Opponents of Washington’s domestic-partnership law are preparing a referendum petition against the law expanding domestic partnership rights.
They have 60 days to gather 120,577 valid signatures to suspend the expanded partnership law pending a vote in November.
A successful referendum wouldn’t end domestic partnerships. It would only end the small expansion in partnership rights that the Legislature recently passed.
Where were these opponents two years ago, when the Legislature passed the law to establish domestic partnerships? They could have asked voters to end domestic partnerships. They could have argued in campaign debate that domestic partnerships were wrong, and those of us who think partnerships are a good compromise could have made our arguments.
Where were they last year when the Legislature passed a major expansion in the rights and responsibilities of registered domestic partners?
They didn’t present referenda to end either of these laws, but they’ll present one to try to stop this law that gives domestic partners fewer new rights than either of the earlier laws.
This year’s law came because there were a few rights left out of the first two laws; so legislators wrote a law giving domestic partners all of the rights and responsibilities of married couples. It’s that word “all” that has brought out the opponents.
A law giving domestic partners all the rights and responsibilities of husbands and wives sounds too much like marriage to opponents. They fear that a court could decide that since domestic partners had the same rights as spouses their equal-protection rights mean they have a right to marriage.
Yet state courts that have given same-sex couples the right to marry based equal-protection clauses — as the Iowa Supreme Court recently did — have done so without domestic-partnership or civil-union laws.
When Washington’s Supreme Court turned down the equal-protection argument three years ago and upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, it said that changes in marriage laws must come from the Legislature or the voters.
So, the Legislature passed the compromise domestic-partnership law, a law that this year’s referendum can’t overturn.
Supporters will have a hard time getting the referendum on the ballot. The number of required signatures has gone up more than 8,000 since three years ago, when a proposed referendum against a gay rights law failed to get on the ballot.
Even if the referendum qualifies for the ballot, sponsors would have a hard time convincing tolerant Washingtonians to defeat this year’s minor amendments to the law.
Opponents may try an initiative next year to end domestic partnerships, but that would be harder to make the ballot.
A great service by the county auditor
The Snohomish County auditor’s office is providing a great service with a class for potential candidates tonight on the nuts and bolts of running for local office.
Evan Smith can be reached at entopinion@heraldnet.com.
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