Why did conservative churches fail to get Referendum 65 on the ballot?
It was 3:30 in the afternoon and Tim Eyman was scheduled to show up any minute at the Secretary of State's office to deliver petitions before a 5:00 deadline. I was in our KING-5 live truck in Olympia, waiting for Eyman to show, when a representative from a church organization came up to the vehicle. "Have you heard anything about what Eyman is going to do?" he asked. I told him the press was in the dark. "So are we," he responded. Clearly, this was to be Eyman's show; even the churches that collected signatures were not in the loop.
At 4:45, Eyman produced 105,000 signatures--short of the 112,000 signatures required to get Referendum 65 on the ballot (far short of the 135,000 typically required when you take out duplicates and illegitimate signatures). Given the backing of conservative churches across the state to collect signatures, why did the referendum fail to make it on the ballot? Churches say they will now pick up the campaign without Eyman, but it will be more difficult. Now that they've missed their opportunity for a referendum, they could file a citizen initiative but that would require twice as many signatures.
At the end of the day, Eyman didn't seem that disappointed. For the $14,000 raised, he said, 105,000 signatures was a pretty good result. Meanwhile, members of the clergy, who watched Eyman parade in a Darth Vader costume and pour sparkling cider, weren't quite sure what had just hit them.
Nice job on the Tim Eyman story. As a reporter myself (Blaine, Washington Northern Light) I’ve watched Eyman play the media like a piano for these many years, not sure why he’s given such space and currency except that he really knows how to fill the news hole we all dread.
Hopefully the bloom is off Eyman’s rose for both print and electronic media now that he’s been caught blatantly manipulating a failure to make it look like success. That was a beautifully revealing little piece of theater that KING5 caught, complete with the homophobic Eyman giggling like someone from Queer Eye. What, did he leave his meds at home?
It’s also nice for once to see the religious right depicted honestly in one of the rare times they’ve faltered in their political agenda to legislate their own peculiar morality for everyone.
It appears to substantiate my opinion that Eyman and the religious fringe on the right are united as much by their arrogance as they are by really agreeing about anything.
Their power is based on pretense, and when exposed, whether like the little boy in the fable saying that the emperor has no clothes or KING with similar accuracy showing Eyman as a scammer who apparently has fleeced one flock too many, one the bubble bursts all we’re left with is what was inside - a fool no one listens to.
I am so glad that the law stands, to protect the LGBT community in our state. I believe that with the cards on the table our state can move on, and be an example to the rest of our nation.
Without such law on the books, It would only provide legal ease for others to further discriminate against LGBT peoples, people of color, and provide a solitude of sort.
Meanwhile back on earth, the law stands!
Now, let's see if we can get Marriage Equality on the books.
Surely its not going to harm "legal marriages" as we know them, but rather it will unite people, and offer protection in the law to those who want to be so united in marriage.
Feel free to contac me at 206-736-9688
D.J. said:
This is the biggest set back, our country is now on the down fall for distruction!!!!! With this law passed it will now be ok for your childs teacher to show up to school as a gay Mr.Jones and express openly his sexual prefrences and then decide half way through the school year that HE would feel so much better if he were a SHE...and then it's welcome back to school Ms.Jones! And there will be nothing any parent can do...because it would be discrimination! If this goes on Washington state will soon be the Las Vegas of Gay/Lesbian marriages! And also in states that these types of laws have been passed the have had to revise their health books to talk about hedero/bi/gay/les-sexuallity! In some of those 13 states their text books actually state that a person may have to have a sexual experience with someone of each sex to find out what their preference would be! Stop it now! Stop the abnormal way of life lets go back to the values that this world and country were built upon! Oh wait...or we could just make a law that says we can't discriminate against pedifiles either because ya know, they were born that way also! Sounds like the same story! So what do you say referendum 66...illegal to discriminate against pedifiles!
Actually, the law that was passed in Our state does not say anything about pedifiles, or about Mr.Jones, Mrs. Jones etc. It is about treating people with the same respect as others. About not being able to descriminate against the LGBT community because of sexual orentation, age, sex,employment and the like.
Surely you can't be so narrow minded to think that it's all that bad.
I believe however we live in a free nation. A country based on the fact "every man is created equal". Therefore, without such law on the books, no one is created equal and surely no one is living in freedom.
You have the right to be who you are, likewise LGBT persons have the same right to be who they are.
It was 3:30 in the afternoon and Tim Eyman was scheduled to show up any minute at the Secretary of State's office to deliver petitions before a 5:00 deadline. I was in our KING-5 live truck in Olympia, waiting for Eyman to show, when a representative from a church organization came up to the vehicle. "Have you heard anything about what Eyman is going to do?" he asked. I told him the press was in the dark. "So are we," he responded. Clearly, this was to be Eyman's show; even the churches that collected signatures were not in the loop.
KING 5 News Up Front with Robert Mak
Nice job on the Tim Eyman story. As a reporter myself (Blaine, Washington Northern Light) I’ve watched Eyman play the media like a piano for these many years, not sure why he’s given such space and currency except that he really knows how to fill the news hole we all dread.
Hopefully the bloom is off Eyman’s rose for both print and electronic media now that he’s been caught blatantly manipulating a failure to make it look like success. That was a beautifully revealing little piece of theater that KING5 caught, complete with the homophobic Eyman giggling like someone from Queer Eye. What, did he leave his meds at home?
It’s also nice for once to see the religious right depicted honestly in one of the rare times they’ve faltered in their political agenda to legislate their own peculiar morality for everyone.
It appears to substantiate my opinion that Eyman and the religious fringe on the right are united as much by their arrogance as they are by really agreeing about anything.
Their power is based on pretense, and when exposed, whether like the little boy in the fable saying that the emperor has no clothes or KING with similar accuracy showing Eyman as a scammer who apparently has fleeced one flock too many, one the bubble bursts all we’re left with is what was inside - a fool no one listens to.
I am so glad that the law stands, to protect the LGBT community in our state. I believe that with the cards on the table our state can move on, and be an example to the rest of our nation.
Without such law on the books, It would only provide legal ease for others to further discriminate against LGBT peoples, people of color, and provide a solitude of sort.
Meanwhile back on earth, the law stands!
Now, let's see if we can get Marriage Equality on the books.
Surely its not going to harm "legal marriages" as we know them, but rather it will unite people, and offer protection in the law to those who want to be so united in marriage.
Feel free to contac me at 206-736-9688
This is the biggest set back, our country is now on the down fall for distruction!!!!! With this law passed it will now be ok for your childs teacher to show up to school as a gay Mr.Jones and express openly his sexual prefrences and then decide half way through the school year that HE would feel so much better if he were a SHE...and then it's welcome back to school Ms.Jones! And there will be nothing any parent can do...because it would be discrimination! If this goes on Washington state will soon be the Las Vegas of Gay/Lesbian marriages! And also in states that these types of laws have been passed the have had to revise their health books to talk about hedero/bi/gay/les-sexuallity! In some of those 13 states their text books actually state that a person may have to have a sexual experience with someone of each sex to find out what their preference would be! Stop it now! Stop the abnormal way of life lets go back to the values that this world and country were built upon! Oh wait...or we could just make a law that says we can't discriminate against pedifiles either because ya know, they were born that way also! Sounds like the same story! So what do you say referendum 66...illegal to discriminate against pedifiles!
Actually, the law that was passed in Our state does not say anything about pedifiles, or about Mr.Jones, Mrs. Jones etc. It is about treating people with the same respect as others. About not being able to descriminate against the LGBT community because of sexual orentation, age, sex,employment and the like.
Surely you can't be so narrow minded to think that it's all that bad.
I believe however we live in a free nation. A country based on the fact "every man is created equal". Therefore, without such law on the books, no one is created equal and surely no one is living in freedom.
You have the right to be who you are, likewise LGBT persons have the same right to be who they are.