FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 23, 2012

CONTACT: Elizabeth Ray or Anath Hartmann at (703-683-5004)

"Washington voters deserve the right to vote on marriage just as voters in 31 other states have been able to do." —Brian Brown, NOM's President—

Olympia, WA — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today pledged to work with allies in Washington State to mount a referendum campaign to ensure that voters have the final say on the definition of marriage in Washington. Legislation, House Bill 2516 and Senate Bill 6239, has been introduced to abandon Washington's historic definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, thus imposing same-sex marriage on the state.

"NOM will not stand by and let activist politicians redefine marriage, the bedrock of civilization, without voters having a say," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "Just as we mounted a People's Veto in Maine and were responsible for qualifying Proposition 8 to the ballot in California, we will make sure that voters in Washington have the ability to decide the definition of marriage for themselves."

NOM was the largest contributor to the Proposition 8 ballot qualification and led the Question 1 People's Veto campaign in Maine. Both measures passed, overturning gay marriage and preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

"Thirty one states have voted on the definition of marriage and everyone voted to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman," Brown said. "Not only will we mount a successful referendum campaign, we will hold every Washington legislator accountable for his or her vote. We'll challenge Republicans in primaries, and we will take on Democrats in the General Election and make sure that their constituents know they tried to abandon the most important social institution ever devised without voters being given a say in the matter."