STATEMENT OF BARBARA GREEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EQUAL RIGHTS WASHINGTON ON THE FAILURE OF REFERENDUM 65 TO QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT

JUNE 6, 2006

The people of Washington have spoken decisively in their support for the state’s anti-discrimination law. We thank the fair-minded residents of the Evergreen State for defending the civil rights of their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender neighbors.

We are not surprised that Tim Eyman failed to collect enough signatures to qualify the referendum for the ballot. Washington residents believe in fairness for all, and they have demonstrated that by their refusal to sign onto this mean-spirited effort.

Today people know LGBT people as their friends, their family, their neighbors, their co-workers, parents of schoolchildren and leaders of communities. The public saw Referendum 65 as an attempt to take away basic rights from hard-working Washingtonians who make up the fabric of our society.

Equal Rights Washington (ERW) is the state’s largest advocacy organization working for full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Washingtonians. ERW, in coalition with others, worked hard to pass HB 2661, which added sexual orientation to the state’s anti-discrimination law. We engaged thousands of advocates in grassroots lobbying of legislators. We thank gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who spoke out publicly on this issue, despite the risk of being fired from their jobs simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As ERW lobbyists worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle, staff and volunteers built a diverse coalition of gay and non-gay groups in support of equality. We salute all those organizations, individuals, elected officials and faith leaders who have worked so hard to pass and defend the anti-discrimination.

After the passage of HB 2661 in January, we took a day to celebrate and then thousands of our advocates thanked their legislators and the governor for supporting equality. We went to our churches and synagogues where we prayed and thanked our clergy and congregations for their many years of hard work and support in the cause of equality.

When Tim Eyman announced he would try to use the referendum process to roll back civil rights for gays and lesbians, ERW joined with other groups and formed the Washington Won’t Discriminate campaign. Equal Rights Washington lent our political director John Vezina to head up the campaign. We look forward to his returning to ERW.

Washington will be a better place when the anti-discrimination law finally takes effect tomorrow. However, most people will be unaware of the change. After all, most Washingtonians would never deny a person their basic rights simply because they were gay or transgender. It’s good to know that all people in Washington’s are protected, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Equal Rights Washington (ERW) is a statewide political advocacy organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community of Washington State. ERW works to end discrimination against LGBT people throughout the state. More information on ERW can be found at www.equalrightswashington.org.