Contact: Chip White, Preserve Marriage Washington, 425-231-5552
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash., Oct. 30, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Recent Facebook posts demonstrate that there is an apparent contest to see who can steal the most "Reject R-74" yard signs. A gay marriage supporter, whose Facebook page identifies her as living in University Place, bragged on that social media site that she and an accomplice stole two dozen "Reject R-74" signs the night of October 25 or 26, 2012. She brazenly displayed a photo of the stolen lawn signs, with a caption reading: "Beat that Steph!!! 24 Baby!!!! What do we win aagain[sic] ???" Many of her friends congratulated her and cheered her on.
With one week remaining before Election Day, the "Approve R-74" campaign is getting desperate as they see their lead slip in the polls. (For the Elway Poll showing the race is a statistical dead heat, click here.)
As if attacking a grandmother who was volunteering for Preserve Marriage Washington were not bad enough, gay marriage activists have been intimidating other supporters of traditional marriage and stealing hundreds of their yard signs. (For the Q13 Fox TV story on the man who tore a "Reject R-74" sign off the grandmother's car, screamed at her, and shoved a pregnant woman who came to her rescue, click here.)
According to Preserve Marriage Washington, these are not isolated incidents. "The gay marriage campaign says they are about tolerance, fairness, and kindness. But there is nothing tolerant, fair, or kind about stealing, vandalism, and harassment," said Chip White, Communications Director for Preserve Marriage Washington. "The gay marriage forces have called this a cynical political tactic. Being attacked, harassed, and intimidated isn't a tactic by our side, but it does show that supporters of gay marriage don't really mean it when they talk about the importance of tolerance."
Not only have hundreds of "Reject R-74" yard signs been stolen, but dozens of signs have been cut, spray-painted, and even burned around the state, including Burien, Camas, Federal Way, Issaquah, Lakewood, Redmond, Seattle, Tri-Cities, University Place, Bremerton, Vancouver, and West Tacoma. In another act of violence, eggs were thrown at a group of teenagers who were sign waving in Federal Way.
Preserve Marriage Washington will be filing a criminal complaint and calls on local law enforcement to arrest and prosecute the culprits.
Preserve Marriage Washington is a coalition of community and faith groups and hundreds of thousands of citizens who support marriage as the union of one man and one woman. For more information, visit www.PreserveMarriageWashington.com.
