On November 6, Washingtonians will vote approve or reject the February 2012 bill that would legalize marriage equality in the state, known as Referendum 74.
GLAAD is working with Washington United for Marriage to urge voters to APPROVE the referendum. If passed, it would make Washington one of the first states to approve marriage equality by a public referendum (along with Maryland and Maine).
Washington already had an “everything but marriage” law on the books. In February, the legislature passed a marriage equality bill, which was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire on February 13. Legislative support for the bill came from all corners of the state, from openly gay state senator, Ed Murray, to Maureen Walsh, a republican senator whose impassioned floor speech went viral on YouTube.
The bill was scheduled to take effect June 7 but opponents submitted the necessary signatures on June 6 to suspend the bill and require a statewide voter referendum.
Referendum 74 has been endorsed and supported by over 500 major corporations and businesses in the state, including Nordstrom, Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, REI, T Mobile, Expedia, and Nike.
Several newspapers in Washington State have supported the bill, including the Seattle Times, Tacoma News-Tribune, Spokane's The Spokesman-Review, Vancouver's The Columbian, Yakima Herald-Republic, Tri-City Herald, Everett's The Herald, The Olympian, The Wenatchee World, and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.
How can you help approve marriage equality in Washington?
- Visit GLAAD’s Washington Vote Page for up to date information
- Visit and give a last-minute contribution to Washington United for Marriage
- Visit the Friends and Family Plan to have a conversation with loved ones about voting no. It’s not too late to change someone’s mind
- Use Washington United for Marriage’s new social media and smartphone tools to help get out the vote on November 6.
- The "Get Out Your Friends" connection tool tells how many friends in Washington state may have not yet voted and sends an encouraging message to vote.
- The “I'm Voting APPROVE R74" picture generator to share on social networking sites and applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+.
Help us win marriage equality at the ballot box in Washington. It will take every LGBT and allied vote to make it happen. Visit GLAAD’s Voting Page for information on Washington, and other states that are facing marriage at the ballot box.