Approve Ref. 71 to protect all families

(Editor’s note: The following material was prepared by Washington Families Standing Together, the broad coalition formed to preserve our state’s domestic partnership law. The Puget Sound Alliance is part of that coalition. The law will come before voters this fall as Referendum 71.)

More than 12,000 people, living in every county in Washington State, are registered in domestic partnerships. The domestic partnership law ensures that these families have the same protections and responsibilities as their neighbors. A majority vote to “approve” Referendum 71 at the polls in November will preserve that vital law.

Gay and lesbian families need our domestic partnership law to provide essential protection for their families. Committed couples who want to take care of one another should be allowed to visit each other in hospital, take family and medical leave when a loved one is seriously ill, and have insurance coverage. A vote to approve Referendum 71 is a vote to ensure that all families are provided these protections under the law.

Families with children need the protections provided by the domestic partnership law, especially when a parent dies. A vote to approve Referendum 71 is a vote to ensure that all children are provided the same protections under the law.

Seniors need protections provided by the domestic partnership law. For seniors, domestic partnerships mean that their hard-earned Social Security, military or pension benefits are not put at risk. A vote to approve Referendum 71 is a vote to protect these benefits for seniors.

Police officers and firefighters who risk their lives to protect our communities need our domestic partnership law if they are hurt or killed in line of duty, so that their families are taken care of by their pension or by workers’ compensation. A vote to approve Referendum 71 is a vote to ensure that the families of our first responders are provided the same protections under the law.

In summary, a vote to approve Referendum 71 is a vote to ensure that all families will be treated fairly, especially in times of crisis.