State, that is.

This is hilarious. Read down to the bottom.


With no real plan, a scattered base and well-heeled opponents, two
political activists many people have never heard of are scoring
unexpected victories in a campaign to roll back domestic-partnership
benefits for gay couples in Washington state.

Facing resistance even from within their own ranks, they've landed
wins in state and federal courts, and were triumphant where it
mattered most: a contentious signature count in the Secretary of
State's Office that ultimately credited them with enough valid
signatures to get Referendum 71 onto the Nov. 3 ballot.

Larry Stickney, campaign manager for Protect Marriage Washington, and
Gary Randall, his philosophical soul mate, see the tightly contested
battle as one not about pension rights and sick leave but as their
last chance to protect traditional marriage in Washington.

From dissimilar backgrounds, the two preach that unchecked "special
rights" for gays are taking the state and nation down a wrongheaded
moral path.

They are unflinching in that conviction, despite messy personal
histories that challenge their claim to the moral high ground.

The twice-divorced Stickney, a 51-year-old construction worker turned
conservative-political activist, has denounced as blatantly untrue
allegations from an ex-wife that he abused her.