TWO PETITIONS - BOTH NEED SIGNATURES

Preserve Marriage Washington

Washington Referendum 74 (R-74) 

signatures must be submitted by JUNE 6, 2012;
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UPDATE:  These petitions need to be in by 31 of May so that there is time to tabulate etc and get them where they need to be BY June 6.

Protect Marriage Washington

Initiative I-1192

signatures must be submitted by JULY 6, 2012;

We, my husband and I, recently signed a petition to help maintain laws that preserve marriage as a relationship between 1 man and 1 woman by overturning the present governor's, (she who shall not be named) Marriage Equality LAW. 

We sought out a petition against the new law and signed it.
We patted ourselves on the back a little too soon.
Why is there always another wrinkle?
I suppose I should have realized it was too simple!

Yesterday we discovered there are two groups working towards the same outcome that do not seem to be associated with each other. For more details click links throughout this blog and read on ...  

At first we were confused ... are there two? [yes] had we signed both by signing one? [no] do both need to be signed? [yes]

There are other blogs and many other websites. Type in any of the titles or numbers to find your own links. I hope some of them help you learn more about these vital processes; opinions and responsiblities. 

I share below the reply to my husband from PROTECT MARRIAGE WA explaining the difference between the two:

Dear David,

Thank you for your inquiry. While we cannot speak for the R-74 people, basic marketing affirms that 2 are better than one. Having two similar items can actually build more interest as long as those in leadership support both. The synergy of two items can benefit both. We are actively supporting both petitions, R-74 and I-1192. Here is a brief [emphasis mine] explanation of the two pieces of legislation:

R-74 would allow us to vote on the same sex marriage bill that the Governor signed into law this last legislative session. When the signatures are gathered, the measure would be put on the ballot and we would vote to reject the legislation.R-74 is extremely important as it stops the same sex marriage bill until we have a chance to vote on it. If we do not get the signatures to get it on the ballot, we will have gay marriage in June.

 I-1192 strengthens the definition of marriage. It defines marriage as between one man and one woman and precludes everything else. The law previously has the definition as between a male and a female, which, unfortunately, in our present society is not a clear enough interpretation and we need language that specificl applies to human beings. Even if we did not have to fight the same sex marriage bill, we need the changes in I-1192. It also serves as a safety net should there be legal challenges to R-74 when it is passed.

Here are some differences between the two petitions:

First, Initiative 1192 was filed before the Governor signed the gay marriage bill into law... while the Referendum 74 had to wait to be filed until the gay marriage bill was signed.  Initiatives attempt to establish "new law", while referendums can only challenge existing laws. 

Second, both Initiative 1192 and Referendum 74 serve respective purposes.  1192 both strengthens our existing State Law as well as creates "new law" with the clarification in the language that will prevent gay marriage from being legal.  Ref. 74 challenges the same-sex marriage law with the intent to overturn it.  Ref. 74 also has the ability to suspend the gay marriage law (which is supposed to go into effect in June) until the voters have a chance to voice their positions in November.

Third, the language in Initiative 1192 has "positive verbiage"... in other words, it is clear to the reader that they are supporting (voting yes for) marriage to be between one man and one woman (based literally on the biblical model in Leviticus 18).  The language in Ref. 74, by law, must contain the wording from the gay marriage bill and will have "reject verbiage" in its description... for example, Ref. 74 might say something like "reject marriage equality and reject exemptions for religious institutions". 

In each case... we must clarify for voters that they simply need to remember to "VOTE TWICE for MARRIAGE" when they see 1192 and 74 on the November ballot.  Yes for I-1192 and Reject (R) for R-74

I-1192 was written by a lawyer and reviewed by the legal staff of several ministries and organizations. It was reviewed by the Secretary of State and met the requirements of Washington State before it could be distributed.

As soon as the R-74's were available, have had them at all of our events and encouraged everyone to sign both.

Fourth, the deadline for 1192 signatures is July 6th... the deadline for Ref. 74 is June 6th.

If you need any more information or would like copies of I-1192 or R-74,or if you need more information,  please feel free to contact us.


-Protect Marriage Washington

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