May 23, 2008  |  By: JOSHUA LYNSEN  | COMMENTS     

The jubilation and excitement created by last week’s historic California Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage is slowly giving way to the sobering reality that state voters could void gay unions via constitutional amendment in November.

The fight over that amendment will be costly — perhaps as much as $20 million.

“We have to be prepared to spend pretty much the same amount of money per voter as we’ve spent in other ballot measures, which in this case means around $20 million,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry.

Equality for All, a coalition of more than three dozen organizations working to defeat the proposed amendment, had raised $577,000 of as March 31. More recent figures were not available.

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, said the total was “just a drop in the bucket” compared to what is needed to win.

“Our opponents have vowed to raise $10 to $20 million,” he said, “and we need to at least match them dollar for dollar.”

California last week joined Massachusetts to become the second state to allow same-sex marriages.

In an opinion released May 15, the California Supreme Court concluded, 4-3, that “an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.”

The court’s decision cannot be appealed but the proposed constitutional amendment could render it void.

Californians are expected to vote on the amendment this fall. Proponents recently announced they had obtained 1.1 million signatures to bring the issue to voters as part of the November ballot.

State officials have yet to certify, based on random sampling, that the signatures are valid. A decision is expected in June.

Therese Stewart, San Francisco’s deputy city attorney, said it was unclear how the amendment might affect couples that wed in California in the months to come.

She said it was unknown whether the amendment would “retroactively take away” a gay Californian’s right to marry, and the question would “require research.”

Amendment supporters, however, said success would overrule the California Supreme Court’s decision.

“The court’s rationale for its decision should prompt outrage from the majority of California’s citizens,” said Ron Prentice, chair of ProtectMarriage.com. “In November, the people will have an opportunity to overrule the court’s decision by passing a constitutional amendment — and California’s voters must respond by voting.”

It was unclear this week how the proposed amendment would sit with voters. But an analysis of past poll results, prepared by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, shows a growing number of Californians think gay couples should have marriage rights.

The number of people who told pollsters that “gay marriage should be valid” rose from 27 percent in 1996 to 39 percent in 2005.

Wolfson said the polls show that marriage rights supporters will “have to work” to win in November, but a victory would mean “we will have won the war.”

“Just as Gettysburg did not end the Civil War, there was much toil and blood and fighting still to do, in retrospect, we can see that Gettysburg was the turning point,” he said. “California is Gettysburg.”

For that reason, Wolfson said, the importance of defeating the proposed amendment cannot be overstated.

“This is the single most important gay priority this year,” he said. “The stakes literally couldn’t be higher.”

Gay civil rights activists lauded the court for granting full marriage rights to California’s estimated 1.3 million gay, lesbian and bisexual residents.

“This is a historic day for the state of California and a long-awaited day for the plaintiffs in this case and their families,” said Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president. “The Calif-ornia Supreme Court has made clear that same-sex couples in committed relationships and their families deserve the same level of respect afforded to opposite-sex couples.”

HRC announced Wednesday it is donating $500,000 to fight the proposed amendment.

Rea Carey, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s acting executive director, echoed Solmonese.

“This is an extraordinary victory for Californians and all Americans who hold fairness and opportunity as fundamental American values,” she said. “Today, once again, California is leading the way in affirming the inherent dignity of all people. Today, in our hearts, we are all Californians.”

Gov. ...