''The Supreme Court is simply preserving the status quo while opponents of disclosure get their full day in court, and we respect that. We continue to support the view of the Ninth Circuit and will do our very best to uphold the voters' desire for transparent and accountable government.''

Sam Reed, Secretary of State for Washington state, on the most recent developments over Referendum 71. Anti-gay conservative politcal organizations are seeking to overturn a recently adopted law commonly called the "Everything but Marriage" law that extends many benefits of marriage to same-sex partnerships. They claim that releasing the names of petition signers would somehow lead to intimidation or harm, despite the fact that petition signers names have been made publicly available since 1972 in that state. (Seattle Times) (Seattle Post Intelligencer)