Dems reeling after Mass. loss
(Boston) Republicans are rejoicing and Democrats reeling in the wake of Scott Brown’s stunning victory over Martha Coakley in a special Massachusetts Senate election that Brown insists was not simply a referendum on President Barack Obama.
Still, Obama grimly faced a need to both regroup and recoup losses on Wednesday, the …
Anti-gay marriage group eyes Maine gov’s race
(Augusta, Maine) A group that helped to defeat Maine’s gay marriage law in November’s referendum wants to play a role in next year’s gubernatorial and legislative races.
The National Organization for Marriage wants to publicize how candidates voted on Maine’s same-sex marriage law earlier this year before it was rejected by …
Gay partnership measure approved by voters
(Olympia, Wash.) Washington voters have approved the state’s new “everything but marriage” law, expanding rights for domestic partners and marking the first time any state’s voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box.
With about 72 percent of the expected vote counted Thursday in unofficial returns, Referendum 71 …
Maine voters to pass judgment on gay marriage
(Portland, Maine) Gay marriage has lost in every single state in which it has been put to a popular vote. Come Election Day, gay-rights supporters are hoping to make Maine the exception.
In a referendum that is being closely watched around the country and has drawn millions in out-of-state dollars, Maine …
Gay partnership foes, backers in WA await ruling
(Seattle) Supporters and foes of gay domestic partnerships await a federal ruling from a three-judge panel on whether petitions for Washington states’s Referendum 71 should be made public.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday in Pasadena, Calif., on whether signatures collected to repeal a domestic partnership law …
Microsoft donates $100 k for gay partners effort
(Olympia, Wash.) Microsoft Corp. has donated $100,000 to the campaign supporting more partnership rights for Washington state gay couples.
That’s the largest single donation in favor of Referendum 71, which asks voters to approve or reject a new law that expands domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. Microsoft is based …
Judge shields signatures in gay rights referendum
(Olympia, Wash.) A federal judge on Thursday ordered the state of Washington to keep shielding the identities of people who signed petitions to force a vote on expanded benefits for gay couples.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma granted the preliminary injunction involving petitions for Referendum 71 while a related …
Anti-domestic partner referendum makes ballot
(Olympia, Wash.) A referendum on an expansion of Washington’s domestic partnership law for gay couples has qualified for the November ballot, election officials said Monday.
The “everything but marriage” measure broadens recognition of domestic partnerships by granting gay and lesbian couples all the remaining state-provided benefits presently extended only to married …
IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week
The names of people who signed petitions seeking to overturn Washington’s “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law won’t be released publicly following a federal judge’s temporary restraining order.
Sponsors of Referendum 71 went to U.S. District Court in Tacoma Wednesday seeking the order. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has set a full hearing on the matter for Sept. 3.
The names of everyone who signed Referendum-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws. A gay-rights group says it wants to post all the names online. But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment.
Nick Handy, state elections director, said in a statement: “Referendum petitions become public records under the law once they have been turned over to us by sponsors. Our consistent practice has been to make these available upon public request. By early next week we will be in a position to make these available, and absent a court order, our intent has been to respond to public records requests in a timely way.”
Backers of R-71 turned in about 138,000 signatures Saturday. They need 120,577 valid voter signatures to qualify for the fall ballot.
Election officials suggest submitting about 150,000 signatures to offset any invalid signatures. Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said usually about 18 percent of signatures checked turn out to be invalid.
The process of counting and verifying the signatures could go until the last week of August.
See IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week Seattle Post Intelligencer
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Wash. gay partnership foes try to shield signers
State officials won’t resist a temporary restraining order that would block public release of petition signatures for a gay-partnership referendum.
The case centers on Referendum 71, which would ask voters to approve or reject expanded partnership rights for gay couples.
The names of everyone who signed R-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws.
A gay-rights group is planning to post all the names online, so partnership supporters can talk to those people about the referendum.
But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment. So they’re asking a federal judge to keep the petitions secret, until they can make their argument in court.
See Wash. gay partnership foes try to shield signers
Seattle Times
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