[iamkeri1]

Did they request a stay so that marriages will not be able to take place while the opponents seek signatures to get it on the ballot or it is defeated at the polls?
Smooches,
Keri

Originally Posted by MsTinkerbelly

Marriage equality opponents file referendum paperwork in Washington
By Jacob Combs

As expected, opponents of marriage equality have filed paperwork in Washington state to put a referendum of the state’s recently passed marriage bill on the November ballot. SeatllePI reports:

Opponents of same-sex marriage, seeking to force a referendum on Washington’s new law, filed the paperwork in Olympia about three hours after Gov. Chris Gregoire signed marriage equality into law.

They have until June 6, a political D-Day for collecting and submitting 120,577 valid voter signatures to put marriage equality on the November ballot. The right of same-sex couples to wed would be blocked until voters decide the issue.

…

Sponsors of Referendum 73 include groups at the right end of the political spectrum such as Concerned Women for America and the National Organization for Marriage. The campaign is being mounted under the banner of a group called Preserve Marriage Washington. Backholm predicted that the campaign will be “expensive”, with estimates in the $2-4 million range for each side.

Conservatives forced a statewide referendum in 2009 in a bid to roll back the a domestic partner law, nicknamed “Everything but Marriage,” after it was passed by the Washington Legislature. Voters by a 53-47 percent margin voted to sustain the rights of domestic partners.