Oregonians for equality have been waiting for this day: they day they can sign their name to put "Oregon Says I Do," the marriage equality initiative, on the ballot in November 2014. And they really
have been waiting:
Dozens of people began lining up at Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park at 6 a.m. on Friday.
“We’ve had more than 1,100 volunteers RSVP to be at our events around the state,” said Peter Zuckerman, the spokesman for Oregon United for Marriage. “The momentum is tremendous. As more and more people get to talk to their friends and family and neighbors and see that there are gay and lesbian people all around them, and that gay and lesbian people want to marry for similar reasons as anyone else wants to marry, (they see) that it really comes down to treating others as one would want to be treated.”
Getting in a line at six in the morning to sign a petition? Oregonians really are fired up. Oregon United for Marriage has a goal of getting 10,000 signatures in 10 days, toward the 116,284 valid signatures it will need by July 3, 2014.
You can help.
But what all of us can do is to help fund this effort. This volunteer petition drive is going to be critical to victory in November 2014. Every contact Oregon United can make with a voter, every meaningful conversation on a doorstep now, is going to make a difference next year.
This is going to be an intense grassroots campaign, and whatever financial help we can provide will give the campaigners that much more time to reach more voters. Early money now will help get those signatures, and will help Oregon United create the strong field campaign they'll need to win.
Please contribute now to Oregon United for Marriage to help organize for 2014.