Anti-Gay Initiatives Short On Signatures Gay Rights Advocates Celebrate But Admit War Not Over
Gay rights advocates on Friday cheered the failure of two anti-gay rights initiatives, but said “the war still rages” over gay adoptions, same-gender marriage and mention of homosexuality in school curriculum.
Backers of the two initiatives expressed disappointment that they couldn’t raise the necessary 181,667 voter signatures to win a place on the legislative agenda and on the fall ballot. They said the signature requirement is so onerous that only people with money to pay solicitors will ever make it.
Officials of Hands Off Washington, the coalition of opposition groups and individuals, said the failure of the initiatives for the second year in a row should put an end to efforts to restrict gay rights.
But sponsors of both measures said the battle now moves to the Legislature.
Initiative 166 would have barred state or local gay-rights ordinances that deal with discrimination in housing or employment, and would bar schools from teaching that homosexuality is acceptable. Initiative 167 would have banned adoption by homosexuals.
Friday was the deadline for submitting initiative signatures. I-166 had more than 100,000 signatures, but sponsors had no money to pay solicitors, said state chairwoman Annetta Small of Bellingham. I-167 backers collected about 40,000 and then stopped counting, said chairman Sam Woodard of Ariel.
“For the second year in a row, this is a victory for the people of the state of Washington,” said Hands Off state chairwoman Jan Bianchi, a Seattle lawyer. “The people across the state have said, ‘No, we don’t tolerate this kind of divisiveness, we don’t tolerate this kind of prejudice, we don’t tolerate this kind of bigotry.”’
The Rev. John Boonstra, head of the Washington Association of Churches, called failure of the initiatives “an important moral statement … of enormous political significance.”
He added, “The people have said these measures are harmful, mean-spirited and wrong. People have said they will not be warped by intolerance and fear.”
Laurie Jinkins, a state board member from Olympia, said “We have won this battle. The people of this state have seen the ugly face of discrimination and rejected it. … While we have a long way to go, we have come so very far. Washington is a warmer, safer place to be.”
She said the initiatives had the ironic effect of energizing gays and lesbians and galvanizing support in the general public.
Bianchi, who lead a rally at the Capitol, said “I don’t think this battle is over. The war still rages out there.”
She said she expects to see state legislation to ban adoption by gays and lesbians, same-sex marriages or positive treatment of homosexuals in school curriculum.
Backers confirmed that is their new strategy. Both said they have no plans for further initiative campaigns, but will turn to the Legislature.