Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 22:33:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Richard Isaac Subject: BIGOT BUSTERS (WA): I-166 backers complain to Secy. of State Greetings, Backers of Initiative 166 (Committee for Equal Rights Not Special Rights) met with Secretary of State Ralph Munro yesterday, 9 October 1995, to complain of "harassment" from persons opposed to their anti-gay initiative. No evidence was produced, no complaints have been filed, and no action has been announced by the Secretary of State. Bigot Busters has no information about any incidents between counterpetitioners and signature-gatherers. Information received indicates that the backers of I-166 failed to collect anything near the 180,000 signatures they claimed to have collected for their previous effort (I-608) last year. In the closing weeks of that campaign, initiative backers made similar claims of harassment against Bigot Busters, and this pattern of groundless accusations seems to indicate that this year's efforts are going equally as badly. However, there is no room for complacency and the counterpetitioning efforts of Bigot Busters will continue without rest until the last day of the campaign. Given what appears to have been a withering battery of critical questions by the Supreme Court today, aimed at the attorneys representing Colorado's discriminatory Amendment 2, the prospects for a decision striking down A-2 seems entirely possible. If such a decision is handed down next July, the whole matter of citizens' initiatives restricting equal rights and protections for gays and lesbians could be put to rest. But again, that is for the future to reveal. The following are reports of the meeting from the _Olympian_ (Olympia, WA) and the _Seattle Times_, as well as a letter submitted for publication to the _Olympian_. Thank you for your support, * Richard Isaac __*_*___ report sightings of signature-gathering for \* * / Seattle anti-gay initiatives 166/167 to: *\ * (206) 767-2457 ***\**/** rmisaac \/ @eskimo.com HOMEPAGE: http://www.eskimo.com/~rmisaac/ Bigot Busters 1202 E Pike #1110 Seattle WA 98122-3934 206.767.2457 [deletia to protect copyright] *****3***** Letter submitted to the Editor of _The Olympian_, 10 October 1995 To the Editor: It is clear that backers of anti-gay initiative 166 are desperate to scare up some publicity for their failing efforts by manufacturing accusations of harassment and trying to stifle debate for the second year in a row. No wonder the Secretary of State could do nothing for them. laws against harassment already exist on the books, and if there were any veracity to their claims, one would think there would have been some documentation or at least a complaint filed with the proper authorities (the police, not a politician). Backers of I-166 seek to shut off public debate, but those opposed to this and other initiatives have a First Amendment right to voice their opinions and engage in a public education within the law. The backers of I-166 see a "conspiracy" against them; it is the initiative proponents themselves who plot to deprive some of their fellow citizens of equal protection under the law. What's more, the backers of I-166 want more time to collect signature, even though they have four months more than they had last year. Still, that's not enough for them. Obviously, their signature drive is failing for lack of support, not lack of time, and initiative backers are getting panicked, trying to inflame and mobilize public opinion to their anemic cause. Hopefully, Washingtonians will do what they did last year, and resoundingly decline to sign these mean-spirited initiatives. Richard Isaac Seattle (address and phone number provided)