PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD  |  WHERE TO FIND THE BLADE    |   WASHBLADE ON MYSPACE    |   RSS  
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2009
 
Please login or create a new account
  ?
HOME
CLASSIFIEDS
AUTO GUIDE

THE LATEST
BLADEWIRE
BLADEBLOG
BLOGWATCH
NEWS
 LOCAL
 NATIONAL
 WORLD NEWS
 VIEWPOINT
 ENTERTAINMENT
 ECLIPSE
 OUT IN DC
 CALENDARS
 FITNESS BY GENRE
 BITCH SESSION














EMAIL UPDATES
New to email
updates? Then click here to find out more.
email address

subscribe
unsubscribe
I have read and agree to our terms
and conditions
.


ADVERTISING
GENERAL INFO
E-EDITION
MARKETING

ABOUT US
ABOUT THE BLADE
MASTHEAD
EMPLOYMENT

 

 

 





MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR
CHRIS JOHNSON





Printer-friendly Version

Letter to the Editor

Sound Off about this article




RELATED CONTENT
 
Newsom criticizes Obama, Schwarzenegger over Prop 8
Calif. court agrees to hear challenges to marriage ban

Proposition 8 fight a nail-biter to the end
Ballot battles in other states also expected to be close

Fierce fight over Prop 8
Pelosi, Feinstein get involved, but Obama, Schwarzenegger on the sidelines

‘Never give up’
Protesters hit the streets as Prop 8 challenged in court

 

MORE NATIONAL

New grassroots push for a gay Cabinet member
Some see fresh opportunity after Richardson’s abrupt nomination exit

Black gays ask church to dump Warren as MLK Day speaker
Atlanta speech set for day before Obama’s inauguration

New reports challenge assumptions about Prop 8
Opponents file brief asking court to invalidate marriage ban

National news in brief
Portland becomes largest U.S. city with gay mayor


NATIONAL

Calif. braces for historic vote on gay marriage
Prop 8 galvanizing advocates on both sides of hot-button issue

CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, September 19, 2008

Facing an initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in the Golden State, California has quickly become the primary battleground in the fight between forces that support and oppose gay nuptials.
Gay couples from across the nation have flocked to the state to exchange vows after the California Supreme Court ruled in May that same-sex couples have a right to marry.

But the California Secretary of State determined in June that conservative groups had collected enough signatures to get on the November ballot a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

The proposed amendment, known as Proposition 8, says, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has issued an opinion noting that the measure would not void existing same-sex marriages, but the measure would prohibit any more gay couples from marrying.

Campaigns on both sides of the initiative are striving to win over voters. The upcoming vote also has spurred donors to pour millions of dollars into campaigns supporting and opposing the initiative.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that donations to the campaign backing the amendment totaled $16 million, while donations to efforts opposing the amendment were at $11 million.

Although opponents of same-sex marriage had a funding advantage, recent polls have consistently showed that a majority of California residents oppose the measure.

A survey published Aug. 27 by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 54 percent of California voters oppose Proposition 8, while 40 percent support it. The survey also found that California voters are evenly split on same-sex marriage in general. Same-sex nuptials are favored by 47 percent of respondents and opposed by another 47 percent.

Additionally, the survey found that eight in 10 respondents believe that the outcome of Proposition 8 “is important.”

Leaders of major gay advocacy groups agree, saying the measure’s success or failure would have major nationwide implications.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the fight against Proposition 8 has “significant parameters” because the California high court “granted full marriage equality and we are in a fight to safeguard and hold that right.”

“To safeguard this decision and to safeguard and uphold the right for same-sex couples to be married in California in November is going to be a huge milestone,” he said.

Solmonese said California holds a particular importance because it is the nation’s most populous state and the world’s ninth largest economy.

Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, said the stakes on Proposition 8 “could not be higher.”

“We can defeat Prop 8 and secure a transformative victory that alters the arc of our movement — or we could lose and literally add decades to our struggle,” he said.

California is key to the “historic momentum” in spreading marriage rights for gay couples in other states, Wolfson said.

Nan Hunter, a Georgetown University law professor who spoke Sept. 9 at a D.C. panel on same-sex marriage, said it’s “impossible to overstate how high the stakes are in California.”

“The California vote will cripple whichever side loses,” she said. “It will not go away for either side, but it will be devastating for whichever side loses and I think it’s going to be a close vote.”

California is not the only state facing a marriage initiative this year. Florida and Arizona residents will also be voting on amendments banning same-sex marriage in their states, but California is the only state among the three that allows same-sex marriage.

A poll published Sept. 8 by Quinnipiac University found that 55 percent of Florida voters would support the marriage amendment in their state, while 41 percent would oppose it. The amendment needs a 60 percent vote to be ratified in the state constitution.

No recent polling data was available for Arizona.

Issue fails to catch on in presidential campaign


While same-sex marriage is a key issue for gay leaders, the issue has had little impact on this year’s presidential election, particularly in comparison to the 2004 race.

Neither same-sex marriage nor Proposition 8 was mentioned on the floor of the Republican National Convention, although the party platform calls for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Discussions of same-sex marriage and the upcoming California vote were limited at the Democratic convention. The Democratic Party platform, however, affirms support for “the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation.”

Although they have not directly or frequently addressed Proposition 8, both Obama and Republican presidential candidate John McCain have weighed in on the measure.

The Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club in San Francisco read a letter from Obama on June 29 saying that he opposes the amendment. And Protectmarriage.com, the organization leading the campaign for the California amendment, announced June 25 that a McCain staffer had sent an e-mail to the organization expressing support for the measure.

But the limited attention this year is noticeably different from the rhetoric in 2004, when President Bush endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment and made it a major component of his campaign.
John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, often discussed same-sex marriage, but said that he was against it. Although he did not support the federal amendment, Kerry supported initiatives to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and Missouri.

Political observers often cite Kerry’s emphasis of same-sex marriage during the 2004 presidential as one reason why Kerry lost the race.

In response to the Blade’s request for comment on the issue, Obama campaign spokesperson Shin Inouye said the candidate “seeks to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all — including the LGBT community.”

Inouye noted that Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in the Senate and has called for the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

“Throughout his career, he has fought to end discrimination against LGBT Americans,” Inouye said. “When ...

continued on next page


1  |  2  |  3

 

email   password
The following comments were posted by our readers and were not edited by the Washington Blade.  We ask that you treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will be removed.


 

national | local | world | arts | classifieds | real estate | about us

© 2009 | A Window Media LLC Publication | Privacy Policy