Does it Matter if Signatures are Released?

Thoughts from the Executive Director

Last year, the Washington State Legislature passed a law granting same-sex domestic partnership legal equivalence to heterosexual marriages. Those who opposed the law collected enough signatures to allow the voters to either approve or reject the law. Amid threats of intimidation, a lawsuit was filed to keep the names of those who signed the petition private.

Today the United State’s Supreme Court held, in an 8-1 decision, that public disclosure of referendum signatures does not generally violate the first amendment’s guarantee of free speech. The court did not decide the signatures must be disclosed, only that disclosure does not automatically violate the First Amendment. In the coming months, a judge will determine whether the facts surrounding Referendum 71 justify keeping the signatures private.

Planned Parenthood More Trustworthy than Other Medical Practices?

Planned Parenthood More Trustworthy than Other Medical Practices?
June 1,2010

Every day in Washington State, people have surgery in office-based facilities. Hundreds of offices perform procedures like oral surgery, foot surgery, and plastic surgery outside hospital facilities.

While I am not personally aware of any crisis, there is apparently concern about lack of regulation of these facilities. Enough concern, in fact, that within the Washington State Department of Health,