Churches Gathering Signatures for Same Sex Marriage Repeal
Referendum 74 Petitions
Members of the Knights of Columbus at St. Joseph's Catholic Church are gathering signatures for Referendum 74 to try and repeal the same sex marriage law.
Governor Chris Gregoire signed the same sex marriage bill into law in February, shortly after the signing people against gay marriage started Referendum 74 to give voters the chance to vote on the issue.
Larry Devlin, Knights of Columbus, helped setup tables at St. Joe's to place the petitions, he said it's about protecting families.
"The Knights of Columbus is very family focused and we see this issue being very divisive not only in terms of morality but also socially." Devlin said.
The group has collected more than 2,000 signatures in the last few weeks and they are hoping to help reach the goal of more than 121,000 signatures by the deadline on June 6th.
Not all church members, though, are ready to sign the petition.
James Solan, visiting from Seattle, said he mostly sees eye-to-eye with the catholic church, but not on this one.
"I was kind of born and raised catholic, I went to catholic school my entire life and I just really disagree with the church on this issue."
If enough signatures are gathered, same sex couples will have to wait until November to see if they can legally get married in Washington, instead of June 7th, which is when it becomes legal if there are not enough signatures.