Announcement:  George Pieper is running for appointment to the Washington State House of Representatives from the 41st District.

Donate today to keep Referendum 71 off the ballot

The next 12 days are critical to protect Washington State's domestic partnership law from potential repeal. Please make a contribution today to Washington Families Standing Together, the statewide campaign working to defeat any attempt to roll-back domestic partnership rights.


WAFST UPDATE: On May 18, Governor Gregoire signed the Domestic Partnership expansion bill of 2009. Before the ink was dry, a group of ultra-conservative organizations under the name Protect Marriage Washington, together with several conservative legislators opposed to providing gay and lesbian families with equal protection under the law, filed proposed Referendum 71 to repeal the law.


To qualify Referendum 71 for the November ballot, they must submit 120,577 valid signatures by July 25th. They now claim to have collected over 75,000 signatures and contend that they are on target to qualify the referendum for the November ballot.


The Catholic Conference, the official lobbying arm of the Catholic Church, has announced its support of the repeal effort, and the Knights of Columbus has said that they are now gathering signatures. Because experience shows that most signatures are collected during the last two weeks of a campaign, we do not have the luxury of sitting back and waiting to see what happens. We need you to rise to the challenge by contributing to WAFST today.


Who is collecting signatures to take away rights from Washington families?


The groups and individuals below are working together under the name of Protect Marriage Washington:

Washington Eagle Forum, Antioch Bible Church, Washington Values Alliance, Faith and Freedom Network, Christian Coalition, YWAM & US Renewal, Family Policy Institute of Washington, Eastern Washington Advisory Board to the FPIW, Facts for Freedom, Washington Opposed to Pro-Homosexual Policies, Concerned Citizens of Pierce County, Council 1379 of the Knights of Columbus, The Reagan Wing, The Constitution Party of Washington State, Concerned Women for America (Washington), Spokane American Family Association, The American Heritage Party of Washington, Senator Dan Swecker, Senator Val Stevens, Representative Matt Shea, Representative Jim McCune, Representative Dan Kristiansen, former State Rep. John Ahern, Dr. Bruce Craswell, Atonement Free Lutheran Church, Rivers of Glory Church, and CityGate Church of Puyallup.


How have individuals and organizations responded to the threat?


Organizations and individuals from all across Washington state came together immediately to form Washington Families Standing Together. Today over 80 groups, from communities of color, faith-based groups, education and children's organizations, labor and others have joined with LGBT and civil rights groups, like the Urban League, One America and the Anti-Defamation League, to save the domestic partnership law and make sure all Washington families have the rights and protections they deserve.


We launched a decline to sign campaign. Tens of thousands of people have taken a stand and declined to sign on line, or at community or family events. Over 300 letters to the editor have been written by supporters of the law urging people to decline to sign referendum 71. Newspapers across the state have urged people to refrain from signing referendum 71 petitions and expressed support for the domestic partnership law which protects many of Washington's most vulnerable families.


The next 12 days provide a unique opportunity to educate Washington voters about:
The important rights provided by the domestic partnership law and what can happen to a family when these rights don’t exist.
The growing base of support for providing families formed by gay and lesbian couples with full legal protection.
The challenges that many Washington families face even with the domestic partnership law because they are denied the right to legal marriage.


Please support the campaign today through a contribution of $25, $50, $100, or $71.


Your involvement in and support of Washington Families Standing Together will be key to our success and vital to defending the safety and security of families throughout the state.


Thank you for your commitment to this effort.


Sincerely,



Vickie Wallen
Finance Committee Chair
Washington Families Standing Together
http://www.wafst.org/

HRC stands against Referendum 71

This winter, the Washington State Legislature passed the Domestic Partnership Expansion bill of 2009, granting the final 250 rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law to registered domestic partners. Now there is an attempt to place a referendum on the November ballot to repeal the domestic partnership bill.

The most important thing you can do is speak to your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, clergy and congregants and ask them to decline to sign Referendum 71 petitions and ask them to join you in speaking to their social circles as well. And if you have not previously signed our online Decline to Sign Pledge, please do so now.

If Referendum 71 qualifies, Washington families could lose their rights. If we can keep Referendum 71 off the ballot, then the bill will go into effect in July! HRC is standing with over 50 other organizations and thousands of individuals across Washington State and working under the banner of Washington Families Standing Together to retain the Domestic Partnership law. We encourage you to check out the website to stay informed on the news of the day, take action, download and distribute decline to sign pledge forms, and see which organizations are supporting this effort. You can ask organizations you are involved with to endorse the campaign. There is an online endorsement form available.

Want to do more? Write a letter to the editor to your area newspapers! Washington Families Standing Together has made it easy - all you have to do is enter your ZIP code and use the talking points provided. Your letter will then be sent to newspapers in your local area. It’s most effective to keep your letter between 200-300 words and to share your personal story. Just click here and get started!

Together, we can protect Washington families. It all starts when you take action. Please forward this e-mail to everyone you know in Washington State and let them know how important this is to our families!

Warmly,
Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign

P.S. If you haven’t seen Senator Ed Murray’s op-ed on the advancement of the equality movement, both nationally and in Washington state, you should check it out here.

Stonewall Democrats Statement on Appointment of John Marble

President Obama Names Former Communications Director to Office of Personnel Management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Contact: Jon Hoadley
(605) 360-7948, mobile
jhoadley@stonewalldemocrats.org

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Stonewall Democrats released the following statement in response to news that President Obama has appointed former Stonewall Democrats Communications Director John Marble to serve in his Administration at the United States Office of Personnel Management:

"Stonewall Democrats applaud President Obama for appointing John Marble to the Office of Personnel Management. Our membership and staff are thrilled with this appointment as John is already familiar to many Americans through the press and his public policy work. We know what an asset that John will be to the President and to the American public.

John's passion for public service is well-matched with the Office of Personnel Management. In recent years, his work has contributed to advances in public policy that have bettered employment and hiring practices on both the state and local levels. John has also worked with elected officials to increase the participation of military veterans, people of color, young professionals and LGBT Americans in public service and in the political process. His skills will prove an advantage to the Administration as it moves to make the federal workforce more effective and an exciting and attractive employer to talented individuals considering civil service."

- Jon Hoadley, Executive Director, Stonewall Democrats

President Obama recently appointed John Marble as a Public Affairs Specialist in the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees the nearly 2 million civilian workers within the federal government. John Marble previously served as Communications Director for the Stonewall Democrats, the organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allied Democrats. In his position, Marble was responsible for crafting and implementing a national media strategy, and assisting the individual press strategy of more than 120 local chapters across the country. This included crafting media campaigns around the 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Conventions and assisting numerous Democratic candidate campaigns.

Prior to joining the Stonewall Democrats, John Marble worked as a print journalist covering media and sports. Marble also served as an advance aide to Vice President Al Gore in the Clinton White House and as a field organizer for the Vice President Gore's presidential campaign. Marble is a native of Palmetto, Florida. He lives in Washington, DC.

To download a photo of John Marble, click:http://stonewalldemocrats.org/files/images/johnmarble.jpg

(Photo Credit: Jane Briggs. Optional Caption: John Marble (right) at the Out For Work reception in December 2008).

With more than 120 local chapters the Stonewall Democrats is the national organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allied Democrats. Stonewall Democrats works to elect pro-equality Democrats to public office and improve the Democratic Party on issues important to pro-equality Americans.

rebuilding

For some reason, our website completely crashed. We're rebuilding it from scratch. Maybe this blogger account will be part of it. We'll see.