Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 23:27:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Richard Isaac Subject: (BB statement)Idaho's anti-gay ballot initiative is dead Greetings! Great news from Idaho! Another anti-gay ballot initiative bites the dust; BIGOT BUSTERS (WA) congratulates the Idaho Decline to Sign Campaign and all the other Idahoans who opposed legalized discrimination in their successful efforts! The failures of such initiatives in Oregon and Idaho (and Washington, where Initiative 669 is expected to fail to gather enough signatures by this Friday's deadline), combined with the landmark Romer v. Evans decision in May, provides hope that the Radical Right will abandon such unpopular and unconstitutional efforts. BIGOT BUSTERS is thrilled at the effective use of counter-petitioning (voter education at signature-gathering sites) in Idaho. This is a technique which has been used successfully in Oregon in 1992 and Washington in 1994 and 1995, where 4 ballot initiatives in 2 years have failed to qualify for the ballot (5 in 3 years as of this Friday). It demonstrates that when voters are given complete and accurate information about the dangers of such initiatives, they will indeed DECLINE TO SIGN! (NB. BIGOT BUSTERS has published an organizing manual called DECLINE TO SIGN, for those interested in forming counter-petitioning organizations in areas still facing discriminatory ballot initiatives. Inquiries can be directed to: rmisaac@eskimo.com or to Bigot Busters, 1202 E. Pike #1110, Seattle, WA 98122; 206-767-2457. Free to organizations fighting discriminatory initiatives; $5.00 including shipping to others.) Congratulations to the activists and citizens of Idaho! * Richard Isaac __*_*___ \* * / Seattle *\ * ***\**/** rmisaac \/ @eskimo.com HOMEPAGE: http://www.eskimo.com/~rmisaac/ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 17:17:56 -0400 (EDT) Subject: *QL*: Idaho's anti-gay ballot initiative is dead (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 02 Jul 1996 13:48:39 -0600 Subject: *QL*: Idaho's anti-gay ballot initiative is dead On Monday, July 1st, the Idaho Citizens Alliance (ICA), sponsor of the only-remaining anti-gay ballot measure proposal in the country, withdrew their measure. The ICA's announcment came only five days before the July 5th deadline when they would have had to turn in over 41,000 verified signatures to the Idaho Secretary of State. As of June 28th, the ICA had only verified approximately 5,000 signatures statewide. The ICA used the pretext that the Idaho Attorney General had recently given them a written opinion that the anti-gay initiative was unconstitutional in light of the Romer decision. Nevertheless, the ICA had encountered numerous difficulties in gathering signatures for the anti-gay initiative, unlike the 1994 campaign when they easily met the signature requirements for qualifying Proposition One for the ballot. Thanks and praise should go to Idaho's Decline to Sign Campaign (formerly the No On 1 Coalition), the campaign organization that defeated the ICA's anti-gay Proposition One in 1994, and organized statewide opposition in 1995 and this year to the ICA's now defunct "Family & Child Protection Act." Decline to Sign successfully educated Idahoans about the divisiveness and discrimination inherent in the ICA's anti-gay measures, and used "counter-petitioning" tactics to discourage thousands of people from signing the ICA's petitions. I believe that with the withdrawal of the ICA's latest anti-gay measure, we have seen the last of anti-gay ballot measures nationwide, at least for several years. As we have seen with the anti-marriage bills, our opponents are now turning increasingly to state legislatures and Congress to push their extremist agenda. They are also turning to other "wedge" issues, such as anti-immigrant and anti-welfare hysteria, to fuel their movement and organizing. Thus, while we can all breath a huge sigh of relief that this saga in the fight against the Right may be over, there is still much work to be done. John Hummel Boise, Idaho