Our government springs
from and was made for the people-not the people for the Government.
To them it owes allegiance; from them it must derive its courage, strength
and wisdom.
Andrew Johnson, first annual message to Congress, Dec. 4, 1865
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My name is Sidney Turbyfill and I am vice president and co-founder of Washington for Traditional Values Coalition (WTVC). In March of this year, I will have lived in the great state of Washington for ten years. Very early on, in my time here in Washington, I came to realize that there were menacing political interests that would -- if they were permitted to -- force their views into public policies and undermine the civil liberties and general welfare of all of Washington’s People.
The interests to which I refer are, of course, the self-styled "sexual minority" interests that have lobbied unsuccessfully for 20 years to gain special, minority status from the Washington's Legislature but, undeterred, have taken their cause to the executive branch of our government. They found great success there as is witnessed to by the Governor’s Executive Orders from both Booth Gardner and Mike Lowry and the enthusiasm with which the departments of our state government have embraced those executive orders in implementing them.
Of course, our present Governor Gary Locke has made no secret of his support of this particular political agenda having just recently spoken out in behalf of their attempt to gain workplace superiority through the failed Initiative 677. Here the people spoke out decisively in opposition to special legal advocacy for this dubious interest group.
In this context, we, at Washington for Traditional Values Coalition, and our constituency of more than 60% of our state’s residents, applaud the prime sponsor of House Bill 2586, Representative Marc Boldt, and the other representatives who are sponsoring this legislation. You are in harmony with the greater public when you oppose more takings of this kind from the public treasury.
We are pleased to see that you have recognized the nature of the efforts of this so-called "sexual minority" interest group as you state in the opening section of the proposed bill.
Sec. 1. Marriage is a unique legal and social institution that forms an indispensable basis for healthy families which, in turn, are the fundamental units of a sound society. As such, the law protects and supports the marital relationship and families by recognizing and providing a unique set of benefits, privileges, advantages, entitlements, and rights on behalf of spouses and family members.
Same-sex partnerships are not the legal equivalent of lawful marriage and same-sex partners should not be treated the same as or similarly to legally married spouses. It is a compelling interest of the state of Washington to reaffirm its traditional commitment to marriage and to preserve the unique benefits that apply to marital and familial relationships.
Drawing from the bill, "Marriage is [the] basis for healthy families . . . [and] a sound society" and "Same-sex partnerships are not the legal equivalent of lawful marriage" is merely stating the very obvious for most of the people of our state. The people of Washington are open-minded, tolerant and generally forgiving but they will not tolerate nor quickly forgive such brazen abuse of the public trust as the recent University of Washington policy forcing legitimate couples in marriage to compete with "same-sex" partners for married student housing.
This bill will redress that abuse of trust and bar similar future advances for the "sexual minority" cause.
On behalf the people of our fair state, we want to congratulate you for your courage and wisdom in proposing this legislation.
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