That sound of wailing and gnashing teeth you hear is coming from anti-gay bigots on the West Coast ...

It appears that Washington will become the seventh state to allow same-sex nuptials, following in the footsteps of Iowa, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut - not to mention the forward-thinking District of Columbia. On VerdictJustia.com, Joanna Grossman, law professor at Hoffstra University, reports that Marriage Equality is all but assured for committed gay and lesbian couples living in the Evergreen State: The state senate passed Bill 6239, by a vote of 28-21. That bill would repeal an existing statutory ban on same-sex marriage and replace it with an explicit authorization of such marriages. The state’s house of representatives is expected to pass the bill by a wide margin, and the state’s governor, Christine Gregoire, has stated publicly that she will sign the bill... (O)ne might have predicted that older legislators would have had to be gradually replaced with younger ones, for the legislature to accept same-sex marriage. (Young people are dramatically more likely to support same-sex marriage than older ones, regardless of political affiliation.) That Washington State was able to embrace same-sex marriage now is thus surprising, as well as heartening. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage bills are working their way through a variety of other state legislatures, including New Jersey’s and Maryland’s. Same-sex marriage is an inevitable, eventual reality. But as in a game of Othello, the chips are starting to flip. Polls show ever-growing support for same-sex marriage, and even deeply entrenched opposition may dissipate sooner than we thought.
America's anti-equality forces, hopped up on hate, are coiled and ready to strike. From USA Today: Washington's bill may be challenged by opponents, who are expected to make a push to have the question of same-sex marriage put on the ballot in November, Murray said. Pastor Joe Fuiten, one of the leaders of a campaign for a referendum that would overturn the bill, said he and others oppose the measure because it would change the definition of marriage and affect what children are taught in schools... Fuiten said the opponents' camp in Washington is made up of about 40 organizations...
Let's take a look at one of those anti-gay hate groups. Like the Southern Policy Law Center, The Progressive Puppy only uses the word "haters" to describe individuals, advocacy groups, or religious denominations that knowingly lie in order to smear LGBT citizens. (Examples: Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown of NOM are haters. OK Rep. Sally Kern is a hater. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is a hater. The Two Ricks, Perry and Santorum, are haters. Donald and Tim Wildmon are father/son tag team haters. The leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are haters.) These homobigots realize that they're spreading misinformation about committed same-sex couples. They are aware that they're breaking the 9th Commandment by bearing false witness against their neighbors, but they do this willingly for two reasons: One, they believe in the old adage; "The ends justify the means." And secondly, perhaps more to the point, seasoned propagandists and Religious Right zealots earn BIG paychecks by fleecing their sheeple. Fair-minded Americans shouldn't expect them to give up those cash cows anytime soon.
There are few more mean-spirited and deceitful anti-equality orgs in the country than Washington's Family Policy Institute, led by homo-obsessed Christian extremist Joseph Backholm (picture above). FPIW squandered $200,000 of its donors' hard-earned money to defeat Referendum 71, which merely added a few basic civil rights to domestic partnerships. The referendum passed by a wide majority.
Carlos Maza writes on Equality Matters: Although FPIW presents itself as a typical “pro-family” organization, the group openly promotes anti-gay propaganda has ties to some of the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate groups. On its website, FPIW offers visitors a number of “Marriage Legislation Resources” explaining “why you should care” about the threat posed by marriage equality. The page links to a number of documents containing typical anti-equality talking points, including a list of classic horror stories about gay marriage and religious liberty. Also included in the “Resources” page is an article by George Dent – Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University – titled “No Difference?: An Analysis Of Same-Sex Parenting.” The article contains a number of anti-gay smears, including the myth that homosexuals molest children at higher rates than heterosexuals. (Below are a few sickening blurbs from that pdf document:)
The claim that living with a same-sex couple does not affect a child’s sexuality is implausible. It would be surprising indeed if children’s own sexual identities were unaffected by the sexual identities of their parents. (This assertion is really ignorant. Gay and lesbian youngsters of my generation - and I blush to admit I'm referring to the sixties - were all raised by moms and dads in a traditional family structure. So why didn't our folks' heterosexuality make us straight?) The tendency of male homosexual acts to spread disease may help explain the revulsion many people feel about them. Lesbians also suffer high rates of certain diseases and drug abuse. Homosexuals also have higher rates of suicide, mental illness, and drug and substance abuse. (All of these spurious claims are linked to a discredited researcher/clinician named Paul Cameron who was thrown out of the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association for his unceasing ethical violations and for misrepresenting the findings of legitimate scientists.) Every child raised by a gay male couple has at least one unrelated male adult in the home. There is no reason to think that such a child will fare better than a child living with an unrelated heterosexual male. The high rates of child sex abuse among homosexuals and bisexuals are also a cause for concern. (This is perhaps the vilest lie of all, and anybody with an LGBT friend or family member knows it to be false.)
FPIW directs its readers to the websites of similar SPLC-designated hate groups. Bigotry loves company.