Duelling rallies spotlight same-sex referendum
SEATTLE - More than 1,000 people turned out Sunday for a rally in downtown Seattle to support Referendum 71, which would uphold Washington's "Everything But Marriage" law.
Participants waved banners and held signs, calling on voters to approve the measure giving guaranteed rights and responsibilities to registered same-sex domestic partners.
The so-called "solidarity" march weaved its way through downtown Seattle all afternoon, starting in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill and ending at the federal courthouse.
The marchers say it's about equal rights for everyone.
"I don't feel like I have the same kind of rights as anyone else," said one participant, Anthony Vicari of Everett. "And how dare anyone say that my rights are up for public vote. That's just absolutely ludicrous, and I won't stand for it."
But opponents of Referendum 71 have been staging their own rallies, hoping to convince voters to defeat the measure in November.
A few hundred people rallied in Lynnwood on Saturday, calling on voters to reject the measure.
One participant at the anti-R-71 rally said, "I believe the family is a man and a woman and children. And I think that there's definitely happiness in that. ... I just believe that's God's will; I think it's blessed."
The rallies are sure to continue - and the arguments won't stop - until after the November election.
Participants waved banners and held signs, calling on voters to approve the measure giving guaranteed rights and responsibilities to registered same-sex domestic partners.
The so-called "solidarity" march weaved its way through downtown Seattle all afternoon, starting in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill and ending at the federal courthouse.
The marchers say it's about equal rights for everyone.
"I don't feel like I have the same kind of rights as anyone else," said one participant, Anthony Vicari of Everett. "And how dare anyone say that my rights are up for public vote. That's just absolutely ludicrous, and I won't stand for it."
But opponents of Referendum 71 have been staging their own rallies, hoping to convince voters to defeat the measure in November.
A few hundred people rallied in Lynnwood on Saturday, calling on voters to reject the measure.
One participant at the anti-R-71 rally said, "I believe the family is a man and a woman and children. And I think that there's definitely happiness in that. ... I just believe that's God's will; I think it's blessed."
The rallies are sure to continue - and the arguments won't stop - until after the November election.
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