Tag: gay marriage washington

It’s not official yet, but with the looks of things there could be lots of wedding bells sounding on Dec. 9 — the day same-sex marriage certificates can formally be signed in Washington State.
As of midnight, with half of the expected ballots turned in, Referendum 74 was passing with 52 percent of the vote, according to the Washington Secretary of State.

In the headquarters of Washington United for Marriage, a large collage displays a list of the high-powered sponsors backing the ballot-measure campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

With its relatively low churchgoing population and social libertarianism, Washington may be the state where voters are most likely to approve gay marriage next month

Washington’s same-sex marriage legislation is tugging at the heartstrings of the state’s faith community.
Is it both a legal and a religious issue?

On Tuesday Bishop Blase Cupich, of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, sent his third letter to parishioners, urging them to vote no on Referendum 74, and reminding them of the Catholic teachings on marriage and family.

Today’s headlines have been dominated by the news that Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’s donated $2.5 million to the Washington United for Marriage campaign. You may recall last month Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmerand co-founder Bill Gates each donated $100,000 in support of Referendum 74. This news is definitely a game changer for the campaign.

Washington conservatives hailed victory this month by collecting double the signatures needed to send the state’s same-sex marriage bill to voters in the upcoming general election. Although leaders from Preserve Marriage Washington are confident residents will vote to keep marriage between a man and a woman, a wild card lies in their path — one worth more than 4 million votes.