03:20 PM PDT on Monday, June 5, 2006

KING5.com Staff and KING Staff

KING

Eyman showed up at the Secretary of State's office dressed like Darth Vader.

OLYMPIA – Referendum 65 sponsor Tim Eyman on Monday staged a media stunt at the Secretary of State's office that met with some heated words from some reporters who felt "duped."

Eyman had announced he would bring petitions for the referendum that would let voters decide whether to keep or reject the gay rights law passed by the Legislature.

Eyman and supporters showed up wearing Star Wars outfits, apparently to make some sort of point about being disliked by politicians.

But the group would not say how many petitions they had actually collected. Instead, Eyman claimed he didn't know because they signatures were coming in too late. And he didn't actually drop any of the petitions off.

Some reporters accused him of intentionally misleading the media.

Said one,” You’re duping the press in order to help promote your signature drive in the final days.”

“I think it’s fair to say that we are willing to do whatever’s necessary in order to make sure our supporters know that we have the final days to get signatures in order to qualify for the ballot,” Eyman replied.

The 2006 Washington State Legislature passed ESHB 2661, updating the state's anti-discrimination law to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, insurance and commercial transactions.

Churches support gay rights law

Washington State leaders for several major Christian denominations on Monday announced their support for retaining the law protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"People should not be fired from jobs or denied housing simply because of their sexual orientation," said John Boonstra, executive minister of the Washington Association of Churches. "That is why we supported this anti-discrimination bill in the legislature and will continue to support it if it is referred to the people."

"This is about respect for our fellow human beings. Our religious faith calls us to seek the wholeness of community and strive for the common good. As Christians, we will be encouraging our fellow Christians to vote to approve on Referendum 65," added The Reverend Dr. Edward Paup, Bishop of the Pacific NW Conference, United Methodist Church.

Boonstra said his organization has long supported the anti-discrimination law and is opposed to any effort to repeal it.