One of my former students who now lives in Washington State passed this on to me:
Gay marriage will soon be legal in Washington state. In the coming weeks and months you'll be asked to sign a petition to put gay marriage on the ballot. If you support gay marriage, there is no reason to put it on the ballot. It will already be legal. The petitions are for putting it on the ballot in order to repeal it. If you are asked to sign, please do so only if that is your intention. It is OPPOSING gay marriage. If you SUPPORT gay marriage, or if you are neutral on the subject, PLEASE DON'T SIGN.
I was happy on Monday that the governor of Washington signed a bill legalizing marriage for gay and lesbian couples. It didn't occur to me till today, when a former student I had friended on facebook posted the warning of the ensuing petitions to put this issue on the ballot.
A group called Preserve Marriage Washington filed Referendum 73 Monday afternoon. If they collect the more than 120,577 valid voter signatures needed by June 6, the law will be put on hold pending the outcome of a November vote. Separately, an initiative was filed at the beginning of the legislative session that opponents of gay marriage say could also lead to the new law being overturned.
She put out the warning that some of the petitions are going to be worded in such a way that someone who is supportive of same-sex marriage will sign it. Please get the word out so that people don't inadvertently sign one of those petitions.