Gay marriage opponents begin drive to put issue on ballot

YAKIMA, Wash. -- As legislation legalizing gay marriage sprints its way through the Legislature, Washingtonians opposed to the measure are already gearing up for a long fight to the ballot box to overturn it.

Fervor against the legislation is particularly strong in areas east of the Cascades, such as the Yakima Valley, where tea party activists and conservative religious groups are discussing how they'll attack the measure.

Opponents could soon be gathering signatures for a voter initiative -- or potentially a referendum on the law itself -- that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Initiative 1192, filed Jan. 9 with the Secretary of State's Office by Republican Attorney General candidate Stephen Pidgeon, would do just that. Skip Schoff, vice president of Christian Broadcasting of Yakima, said petitions for Initiative 1192 could be ready for distribution by Friday.

"We plan to distribute those everywhere," said Schoff, who helped lead efforts locally to overturn the domestic partnership law by referendum in 2009. "We want this to be a vote of the people."

About two-thirds of Yakima County voters were against domestic partnerships, also known as the "everything but marriage" law, when Referendum 71 was brought before them almost three years ago. Schoff said he thinks even more local voters will oppose a law legalizing gay marriage.

"I would think we could get tens of thousands of signatures in this area," Schoff said.

But Referendum 71, which supported same-sex partnerships partnership, was approved statewide.

Although gay marriage supporters find themselves a minority in Yakima County, a study by the Washington Poll found that 55 percent of voters statewide would approve legalizing gay marriage.

Local gay marriage proponents say they may be small in number but will be loud and organized to campaign against any measure to overturn the law.

"You will definitely see some of us in the streets," said the Rev. Bill Poores, pastor of Yakima's Rainbow Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church. "It's about equal civil rights for everyone."

Bob West, the leader of the local tea party group Grassroots of Yakima Valley, and Central Washington Tea Party organizer Kirk Groenig also said they would get opponents organized and signed onto a petition against gay marriage.

"We have a few people (in the Legislature) making decisions for the rest of Washington," Groenig said. "That's not right."

Poores said he doesn't think gay marriage should be voted on, citing hate and misunderstanding against gays. He compared it to civil rights measures that weren't put to a vote because they were designed to protect minorities from the majority.

"If the Voting Rights Act was voted on by popular vote in the '60s, it would never have stood," Poores said. "African-Americans would not have been given the rights they have today because it would have been voted down."

If approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor, as expected, the law would take effect 90 days after the end of the regular legislative session. Opponents would have until June 6 to collect 120,577 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot.

For a voter initiative defining marriage as between a man and a woman, organizers would need 241,153 signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot.

*Mike Faulk can be reached at 509-577-7675 or mfaulk@yakimaherald.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Mike_Faulk.