Latest news on R-74

October 19, 2012

Dear Marriage Supporter,   I have good news to share with you. New polling data shows that we are closing the gap on  Referendum 74. The latest poll shows that we have moved the needle 5 points since September 9.  While we are still behind, the new poll illustrates that once people hear our message, they side with  us—even though we are being outspent nearly 7-1!     We have television and radio spots ready to go, and thousands of volunteers are fanning  out across the state with yard signs, door hangers, and other materials.   We know that we’ve asked a lot of you over the past few months. We cannot express our thanks  enough for the hard work and financial sacrifices that you have made for the cause of marriage.  You know how important this battle is—we must win, or we risk being silenced forever on the  issue of marriage. What is more, we face potential consequences if marriage is redefined.   Ballots are arriving in mailboxes right at this moment.  We must reach voters NOW before ballots are cast.    You know what happens when marriage is redefined:  In Massachusetts, kids as young as second grade were taught about homosexual lifestyles in class. The courts ruled that parents had no right to prior notice, or to opt their children out of such instruction. Christian innkeepers in Vermont have had to pay $30,000 over their refusal to make their facility available for a same-sex wedding despite offers to refer the couples to other providers and in spite of the deeply-held religious views of the innkeepers. What is more, the innkeepers had to agree to NO longer use their facility for weddings in the future. Doctors, lawyers, accountants and other licensed professionals risk their state licensures if they act on their belief that a same-sex couple cannot really be married. A counselor, for example, could not refuse “marriage therapy” to a same-sex couple because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage. She’d put her licensure at risk. Thank you for standing with us in this fight. With your support, we can reach Washington voters with the truth and join 32 others states in preserving marriage as the union between one man and one woman.   Sincerely,   Joseph Backholm, Chairman Preserve Marriage Washington