American Civil Liberties Union

Today marks the 11th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to honor those among us whose deaths were a result of prejudice against transgender people. The day serves as a sad reminder that, as much as we are moving towards tolerance and societal acceptance of transgender people, physical violence continues to be a threat in our communities.

On November 3, Washington voters will have the chance to approve or reject R-71, a measure that will allow same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex seniors to access many of the rights and protections granted to married couples. We're counting down to Election Day with a series of seven videos, each a powerful illustration of why it's so important to approve R-71.

Reason #7: Spokane domestic partners Marge and Diane

Diane and Marge live in Spokane, Washington in a home with two dogs and a lovely garden. They have been together for thirty years and raised two children together. When their son was five, he fell off his bike and injured his hand. Marge rushed him to the hospital, but because he was Diane’s biological son and they lacked legal recognition of their partnership, the doctors refused to treat him until Diane could get off work.

On November 3, Washington voters will have the chance to approve or reject R-71, a measure that will allow same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex seniors to access many of the rights and protections granted to married couples. We’re counting down to Election Day with a series of seven videos, each a powerful illustration of why it’s so important to approve R-71.

Reason #5: Firefighters Penny and Karen and their son Calder

Penny and Karen live in West Seattle with their son Calder. Both Penny and Karen are firefighters and, having seen colleagues seriously injured on the job, they know how dangerous their work can sometimes be. Knowing they have domestic partnership protections helps ease the fear, guaranteeing that if one of them were to be injured on the job, the other partner would have hospital visitation rights and would receive support from the fire department.

On November 3, Washington voters will have the chance to approve or reject R-71, a measure that will allow same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex seniors to access many of the rights and protections granted to married couples. We’re counting down to Election Day with a series of seven videos, each a powerful illustration of why it’s so important to approve R-71.

Reason #3: Janet, Cindy and their seven kids

Janet and Cindy live in Richland in the Tri Cities area of Washington where Cindy works for the Hanford Site and Janet is a minister at River of Life MCC. They have seven kids, six of whom they adopted from foster care. Janet and Cindy love raising a large family, and when they need an extra pair of hands, Cindy’s mother, who lives next door, comes over to help out.