Video Voter's Guide to Referendum 71

Transcript from the Pro-Referendum 71 section:

Hello, my name is Jane Abbott Lighty, and today I'm asking you to join my family and me in voting to approve Referendum 71.

My partner Petie Petersen and I have been together for 32 years. She and I registered as domestic partners on the first day we were allowed to. We are both retired nursing consultants from the state health department. Before that Petie was an Air Force captain, and an air-evac nurse in the Korean War.

We raised a daughter Betsy who is now 42, and her husband is a federal marshal with the airlines. My Petie is 81 and I just turned 74, and we have experienced a lot over the years. We have always had a strong and committed relationship and feel very responsible for each other. We sometimes worried about our daughter, always wanting to protect her, and she has grown up to be a strong and responsible citizen and loving wife and mother.

We think of ourselves as everyday Americans who want the same chance as everyone else to earn a living, be safe in our community, serve our country and take care of our loved ones. Referendum 71 is about the hopes, dreams and values we all have in common. We were raised to put family first, to work hard and to take responsibility for ourselves and our family: Commitment, sacrifice, duty, a sense of obligation to others, neighbors, community and country.

As older Americans, we face medical problems more often than younger people do. We have to make decisions about the estates, legal protections, and this takes on even more importance at this time in our lives. We need to make sure we have insurance in case something happens to one of us. And we each have a pension we earned over the years, but we need to make sure it will be there for the other one if something happens. That's why this domestic partnership law is so important. Without it we couldn't take time off work to care for a partner the way coworkers can to care for a spouse, or our insurance company doesn't have to cover a partner, as part of family insurance. Without domestic partnership law, you can't make important decisions on behalf of your loved one if he or she needs help.

Please, vote to approve Referendum 71. The domestic partnership law will insure that all Washington families will be treated fairly and equally under the law.

Some domestic partners are heterosexual seniors. Often they can't marry without sacrificing hard-earned Social Security, military or pension benefits. Referendum 71 will also protect them.

Committed couples who want to take care of each other should have the protections they need to keep their families safe, particularly in times of crisis. They should be allowed to visit each other in the hospital, take family medical leave, have insurance or receive inheritance. Children should be protected when a parent dies. This law does not affect schools or change the definition of marriage in any way.

We have many friends and relatives who have taken some time to get comfortable with domestic partnerships. They came from a traditional background, just like we did, so it took some time. After seeing us go through life together, and the strong foundation we have in our faith, our family and in our community, they're now joining us in their support of this law. They know first-hand how important the protections in this law are to so many families.

Petie and I have volunteered for the Approve 71 campaign because this is so important to us. It has been very gratifying to see individuals and organizations from across the political spectrum support the law: Washington Association of Churches, the Children's Alliance, the Boeing Company, Microsoft, Washington State Nurses Association, the Washington State Labor Council, Mainstream Republicans of Washington, Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans and People for the American Way, plus so many others.

The Reverend Paul Benz said it well. (Quote:) "As people of faith, we view the roll of religion to nurture and support families, not to cast some aside. To deny gay and lesbian families and older couples their basic rights threatens not only those families, but our collective commitment to each other." (Unquote.)

This law provides essential protections to many older couples, and to families with children who would otherwise be living without a safety net. By voting to approve Referendum 71, you will be insuring that all families will be treated the same under the law, with the same protections and responsibilities. Pete-e and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Vote to approve 71.