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Signatures for referendum to be reviewed


Equality Maryland wants to ensure validity in anti-discrimination petition


by C. Benjamin Ford and Janel Davis
Friday, February 22, 2008

Equality Maryland plans to review more than 31,000 signatures collected by opponents of a change to Montgomery County's anti-discrimination law to make sure they are valid, an attorney representing the group said Thursday.

Citizens for Responsible Government opposes protections for transgendered individuals, and has turned in the petitions to the county's Board of Elections to bring the legislation up for referendum in November. Opponents needed the signatures of 5 percent of the county's registered voters, or 25,001 names.

Supporters of the county law will review the signatures to make sure the names and addresses match up with the county's voting rolls, said Jonathan S. Shurberg, a Silver Spring attorney who won a Maryland Court of Appeals case earlier this month to allow 17-year-olds to vote in the primary election in nonpartisan races as well as the party primary contests.

Names and signatures on the petitions that do not match voter registration records can be deemed invalid, he said.

There also have been complaints about how those collecting the signatures presented the petition, Shurberg said. Some who signed said they were led to believe that signing the petition indicated support for the county law while others were told the petition involved protecting people from pedophiles, he said.

Equality Maryland, based in Silver Spring, is a group supporting rights for the gay, lesbian and transgendered community.

CRG was formed after the County Council passed the legislation last year.

Michelle Turner, a group spokeswoman, denied any of the petition takers misinformed those signing the petitions, saying the information was also available for people to read the question and bill for themselves if they wanted.

"It was there for everybody to see," Turner said. "Maybe some people were confused. I can't answer that."

But Council President Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown said Tuesday he is troubled by the misinformation he said is being spread by opponents of the law.

"The thing that is sad to me is the level of vitriol," Knapp said. "They are providing misinformation and scaring people," he said, and the county will have to work to counter the misinformation.

Assuming enough of CRG's signatures are valid to put the issue to referendum, just what will the ballot question say?

"We want to make sure it's simple for all county residents to understand the implications of this bill so they will see it as a clear 'yes' or 'no.' Yes, we want the bill as it is, or no, we do not," Turner said.

The law broadens the county's existing laws to prohibit discrimination against transgendered people in housing, employment, cable television service and taxi service.

The County Council and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) approved the law after removing a contentious amendment that would have also regulated areas like bathrooms and locker rooms. Without the amendment, operators of those facilities would retain authority on who uses them.

But opponents, such as CRG – which initially argued against the bathroom provision – still argue that the law is too vague. And because of that argument and the group's petition process, the law has not gone into effect yet, said Michael Faden, a council attorney.

"This is a referendum on a law," Faden said. "If they get their signatures, then it won't take effect until the referendum, and depending on the answer, if voters want it, the law takes effect 30 days after the referendum; and if voters don't want it, [the law] doesn't take effect."

Proponents for the county's law &nash; including Dana Beyer, a transgendered female and staff member for Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg – have called CRG's process a series of scare tactics.

CRG has run into opponents who have challenged the group's mission and petition process. In the past few weeks minor skirmishes have broken out between volunteers collecting signatures for the group and opponents at grocery stores, schools and polling places last week. An attorney for the group is deciding whether to file a civil rights lawsuit because of alleged harassment.

"We have found that this issue straddles every demographic and political line," said Ruth Jacobs, an infectious disease physician in Rockville who leads the group. "The ease with which the signatures have been obtained and the indignation of the voters demonstrate how isolated the council is from its constituents."

Staff Writer Margie Hyslop contributed to this report.