Political Story

What Rights Do You Deserve?

Controversy has been circulating throughout Washington over the new Referendum 71 bill that would allow same-sex couples to register as a domestic partnership in the state of Washington.

According to www.wei.secstate.wa.gov, “Referendum 71 is a proposed ballot measure that seeks a statewide vote on Senate Bill 5688.” Senate Bill 5688 is the “everything but marriage” law that expands for couples registered with Secretary of State’s domestic partnership registry.

Because Senate Bill 5688 was passed by the legislature in 2009, Referendum 71 will appear on the 2009 November general election ballot for people to vote on.

Christian Fellowship of the Palouse member Jeremiah Nealon is in support of Referendum 71 and believes that it will make Washington a much more rightful place.

“I think that rights are rights no matter who you are,” Nealon said. “Everyone deserves to have the same rights as one another, any other way just isn’t right.”

Washington State law requires that 120,577 signatures be submitted to the Secretary of State to get onto the general election vote in November 2009. The sponsors of Referendum 71 submitted 137,689 signatures.

“If Referendum 71 is defeated, I think that there are going to be a lot of hurt and angry people in the state of Washington,” Nealon said.

Referendum 71 does more than just give the domestic rights of married couples but also includes some other benefits.

Referendum 71 also protects various rights such as child support rights, adoption rights, pensions, public employee benefits, and business succession rights.

Conservative WSU student Curtis Selk had some different opinions about the Referendum 71 process and believes it could be a waste of money.

“I don’t think Referendum 71 is a good idea at all,” Selk said. “When I hear about all of these different benefits and rights this bill offers, I can’t help to think that I will be the one paying for it.”

The total costs of Referendum 71 are estimated at $900,000 for the fiscal years of 2009-11, $1.5 million for fiscal years 2011-13, and $1.6 million for fiscal years 2013-15.

Liberal WSU student Jon Crawley had some concerned views about the proposed bill.

“I think this would be great if this bill was passed through our state,” Crawley said. “It’s not like our government can’t afford it, I just think Referendum 71 would be doing a lot more good than bad for Washington.”

There are various groups throughout Washington that are supporting and opposing Referendum 71. Some in favor are “Washington Families Standing Together” and “Equal Rights Washington.” Some in opposition are “Protect Marriage Washington” and “Washington Values Alliance.”

Referendum 71 will appear on the November 2009 general election ballot for voting.

Sources

Jeremiah Nealon – 208-301-2069
Curtis Selk – 425-351-1088
Jon Crawley – 206-683-9869

Outline

• Headline
• Lede – controversy over Ref 71
• What it is – secstate.wa.gov definition
• Senate Bill 5688 – what it is, background
• Ref 71 – what it is, background
• Source – Nealon – for Ref 71
• Signatures
• Conservative side – costs
• Conclusion – last quote, when you can vote on it, support/opposition