, we know that the kids of the real life Nelson family weren’t exactly paragons of marital virtue, just like the many, many marriages under the belts of R-71’s backers. Lurleen at Pam’s House Blend rips into it: …

(Via – Slog)

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna says he will file an appeal to the decision of a federal judge to cloak the names of those who signed the anti-gay Referendum 71, which would repeal the state’s new domestic partners law. Yesterday federal judge Ben Settle said that people have the right to participate anonymously in the political process. This ain’t …

A federal judge has ruled that the names of the bigoted signers of Referendum 71 will remain shielded from public review. If his temporary injunction stands, we’ll never really know if the signers were actually registered voters or even real people, as many questions have been raised about the entire petition process, including the verifications of the names. U.S. District …

A last-ditch effort to keep the repeal of domestic partners rights off the ballot in Washington state has failed. A judge has cleared the way for a public vote on expanded domestic partnership benefits in Washington state. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee issued his ruling on Referendum 71 Tuesday afternoon. Gay-rights supporters filed the lawsuit, claiming that state …

On Friday, Arizona’s governor signed a bill revoking health benefits from the unmarried partners of state employees under the guise of “cost cutting.” Lambda Legal fumes: State legislators for months had taken aim at the equal benefits plan approved last year by former Governor Janet Napolitano, now Department of Homeland Security Secretary. On Friday, current Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed …

Washington state judge Julie Spector has rejected a challenge to Referendum 71, the petition bid to overturn the state’s new domestic partners law. But all is not lost as the judge said she had “serious concerns” about the validity of many of the signatures and told pro-gay opponents to refile their challenge in another court. Judge Julie Spector issued her …

It appears that Washington state’s proposed Referendum 71, the petition drive to repeal domestic partners legislation, has squeaked by with enough valid signatures to make the November ballot. With the Referendum 71 signature-check now nearly complete, state election officials say they’ve now confirmed that sponsors turned in more than the bare minimum needed for a spot on the November statewide …

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission has decided to make public the names of those who donated to Referendum 71, the ballot drive to repeal domestic partners legislation. The Commission decided that the anti-gay group, Protect Marriage, had no proof that people has been threatened for making similar donations. The request to remove the names was made earlier this month …

Yesterday the El Paso, Texas City Council voted 7-1 to grant health benefits to the partners of the city’s LGBT employees. The vote, which was spurred by bad publicity after a gay couple was kicked out of a local restaurant for kissing, came after weeks of protest and criticism from local religious leaders. A huge crowd attended the City Council …

Saying that legislators violated the will of the voters, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is refusing to defend his state’s new domestic partner’s law against a lawsuit brought by the Wisconsin Family Council. “When the people have spoken by amending our Constitution, I will abide by their command,” said Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who believes the law is …

As the rate of bad Referendum 71 signatures continues to rise, Washington state’s wingnuts are accusing LGBT activists of pressuring election officials to speed up the process, thereby causing errors. The Faith and Freedom Network’s Gary Randall bleats: The hurry-up plan was put in place as the homosexual lobby discovered that the faster the checkers checked, the more names were …

The tiny U.S. territory of Guam is considering domestic partners legislation. The island’s Democratic leadership would like to pursue full marriage equality, but have struck a compromise with the Catholic Church. “Guam’s bill is domestic partnership, unfortunately. It is not the marriage, it is not the civil union. I have promised the Archbishop [Anthony Apuron] not to use either one …

In a strange turnaround, Washington state election officials have reversed their error rates on the signature validation process for Referendum 71 petitions, the ballot drive that would repeal the state’s new domestic partners law. Dominic Holden at Slog: After days of posting the number of invalid signatures for anti-gay Referendum 71, elections officials are retracting their counts, declaring that hundreds …

Washington state auditors report that the percentage of bad signatures on the petition drive to repeal domestic partners legislation is increasing. “Overall, 23,457 signatures have been processed, with a cumulative error rate of 13.31 percent. Sponsors need to get 120,577 of their signatures declared valid in order to secure a ballot spot. They turned in 137,689 signatures back on July …

Wisconsin’s domestic partners law went into effect yesterday and gay folks appeared at county clerk offices around the state to apply for the 43 protections granted by the new legislation. Anti-gay groups including the Alliance Defense Fund are suing to overturn the law, saying it violates the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

After suffering poor national press due to a group of gay men threatened with arrest for kissing in a local restaurant, last week the El Paso, Texas city council voted to extend domestic partner benefits to the city’s gay and unwed employees. Right on cue, Christiantists showed up at last night to scream their heads off. “If our government starts …

The rate of bad names found so far on Washington’s domestic partners repeal petitions indicates that the measure may make the ballot, although it’s very early in the count. The secretary of state’s office said Monday evening that it has completed its second day of checking signatures on Referendum 71 – the attempt to repeal Washington’s “everything but marriage” same-sex …

Anti-gay Referendum 71 wackjob Greg MacPherson didn’t want to be videotaped turning in petitions and screamed for the police, saying he was a famous public figure and therefore could not be taped without his permission. State troopers showed up to school the asshole. Via Pam Spaulding: As if trying to prevent Washington families from having solid legal protections isn’t harassment …

At the demand of right-wing Christiantists, a Washington judge has blocked the release of the names of the people who signed Referendum 71, a petition to repeal the state’s new domestic partners law. A federal judge in Tacoma has temporarily blocked release of the names and addresses of those who signed Referendum 71, which would repeal a law giving gay …