In Seattle, gay marriage backers cheer Obama
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 5/10/12 4:04 PM EDT
SEATTLE -- Supporters of gay marriage are set to converge on the Paramount Theater here Thursday afternoon to thank President Obama for endorsing the unions after years of murky positioning on the issue.
Two local newspapers, the Seattle Gay News and the Seattle Lesbian, and other LGBT groups are encouraging their community to take to the streets near the Paramount Theater with "signs, balloons, rainbow flags, drag – anything fun! – to say THANK YOU to President Obama as he arrives for a fundraiser," as the Seattle Lesbian put it on its website.
There were also smaller expressions here of support for the president's position. A woman with an infant stood along his motorcade's route with a sign that read "Thank You! Mr. President for standing up for my Mommys."
The Obama campaign, meanwhile, continues to try to capitalize on the enthusiasm. "I am just so happy," Rufus Gifford, the campaign's openly gay national finance director, wrote in an email to supporters Thursday afternoon. "If you're proud of our president, this is a great time to make a donation to the campaign," he said, linking to a page that constrasts the Obama and Romney positions on gay marriage, and asks for credit card information.
Since Wednesday, "there's been a huge outpouring of enthusiasm" from the LGBT community and its allies in Seattle, said Josh Friedes, director of marriage equality at Equal Rights Washington. "We couldn't have asked for something better. It's just moving the conversation forward. people who are not that interested in the issue are being kind of bombarded at the moment and that's resulting in conversations."
Gay marriage is due to become legal in Washington state in June, but opponents of the law are collecting signatures to force the issue to a referendum vote in November. Friedes said he expects that opponents will be able to get the necessary 120,000 signatures but is hopeful that the gay rights movement has built enough support in the state and has only been boosted by Obama's endorsement.
"We already had so much momentum and the president's comments yesterday are just more wind in our sails," he said. |
