Don't try to intimidate people who sign initiative petitions

Identity is a powerful force, shaping how we view ourselves and how others view us. Identity is also open to internal and external interpretations.

Because of its malleable quality, identity often plays a role in politics. Not surprisingly, identity has emerged as a weapon in the most recent battle for gay rights. An issue welded to identity.

The trigger for the nastiness was the Legislature's passing and Gov. Chris Gregoire's signing of Senate Bill 5688, otherwise known as the "everything but marriage bill." The legislation rightly grants domestic partners nearly all the rights and responsibilities enjoyed by married couples. Everything, that is, except a state-sanctioned marriage, which is too bad. If the state is in the marriage business, it should not discriminate against a class of people.

This fight is all about erasing or shoring up government's discrimination against gays and lesbians. The campaign is becoming overheated because of the gains made on behalf of gay rights, especially during the past year. States from Maine to Iowa have followed Massachusetts and instituted marriage equality.

No doubt the anti-same-sex-marriage camp feels the pressure that comes with change. Instead of accepting the inevitable, this group is circulating Referendum 71, which, if they get 120,577 signatures by July 25, will have voters decide the fate of the domestic-partnership bill on the November ballot.

What a waste of time. The bill easily passed the House and Senate and is destined to happen anyway.

The anti campaign has clearly lost the identity battle. Every year, fewer and fewer Americans buy the tired argument that marriage equality is something dirty or inferior. A disingenuous stunt that does not serve Washington voters.

The defensive posture of the anti campaign leaves me wondering why gay-rights supporters have jumped into the toxic mud of using identity as a weapon.

The equality movement was dealt a blow last month when California's Supreme Court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage. That stinging rejection, coupled with the frustration of being so close to success in Washington state, has probably played a role in the same-sex-marriage supporters' use of questionable campaign tactics.

What I, and this page, take issue with is the Web site called whosigned.org. The site will list everyone who signed Referendum 71. On the Web site it says this is being done so voters can make sure the public record is correct.

We all know that is not the case. The real purpose of whosigned.org is intimidation. People who sign petitions should understand that it is public record. But just because somebody signs a petition does not mean they support the referendum. People sign referendums for all sorts of reasons. It is not hard to believe that someone who supports marriage equality will sign it because they firmly believe the voters, not the Legislature, should have the final say.

Both sides look bad in this tussle and are doing little to foster a collective identity that is growing more accepting. Equal rights for gays and lesbians is about much more than individual identity. We are fractured as a whole when discrimination is institutionalized.

How we treat each other in the difficult times of struggle and change makes up our societal identity. Let's not regress. We've come too far.

Ryan Blethen's column appears Sunday. His e-mail address is: rblethen@seattletimes.com