Gov. Gregoire and Secretary Reed certify Referendum 74

For Immediate Release: December 5, 2012

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire and Sec. of State Sam Reed today certified the election of Referendum 74, surrounded by couples and community members who have long supported marriage equality.

�For the past twenty years we�ve been saying just one more step. Just one more fight. Just one more law. But now we can stop saying �just one more.� This is it. We are here. We did it,� said Gregoire. �In just a few hours, all Washington families will have the opportunity to receive a marriage license. As one of three states in the nation where voters affirmed marriage equality at the ballot box - there is no more resounding endorsement. I thank them for standing up for what is right.�

At the certification, Gregoire and Sec. Reed were joined by community members and three couples: Marcy Kulland and Terry Virgona; Ryan Mello and Jerry Hallman; and Heather Kawamoto and Kay Lancaster. Kawamoto and Lancaster will be among the many couples in our state to be married on Sunday.

�I thank the couples joining us here today who have waited far too long for this moment,� said Gregoire. �It�s been one long engagement, thanks for waiting! You represent who we are as a state, young and old, public servants, parents, volunteers, and families. You are who we all stood up through this fight. And you are the ones that will show our next generation that yes, it does get better. That we are all in this together. And that there is no more important thing than love.�

Gregoire signed marriage equality legislation of February of this year after passing in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The referendum passed by Washington state voters in November allows same-sex couples to legally marry in the state.