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Loading ...Calif. battle to preserve gay marriage revs up
09.08.2008 12:46pm EDT
(San Francisco, California) The battle to defeat a ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California has gone into high gear with opening of a war room in San Francisco.
Hundreds of people turned out last weekend to open the “No on Prop. 8″ headquarters on Market Street, including San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and Oakland mayor Ron Dellums. Other area politicians included state assemblymembers Mark Leno and Fiona Ma and SF Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Bevan Dufty.“If we succeed, we will not only change history in California, we will change the tone and tenor of this debate, not only across America, but the rest of the world,” Newsom told the cheering crowd.
“We are who we are, and this country’s got to get over it. People who chose to marry whom they chose are here. It’s our right, and that is something that we will never retreat from,” said Dellums to thundering applause.
In 2004, Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Thousands of gay and lesbian couples were married before the California Supreme Court declared Newsom had acted illegally and nullified the marriages that resulted.
The debate over same-sex marriage in the state then moved to the courts. In May, the state Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage and conservative groups began a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex unions.
The issue will go to voters in November. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) opposes the amendment and has said he will campaign against it.
The “No on 8″ campaign is composed a number of LGBT groups and both sides have collected millions of dollars from supporters across the country
But recent public opinion polls suggest that the amendment is in trouble.
The Public Policy Institute of California released a survey in August showing 54 percent oppose ending gay marriage, compared with 40 percent who support it.
The result was similar to the findings of a Field Poll in July, which found that 51 percent of likely California voters opposed ending gay marriage, while 42 percent said they supported it.
This is a “No on Prop 8″ music video called “I Love the Gays.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_fQVhM9CnY&fmt18
Why aren’t you guys covering this story:
http://justinmclachlan.com/08/46/california-family-council-money/
California Family Council spends most of the public’s contributions on employees, not programs
The money was supposed to go to support the California Family Council’s charitable mission, instead, most of it went into the pockets of the organization’s employees.
Since 2003, the public has given the Riverside, Calif.-based California Family Council (CFC) nearly $3 million to support charitable work that the organizations says “protects and fosters judeo-Christian principles in California’s laws.” But, according to its federal tax returns, little more than $500,000 of that money has gone to “program services,” or expenses directly related to that charitable work.
In contrast, the CFC’s top two employees, including its founder and executive director, Ron Prentice, were paid a total of $1.1 million over four years. The CFC’s other employees earned a total of $900,000 in compensation — bringing the total spent on employees at the Council to about $2 million since it began in 2003.
I am happy that all our gay friendly friends are stepping up to the plate. The Christian, Muslim, and right wing fundamentalists have turned America into a wasteland of human rights abuses. We are working backwards, not forward. I only wish that gay people will now see how destructive the religious right is and start to fight religion in the USA, and promote separation of church and state. It should be them, all those religious zealots who should be frightened, not us.
Schwarzenegger needs to make a No on 8 commercial.
So does Jay Leno.
I totally agree that every donation counts. there have been large fundraisers raising a few million and I think Bruce Bastian from the HRC and software developer donated 1 million. still, I’m a student without a job and living in Illinois but have been able to give a few small donations. it’s not even a drop in the bucket compared to many other donations but I think this will affect the debate over marriage for a long time and I think every LGBT and allied person who can spare a few dollars should put their money where their mouth is, JMO.
I live in Washington State, and I’ve been donating whenever I can! I encourage others to do the same
There are no more gay and straight celebrities to support No on 8; just the two already mentioned. Prop 8 it is doomed to failure, as it should be. Down with HATE and Down with 8!
The heros are everyone who supports NO on 8. All CONTRIBUTIONS are important, not just the big money. Every donation regardless of size furthers the defeat of Proposition 8. United we stand, divided we will fall. Please support NO on 8 with whatever you are able to spare.
WHERE are the gay AND straight celebrities are who support NO on 8, but have yet to come forward and campaign against this crucial amendment?
WHERE are the BIG dollars from these people with BIG money?
WHERE are our HEROES?
…Tsk tsk tsk.