Reject Referendum 71 Supporters Appealing Signature Release Order to U.S. Supreme Court

UPDATE: Turns out Randall was right. Justice Kennedy has intervened, putting a hold on the federal ruling until he reviews the request to hear the case.

Gary Randall, leader of the Faith & Freedom Network who is also a leader in the Protect Marriage Washington/Reject Referendum 71 campaign (see their ridiculous ad), has announced that they plan to appeal the 9th Circuit Court's ruling that they release the petition signatures that were responsible for getting the anti-LGBT initiative on Washington state's ballot. If Washingtonians reject Referendum 71, they will strip gays and lesbians of their new domestic partnership rights.

The Olympian reports that Randall wrote:

I received an email from attorney James Bopp, Jr. this afternoon, filling us in on some further developments on R-71.

He said the three-member panel was very liberal leaning and sometimes hostile toward our positions. Not a big surprise.

Attorney Bopp is taking the matter to the Supreme Court and has contacted Justice Kennedy. As I am typing this update, I just received an email telling us that Justice Kennedy has called for a response to the application to vacate the stay. The response is due Monday, October 19. This is very positive. The vast majority of times the application is denied without requiring a response.

I cannot give more detail, but we all want you to know we are doing everything humanly possible to protect your rights and freedoms to participate in the election process with out the fear of retribution.

There is another action item in play this weekend that I cannot discuss publicly at the moment, however, it will play out over the next couple of days.

This is yet another obstacle facing Secretary of State Sam Reed's office, who planned to release the signatures claiming its a matter of public record, but they also face another suit filed by a petition supporter.

LGBT-rights opponents fear harassment if the names are released. Tom Lang, director of knowthyneighbor.org, working in conjunction with Washington activists of whosigned.org, plans to post the names on his site.

Get involved. Go to Approve71.org!