What do Washington state and Maine have in common?

 This fall both Washington and Maine will vote on a gay rights issue.

 While we have Question 1, a proposal to repeal a gay-marriage law, Washington has Referendum 71, which asks voters to approve or reject a law  dubbed “everything but marriage.”

 Washington state lawmakers and the governor approved the law earlier this year to give same-sex couples who signed up for a domestic partner registry all the rights and responsibilities given to straight couples.

 But unlike the law in Maine, they don’t call it marriage.

 The Washington Secretary of State’s Office had a recent blog posting on a public opinion poll that shows 46 percent want to approve the law and 41 percent want to reject it. However, the pollster said many were confused about the wording of the question.

 That same confusion can happen in Maine, where a “yes” vote means you oppose gay marriage and a “no” vote means you support it.

 The Washington pollster also noted that people expressed support for equal rights, but they didn’t want to call it marriage.

 Here in Maine, gay rights activists are pushing for full marriage rights, saying that it’s just not equal if you call it a civil union or some other term.

 The blog makes a few other interesting points. You can check it out here:

http://blogs.secstate.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2009/09/indie-poll-...