Washington United for Marriage launched MarriageFactCheck.com “to provide rapid response to the misrepresentations and falsehoods raised by opponents of Referendum 74 and the bipartisan marriage law which allows all loving couples in Washington to marry.

Civil marriage for loving gay and lesbian couples will be on the ballot in November. Washington’s new civil marriage equality law was scheduled to go into effect today but as expected, the campaign to take away the freedom to marry in Washington has turned in enough signatures to halt enactment of the law and put our weddings in limbo until the election results are known.

The House is expected to pass the bill as early at this Friday, and Gov. Gregoire is eager to sign it. These are momentous, historic actions, but they are not the end of the story. Anti-equality activists have promised to put a referendum on the November, 2012 ballot, asking voters to approve or reject the new law.

Backed by an impressive 23 co-sponsors and a “By Request: Gov. Gregoire” note, the much-anticipated marriage equality bill has been introduced into the Washington state Senate.