Yesterday, as Preserve Marriage Washington submitted 200,000 signatures to stop the state’s gay marriage law from going into effect, a small uprising was starting in the Havana Social Club on Capitol Hill. Members of Mudhoney were there to wave the flag for gay marriage—so were Sub Pop staffers and KEXP DJs, music journalists and King County Executive Dow Constantine. If marriage equality goes on the ballot in November as Referendum 74, the local music industry is ready to throw its weight behind “the right to love and marry whomever you choose.”

Music for Marriage Equality (music4marriage.org) officially launched yesterday with its first get-out-the-vote campaign, a plea to make history in Washington by being the first state to defend gay marriage legislation with a public vote. Thirty-two states have already voted on the issue, from California to Maine, and backers of marriage equality have lost each time. They say it’s an uphill battle against well-funded opposition who stand behind the traditional definition of marriage as one man, one woman.

"It’s true that 32 out of 32 states have gone the wrong way on this, so we’re definitely fighting against pretty daunting precedent," Zach Silk of Washington United for Marriage, a same-sex marriage coalition, told the Los Angeles Times. He also shared similar sentiments last night at Havana. "We would certainly consider ourselves the underdogs, but we feel like we’re in a strong position, and Washington is probably one of the more likely places where we can win."

Local musicians have come out in force for the cause, signing on as supporters and posting video testimonials on MME’s website in the same way Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Project started. There’s representation from hip hop (Macklemore, Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces), indie rock (Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill), and big guns from across the country (Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers), as well as local businesses. Though state officials won’t complete their review of signatures and confirm that Referendum 74 is on the ballot until later this week or next, as The Seattle Times reported, organizations on both sides of the issue are already prepping for a few long months ahead.

To find out more about Music for Marriage Equality, visit music4marriage.org.