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UPDATE: Support for equality grows daily: WAFST is now 118 organizations strong! List updated below.
Washington state’s radical-right religious coalition is disorganized and rudderless. A fragment of this group, Referendum 71 backers, are sending out increasingly desperate pleas to their (paid) signature gatherers. Contrast that to Washington Families Standing Together, a coalition of over 110 organizations that is supported by over 40,000 Washingtonians dedicated to protecting domestic partnerships in Washington state.
People from All Walks of Life Stand Together to Protect Washington FamiliesSEATTLE, Wash. – Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST) announced today that in just eight weeks, tens of thousands of individuals and more than 110 organizations have joined together to protect Washington families from the threat posed by the attempted repeal of the state’s domestic partnership law. Those opposed to domestic partnerships are trying to roll back the law by gathering signatures to put Referendum 71 on the November ballot. They have until July 25th to turn in the signatures. If Referendum 71 qualifies for the ballot, voters will have to vote to “approve” Referendum 71 in order to retain the law already passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
“People from all parts of our state want to support their friends and neighbors. They are very worried that families in their communities will lose important legal and financial protections if the law is repealed,” said Josh Friedes of WAFST. “We have had over 40,000 Washingtonians, from every county in the state, pledge their support of the domestic partnership law and we have not sent a single piece of mail or done any advertising.”
“And in only eight weeks, we’ve had over 110 organizations – faith-based groups, labor unions, seniors, communities of color, children’s organizations, statewide and local groups – join together to form the WAFST coalition dedicated to preventing the domestic partnership law from being repealed.” Friedes added. “It’s quite powerful to see that groups who represent such a broad cross section of the state are all united in the common goal of saving the domestic partnership law.”
Click here to read the rest of the WAFST press release. We won’t know until this weekend whether referendum backers have collected enough signatures to submit to the Secretary of State. If they have, they’ll face a unified and determined opposition.
Organizations in the WAFST Coalition Supporting the Domestic Partnership Law (as of 7-20-09)
1. Childhaven
2. Children’s Alliance
3. Washington State Council of Firefighters
4. Senior Services
5. Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans
6. Washington State Senior Citizens Lobby
7. Associated Ministries of Pierce County
8. Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
9. Asian and Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center
10. Entre Hermanos
11. Jewish Family Service
12. Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Seattle
13. Minority Executive Directors Coalition
14. Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services Seattle/King
County
15. Washington State Psychological Association
16. Anti-Defamation League
17. NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
18. Washington Education Association
19. Japanese American Citizens League
20. Lutheran Public Policy Network of Washington State
21. One America
22. Congregation Kol Ami
23. Economic Opportunity Institute
24. Women’s Funding Alliance
25. Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington
26. Unite Here Local 8
27. Central Washington Progress
28. YWCA Clark County
29. YWCA Kitsap County
30. SEIU Healthcare Local 775NW
31. Latino Political Action Committee
32. American Jewish Committee
33. National Association of Social Workers-Washington State Chapter
34. National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
35. Lake Washington Educational Association
36. Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of Washington State
37. Raising Our Asian Pacific American Representation
38. American Federation of Teachers
39. Compassion and Choices
40. Vancouver United Church of Christ
41. King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
42. New Americans Action Fund
43. Religious Coalition for Equality
44. Safe Schools Coalition
45. Teamsters Local 117
46. Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
47. UFCW Local 21
48. Vancouver Firefighters Union IAFF Local 452
49. Sahngnoksoo
50. Equal Rights Washington
51. American Civil Liberties Union
52. First United Methodist Church of Tacoma
53. Snohomish County Democrats
54. Inland Northwest Business Alliance
55. Micah Project – Tacoma
56. Pride Foundation
57. Seattle Men’s Chorus
58. Seattle Women’s Chorus
59. Seattle University Outlaws
60. Cedar River Clinics
61. Inland Northwest LGBT Center
62. People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
63. Pride at Work
64. Blue Mountain Heart to Heart
65. Inlaws & Outlaws
66. Queer Kidz
67. Tacoma Rainbow Center
68. CREDO Mobile
69. Morningside Academy
70. Out In Tacoma
71. QLaw
72. Tacoma Lesbian Concern
73. Inland Oasis
74. Puget Sound Chapter, OLOC
75. Ingersoll Gender Center
76. Legal Voice
77. Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane
78. PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside
79. PFLAG Bellingham
80. PFLAG Everett/Snohomish
81. PFLAG Friday Harbor
82. PFLAG Kitsap
83. PFLAG Lower Columbia
84. PFLAG Tacoma
85. PFLAG Olympia
86. PFLAG Seattle
87. PFLAG Skagit/Sedro-Woolley
88. PFLAG Southwest Washington
89. PFLAG Spokane
90. PFLAG Walla Walla
91. Seattle Out and Proud/Seattle Pride
92. Whatcom Human Rights Task Force
93. Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, Social Justice Committee
94. Seattle Metropolitan Elections Committee
95. Human Rights Campaign
96. Lambda Legal
97. El Centro de la Raza
98. Washington State Stonewall Democrats
99. Lifelong AIDS Alliance
100. Art With Heart
101. Kitsap County HIV AIDS Foundation
102. Organization for Research and Learning
103. Pinay Sa Seattle
104. Seattle Gay News
105. Greater Seattle Business Association
106. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
107. Pierce County AIDS Foundation
108. Green River Community College GSA
109. Washington Gender Alliance
110. American Friends Service Committee
111. Fuse
112. Join the Impact
113. Spokane GLBT Film Festival
114. Tacoma United for Fairness
115. Vista Youth Center
116. Temple Beth Am
117. Seattle Chapter of the National Organization for Women
118. National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington
Join Washington Families Standing Together in their fight to defeat Referendum 71 by clicking on the graphics below.
Cross-posted at Washblog.
1 Comment
good luck WashingtonCan’t stand that the Sec of State will open for business until 2pm Sat for the Antis. But love that if the Antis DO turn in petitions, those petitions and signatures become public record…it’s the Antis gamble that they have enough.
I certainly hope they do not.