|
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
...
|
 |
