Politics & Government

Same-Sex Marriage Foes Submit Signatures to Put Law to Vote

Same sex marriage, which was approved by the legislature earlier this year, appears to be headed for the November ballot box, opponents put gathered enough signatures to put the law on ballot

Same sex marriage appears to be headed for a vote in Washington, after opponents turned in signatures to put Referendum 74 on the ballot.

The Olympian reported that 232,000 signatures have been turned in, which is more than 100,000 needed to put the Referendum on the ballot.

Referendum 74 would re-affirm the law that .

Find out what's happening in Gig Harborwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Referendum 74 would ask the voter whether or not to approve gay marriage in Washington. Voting yes means you support gay marriage.

Several groups have geared up for the showdown. The an anti-gay group that stages protests around the country at high-profile events, also has organized a number of protests in Olympia and around the state, including one at , the Bellevue mother of two who was killed in last week's Seattle shooting spree.

Find out what's happening in Gig Harborwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to the Secretary of State's Office,Β the legislation normally would taken effect 90 days after the governor's signature, which would have been June 7. If the state verifies the signatures submitted today, the law would be put to a vote in November and same-sex marriage would not take place in Washington state until after the November ballot.

The Washington Secretary of State's office posted a blog post last month outlining the process for verifying the signaturesΒ and what a vote for Referendum 74 would mean.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Gig Harbor