Washington United for Marriage was a coalition of

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

and religious organizations in

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

involved in lobbying the State Legislature to provide marriage for same-sex couples. The organization was founded in 2011, and formed to secure passage of a bill in the Washington legislature calling for same-sex marriage, and to then defend such a measure should a statewide referendum be launched to challenge it. Members of the coalition include

Equal Rights Washington Equal Rights Washington (ERW) is Washington’s largest statewide LGBT advocacy and community outreach organization. ERW's mission is to ensure and promote dignity, safety, and equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Washington ...

, the Human Rights Campaign, and the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

. Within 24 hours of having been publicly launched, the coalition had secured an endorsement for same-sex marriage in Washington from the editorial board of the Seattle Times.

History

The 2009 public decision to allow domestic partnerships for same-sex couples through the approval of Referendum 71 made Washington the first state in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to approve any form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples at a public vote. Led by a coalition of organizations known as

Washington Families Standing Together Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST) was founded in 2009 to preserve domestic partnerships in Washington State by urging voters to approve Referendum 71. When Protect Marriage Washington, a group that opposes extending any benefits to ...

(WAFST), the campaign to approve the referendum was built around the notion that secular organizations needed to ally with progressive religious organizations in order to leverage their organizing power, and credibility within communities of faith, where much opposition to LGBT equality finds root. Following on the approval of Referendum 71, LGBT organizations in Washington began to build the support and infrastructure to launch a full campaign in favor of same-sex marriage. Through public education work, organizations like Equal Rights Washington took advantage of growing support across the United States to begin to build local support to enact laws protecting lesbian and gay couples and their families from marriage discrimination. At the time of the founding of Washington United for Marriage, one poll showed 55% of Washington voters would support a law bestowing marriage rights on same-sex couples in Washington. Washington United for Marriage, led by many of the same individuals involved in the Approve Referendum 71 campaign run by WAFST, was founded on a similar model of secular and religious coalition building. In addition, national heavy-hitters in the area of LGBT advocacy including the Human Rights Campaign and American Civil Liberties Union were to become even more central players in the campaign to secure votes in the Washington State Senate to pass a measure granting same-sex couples marriage rights.

References

{{LGBT in Washington State LGBT political advocacy groups in Washington (state) Non-profit organizations based in Seattle Politics of Washington (state) 2011 establishments in Washington (state)

History

See also

References