Earlier this week, the National Organization for Marriage announced that it would spend $250,000 to help fund primary challenges to any Republican who crosses party lines to vote for same-sex marriage in Washington state.
With same-sex marriage legislation only one vote short of approval in the state Senate, pressure is building on five uncommitted senators who will likely decide the issue.
A coalition of religious conservatives is lobbying lawmakers in Olympia to oppose same-sex marriage, while the National Organization for Marriage announced last week that it would spend $250,000 in the state to help defeat any Republican who supports the bill.
... The uncommitted lawmakers are being inundated with calls, emails and lobbyist visits. The first hearings on the legislation, scheduled for Monday in the House and Senate, could heat matters up even more.... Big crowds are expected for the hearings Monday.
Stand for Marriage Washington, a loosely organized coalition of conservative lawmakers, well-known evangelical pastors, the Tri-City Tea Party and the Constitution Party of Washington, predicts as many as 10,000 people will flood the Capitol for a noontime rally in opposition to same-sex marriage.
“We have to create among these legislators a belief that they will lose their jobs if they vote to redefine this law,” said Joseph Backholm, of Washington Family Policy Institute, a member of the coalition. “We have to convince them to be more afraid of us than of the other side.”
15 Comments