Police in Washington state are investigating an assault on two women, one of whom was working on a campaign to defeat a homosexual "marriage" bill.
The incident took place at a Safeway supermarket in the Seattle suburb of Burien, according to Chip White of Preserve Marriage Washington.
"Sixty-one-year-old grandmother Arlene Mark was assaulted while sitting in her Subaru Legacy as she waited to distribute campaign literature to other campaign volunteers in the parking lot of a supermarket," White details.
The attacker, who announced, "I'm gay and proud of it," ripped a Reject 74 campaign yard sign off the side of Mark's car, threw it down, and stomped on it while yelling profane remarks at the senior.
"A good Samaritan by the name of Nikki Davis came to Arlene's aid," the Preserve Marriage Washington spokesman tells OneNewsNow. "Nikki Davis, she's 36 years old, she's a pregnant African-American woman, and she was sitting in the passenger seat of the van that was parked next to Arlene's vehicle in the supermarket parking lot."
When Davis, who was not involved in the political campaign, told the assailant to back off, she was shoved, called filthy names, and targeted by racial slurs.
Police deem the incident a malicious hate crime and are investigating, but Mark asserts that she will not be intimidated into backing down from her stance for natural marriage. Instead, it has strengthened her resolve.
Earlier this year, SB 6239 was passed by the Washington Legislature and signed by the governor, redefining marriage in the state in a manner that makes it a genderless institution. So the coalition of pastors, community and faith groups, and citizens qualified a referendum to allow voters to decide on whether the measure will take effect. By rejecting R-74, marriage will be preserved as the union of one man and one woman.
Strong views on each side of the issue angered the homosexual assailant in Arlene Mark's case, and White expects a close outcome November 6.
Without the referendum, SB 6239 would have taken effect June 7, 2012.