"What's Next for Marriage Equality in New York?"

"What's Next for Marriage Equality in New York?"
Town Hall to discuss what's next? How will we achieve marriage equality in 2009?

Time and Place
Date: Monday, November 24, 2008
Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: The LGBT Center
Street: 208 W. 13th Street
City/Town: New York, NY

Email: Info@marriageequalityny.org

On Monday, November 24th, we will join with Marriage Equality New York for a town hall meeting to discuss impact of the election results, not just in California, Arizona, Florida, and Arkansas, but also right here in New York State. We'll have a full update on the New York State Senate, the situation with Senators Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Malcolm Smith, and a discussion of next steps for achieving marriage equality in New York State.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=55098902552&ref=nf

Re-post and forward

Gov. Paterson blasts three rebel Dems

By KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Wednesday, November 12th 2008, 12:42 AM

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson ripped as selfish a group of three rogue Democrats threatening to stop Malcolm Smith from being named majority leader.

At a time when the state faces a fiscal crisis, the three are more interested "in a fight over personal luxuries" that Paterson called a "superfluous type of selfishness that's gotten us into this mess in the first place."

Rather than discussions about who can govern better, Paterson said Tuesday, "I'm hearing who's going to get a better deal; who's going to get a better committee assignment."

Paterson commented after being asked if the Senate leadership fight might jeopardize next week's special session at which he wants lawmakers to cut $2 billion from this year's budget.

One of the three rebels dismissed Paterson's attacks.

"We have been elected to our positions," the Rev. Pedro Espada Jr. said. "The governor hasn't been elected to his yet, but he seems to make a point that we somehow don't count. We were elected to vote and the vote takes place in January, not November."

Espada and Sens. Carl Kruger and Ruben Diaz met yesterday and said they are not prepared to back Smith or current GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Espada said the group is hoping a Hispanic Democrat could rise to become a viable alternative.

Meanwhile, Espada said the three intend to push a plan to let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage.

klovett@nydailynews.com

TONIGHT: Prop 8 Protest in New York at Mormon Temple AGAINST HATE

Prop 8 Protest in New York at Mormon Temple AGAINST HATE
LGBT New Yorkers and Straight Allies Please Join Us...

Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: New York Manhattan Mormon Temple
Street: 125 Columbus Ave at 65th Street
City/Town: New York, NY
Group:??

Description
Tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters are in the streets in California and Salt Lake City and around the country protesting the votes banning same-sex marriage in California.

Join them! Make your voices heard right here in New York City.

We will tell the Mormon Church how we feel about its relentless campaign to condemn and control our lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was, by far, the biggest financer of California's heinous and hateful Proposition 8. The Mormon Church begged their members to donate money to Prop 8, pouring 20 million dollars into the campaign. And their attacks on us didn't start there and aren't about to end. They're plotting right now to bring their money and influence to bear against the LGBT community everywhere in this country, including trying to prevent marriage equality in New York.

Join us in speaking out against hate and discrimination! Stop them taking away your rights!

PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION - BRING SIGNS -- ALERT THE MEDIA

Media Contact: Corey Johnson - (646) 246-4848

Keith Olbermann's Prop 8 Special Comment: It's "About The Human Heart" (VIDEO)

For Video and Article

Keith Olbermann delivered a rousing, emotional, 6-minute special comment on Prop 8 Monday night. Olbermann, who has never married, vehemently disagrees with its passage and the ban on gay marriage.

"I am not personal vested this," he said, "yet this vote is horrible. Horrible... This is about the human heart." After going through the history of marriage in the United States, and reminding viewers not only that marriage between black and white people used to be illegal in 1/3 of the country, but illegal between slaves, he made a plea for love and the spread of happiness.

"The world is barren enough... with so much hate in the world, so much meaningless division... this is what your religion tells you to do?... this is what your heart tells you to do?... You are asked to stand now on a question of love."

upcoming events in NY about prop 8

We thought you all would like to know, here is the info.

Prop 8 Protest in New York at Mormon Temple AGAINST HATE
LGBT New Yorkers and Straight Allies Please Join Us...

Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: New York Manhattan Mormon Temple
Street: 125 Columbus Ave at 65th Street
City/Town: New York, NY
Group:??

Description
Tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters are in the streets in California and Salt Lake City and around the country protesting the votes banning same-sex marriage in California.

Join them! Make your voices heard right here in New York City.

We will tell the Mormon Church how we feel about its relentless campaign to condemn and control our lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was, by far, the biggest financer of California's heinous and hateful Proposition 8. The Mormon Church begged their members to donate money to Prop 8, pouring 20 million dollars into the campaign. And their attacks on us didn't start there and aren't about to end. They're plotting right now to bring their money and influence to bear against the LGBT community everywhere in this country, including trying to prevent marriage equality in New York.

Join us in speaking out against hate and discrimination! Stop them taking away your rights!

PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION - BRING SIGNS -- ALERT THE MEDIA

Media Contact: Corey Johnson - (646) 246-4848

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Join the Impact - Protest Proposition 8! {NYC}

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008
Time: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Location: City Hall
Street: 260 Broadway
City/Town: New York, NY
Group: http://www.jointheimpact.com

Join the Impact is a group that is organizing protests nation-wide against the anti-gay propositions that were passed on Tuesday. Proposition 8 of California, Proposition 102 of Arkansas, and Proposition 2 of Florida all banned gay marriage. The Arkansas Adoption Ban prevents unmarried couples from adopting children, and supporters have made it clear that this was aimed towards gay couples.

The protest will take place at 1:30 pm on November 15th at City Hall in New York City, as will other nationwide protests. If you cannot attend in NYC, you can find your nearest location here:
http://www.jointheimpact.com/?page_id=2

Also, ignore the end time. It'll end when it ends.

Marriage Equality New York
Post Election Town Hall Meeting

Wednesday, November 24, 6pm
The LGBT Center
208 W. 13th Street
New York, NY

Discussion includes:

Election Update
Propositions (California, Arizona, Florida, Arkansas)
New York State Senate Update
Marriage Equality in New York
Next Steps

Democrats Grab State Senate

In a stunning realignment of the political status quo in Albany, Democrats have gained control of the State Senate for the first time in 43 years.

With all but one of the 62 Senate races decided, Democrats now control at least 32 seats in the Legislature's upper chamber, while Republicans will have at least 29. Democrats already control the State Assembly and the governorship.

With a working Democratic majority in the Senate, several initiatives benefiting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community - a marriage equality bill, a transgender rights measure, and a public school anti-bullying law that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity - each already passed by the Assembly and supported by Governor David Paterson, but stalled in the Senate by GOP resistance, will now likely be considered.

"My reaction is that we promised two things as we headed into this election," said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA), New York's LGBT rights lobby. "That every member of the Assembly who supported marriage equality, transgender rights, and school bullying legislation would win reelection, and that happened, and that we would help deliver two State Senate district seats."

A year ago, ESPA, which on occasion in the past has drawn fire for its bipartisan approach to lobbying and endorsements from gay advocates working within the Democratic Party, concluded that the GOP Senate leadership was no longer willing to take up significant pieces of LGBT rights legislation. Between 2000 and 2002, the Republicans finally allowed passage of hate crimes and sexual orientation non-discrimination laws.

The Democratic pick-ups came in Senate District 3 in Suffolk County and District 15 in Queens.

In a western Queens district that runs from Howard Beach to Maspeth, Democratic City Councilman Joseph Addabbo swept to a surprisingly easy victory over 20-year GOP incumbent Serphin Maltese, a sponsor of a state Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a proposal that has gone nowhere in Albany. Addabbo had a 15-percent edge in that race.

A pro-LGBT vote in his years on the Council, Addabbo said he supports the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which would provide transgender civil rights protections, and the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), the anti-bullying measure, but has not taken a position on the marriage equality bill. Endorsing Addabbo, ESPA stated, "he is not opposed to marriage for same-sex couples and is committed to working with the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community to continue learning about this issue."

In Suffolk County, Democrat Brian X. Foley, the Brookhaven town supervisor and a former county legislator, beat 36-year GOP incumbent Caesar Trunzo, another DOMA sponsor. There, the spread was more than 17 percent. ESPA endorsed Foley, who, like Addabbo, has a gay-friendly record, but has committed to no more on marriage than keeping an open mind.

The undecided race is in Queens' District 11, where incumbent Frank Padavan, first elected in 1972, holds a lead of just over 700 votes over James Gennaro, a member of the City Council. Padavan is also a DOMA sponsor and voted against the 2002 gay rights law in Albany. A recount is expected in the race.

Gennaro was not widely seen as posing a real challenge to Padavan and received little support from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, in stark contrast to Addabbo and Foley, each of whom received hundreds of thousands of dollars. ESPA endorsed Gennaro, but made no financial contribution, while donating $8,000 each to Addabbo and Foley, close to the maximum allowed under campaign finance law.

Democratic non-incumbents in competitive races who were also supported by ESPA endorsements, and in some cases financial contributions, but fell short included Kristen McElroy in Nassau County, Joseph Mesi in Erie and Genesee Counties east of Buffalo, and Richard Dollinger and David Nachbar, both in the Rochester area.

Two Democrats, neither of whom supports marriage equality, staved off tough challenges - William Stachowski in Buffalo and Darrel Aubertine in a Lake Ontario district centered in Watertown.

In Nassau County, marriage equality supporter Craig Johnson, a Democrat sent to Albany in a special election in early 2007, won a comfortable victory, and in Lower Manhattan/ Brownstone Brooklyn's District 25, Daniel Squadron, a pro-marriage equality Democrat who knocked off incumbent Democrat Martin Connor in the September primary, racked up more than 85 percent of the vote against John Chromczak, an out gay Republican.

Malcolm Smith, the Queens Democrat who will be the new majority leader, appeared at ESPA's annual Manhattan Fall Dinner last October and enthusiastically pledged to "forward" the marriage equality bill on "the first day of our session," and to put it at "the top of the list" when discussing agenda items with the governor. In the current Senate, there are 21 members who have signaled support for marriage equality, all of them Democrats, but there are also six Democrats who have stated their opposition, including Ruben Diaz, Sr. of the Bronx, who is a harsh foe of the LGBT community.

Unless Gennaro wins the 11th District seat in a recount, no net gain in public marriage equality supporters comes from this election, and one current supporter - Efrain Gonzalez, Jr., of the Bronx - was defeated in the September primary by Pedro Espada, Jr., whose views on marriage equality are not known. It is clear, then, that Smith, in steering the bill to passage in the Senate, would have to rely on some GOP votes.

On Election Night, both Van Capelle and Senator Thomas K. Duane, an out gay Chelsea Democrat who is the lead sponsor of the marriage equality bill, noted that no gay rights legislation has passed in Albany without bipartisan support.

"Now that we are in the majority, some Republicans will follow our lead," Duane said.

Asked whether the Pride Agenda might find a chilly reception among Senate Republicans after the group's push for a Democratic flip of the chamber, Van Capelle said, "Look, we're going to have to have conversations with a lot of people. No bill passes without both parties."

Van Capelle called the apparent passage of an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment in California "sad," but predicted, "It will have virtually no political impact on our ability to win marriage in New York State."

Both Van Capelle and Duane also dismissed talk that a small number of conservative Democrats, including Diaz, might be looking at the possibility of switching their party affiliation to keep the Republicans in control of the Senate. Asked if he worried about that possibility, Van Capelle said, "Not at all."

But, the day after the election, the Buffalo News reported that a "Gang of Four" Democrats - including Diaz, Espada, Brooklyn's Carl Kruger, and Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate of Queens - were skipping a meeting of Senate Democrats Smith called in Albany that day and instead caucusing among themselves, making no commitments on which party to support for the majority leadership. Of the four, only Monserrate is a marriage equality supporter.

Results on GLBT measures on the ballots across the nation.

365 Gay: News

SF city attorney prepares legal challenge to Prop 8

By 365gay Newscenter Staff

11.05.2008 3:51pm EST



(San Francisco, California) At least three lawsuits are are in the works to challenge Proposition 8, a proposed amendment to the California constitution that would ban same-sex marriage.

One of the suits is planned by City of San Francisco attorney Dennis Herrera's office. A second is by the three LGBT groups that won the historic California Supreme Court ruling that allowed same-sex marriage in the state. The third is by one of the couples who were married after the court ruling went into effect in May.

All three suits would begin if Prop 8 passes.

With 95 percent of the vote in across California the "Yes" votes have a slim lead: 52 - 48 percent. Though some outlets called the ballot measure in favor of the anti-gay ban a few hours ago, as many as 3 million ballots - late absentee and provisional ballots - are left to be counted.

It is those ballots that opponents of the amendment are counting on for the measure's defeat. But most political watchers in the state say it is unlikely the additional ballots will change the result.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court on Wednesday, a preliminary move to a suit.


The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone, by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians.

The petition also says that Proposition 8 improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. The groups in the petition say that under the California

Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.

The California Constitution itself sets out two ways to alter the document that sets the most basic rules about how state government works, the groups said in a statement.

Through the initiative process, voters can make relatively small changes to the constitution. But any measure that would change the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by the legislature before being submitted to the voters. That didn't happen with Proposition 8, and that's why it's invalid, the petition said.

"If the voters approved an initiative that took the right to free speech away from women, but not from men, everyone would agree that such a measure conflicts with the basic ideals of equality enshrined in our constitution. Proposition 8 suffers from the same flaw – it removes a protected constitutional right - here, the right to marry - not from all Californians, but just from one group of us," said Jenny Pizer, Senior Counsel with Lambda Legal. "That's too big a change in the principles of our constitution to be made just by a bare majority of voters."

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, the first lesbian couple to be legally married in Los Angeles County, also plan a lawsuit against Proposition 8.

Their attorney, Gloria Allred, said the suit would argue that the measure is unconstitutional.

Proposition 8 is the first time such a vote has taken place in state where gay unions are legal

A study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law indicated that by Election Day 2008, approximately18,000 same-sex couples had married in California.

Exit polls reported by CNN show that while a slim majority of white voters said they rejected the amendment, an equally slim majority of African American and Hispanic voters said they had voted for the amendment.

The battle for and against the measure, known as Proposition 8, cost more than $70 million, making it one of the most expensive ballot campaigns in history. Much of the money on both sides came from outside California.

Similar bans on same-sex marriage were approved by voters Tuesday in Florida and Arizona; while in Arkansas the electorate endorsed a measure to prevent same-sex couples from adopting.



Florida

In Florida, the ballot measure amends the state constitution to limit marriage to opposite sex couples and ban civil unions.

The amendment also could be used to deny partner benefits to unmarried couples who live together.

The amendment says, "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

Constitutional amendments in Florida require a 60 percent majority. The marriage amendment won with 62 percent of the vote. Thirty-eight percent were opposed.

Florida already had a law restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples, but supporters of the amendment say the law could be overturned in court.



Arizona

In Arizona, where a simple majority is needed to amend the state constitution, 56 percent of voters approved limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

It was the second time Arizona voters were asked to change the state's constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Voters rejected a similar state constitutional amendment in 2006. That measure would have also stopped the state from recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples.

Arizona law already prohibits same-sex marriages. Supporters say the amendment will "protect the sanctity of families" by preventing judges from overturning the 1996 state law.



Arkansas

Arkansas, which already has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, now will limit adoptions and foster care of children to people who are legally married. The ballot measure passed Tuesday by a wide margin - 57-43 percent.

The measure grew out of a state Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned a Child Welfare Agency Review Board policy that banned gay people from serving as foster parents.

In its unanimous ruling, the court said that "the driving force behind adoption of the regulations was not to promote the health, safety and welfare of foster children but rather based upon the board's views of morality and its bias against homosexuals."

The Arkansas Family Council - the same group that spearheaded Arkansas' constitutional ban on same-sex marriage - collected enough signatures to place the adoption referendum before voters.



Connecticut

In Connecticut, a potential anti-gay measure was also on the ballot. Connecticut voters turned down a call for state constitutional convention. Under the state constitution, the question automatically goes on the ballot only every 20 years.

Earlier this year, the state Supreme Court ruled that Connecticut's civil unions law failed to provide equality. The first same-sex marriages in the state are slated to begin Nov. 12.

By chance, the automatic ballot question came up this year, raising fears that if voters agreed to a constitutional convention it would have been used to ban gay marriage.

The Family Institute of Connecticut had gone on record calling for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

MENY CELEBRATES ELECTION RESULTS FOR SENATE, WHILE AWAITING FATE OF PROP 8

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ron Zacchi, Executive Director, 646-660-1906 or ron@meny.us
Cathy Marino-Thomas, President of the Board (516)302-5198 or cathy@meny.us

New York – MENY is dedicated to passing gender neutral marriage laws in New York State. "As a result of the unprecedented shift in the New York State Senate, we finally have a Senate Majority Leader that will bring marriage equality to the floor. This opportunity will allow our families the to work with the State Senate, as we did with the State Assembly when they passed the bill in 2007.” says Marriage Equality New York’s, Cathy Marino-Thomas.

For California, less than six months after the Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples have the right to marry, prop 8 is being decided in this election- a vote that would write hate into California's Constitution. Whatever the eventual outcome, California has come so far and we all will continue to fight this issue together. “Basic human rights should not depend on the popular vote,” said Marriage Equality New York’s, Cathy Marino-Thomas. “If civil rights required a majority vote first, history confirms that many states would not have voted to allow interracial couples to marry. If Prop 8 passes, California will have failed in their role to ensure equality under the law for all families.”

“We, in New York State, are ready to join in as leaders in the marriage movement.” says Ron Zacchi, Executive Director of Marriage Equality New York (MENY). NYS Senate election results, as well as the re-election of Republican Assemblymembers who supported gender neutral marriage laws, sends a clear message that the people of New York are supporting those that support equality!” Nationally, the New York State Senate and MENY can work to join the ranks of equality states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California in the civil rights movement of our century.

“We will not be content until full marriage equality for all families is the law in this country! However, today we celebrate the chance to get to the floor of the Senate in New York State!" said Zacchi.
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Marriage Equality New York is an all inclusive organization whose mission is to secure the right of all LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender, Queer) couples to enter into legally recognized Civil Marriage with all the benefits and responsibilities that entails through education and promotion of awareness.

Proposition 8: Let the spin begin

Proposition 8: Let the spin begin
2:15 AM, November 5, 2008

Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, is leading -- but definitely still in play. But the pro-Prop. 8 people are already feeling like victors. And some Republicans, looking for a victory on a tough night, are joining in. The view from the Prop. 8 side:

"We caused Californians to rethink this issue," Proposition 8 strategist Jeff Flint said. Early in the campaign, he noted, polls showed the measure trailing by 17 points. "I think the voters were thinking, well, if it makes them happy, why shouldn't we let gay couples get married. And I think we made them realize that there are broader implications to society and particularly the children when you make that fundamental change that's at the core of how society is organized, which is marriage," he said.

The anti-Prop. 8 forces are still hoping the numbers turn around. "You decided to live your life out loud. You fell in love and you said 'I do.' Tonight, we await a verdict," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said, speaking to a roaring crowd. "I'm crossing my fingers."

--Shelby Grad
LA Times- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/proposition-8-1.html

A Global Look At Gay Marriage

A Global Look At Gay Marriage

While a number of nations recognize civil unions, only a few countries have passed laws recognizing same-sex marriages:

Netherlands
In December 2000, the Dutch parliament passed legislation that gave same-sex couples the right to marry, divorce and adopt children. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to offer full marriage rights to gay couples.

Belgium
Beginning in 1998, the Belgian parliament offered limited rights to same-sex couples by creating registered partnerships. Same-sex couples could register with a city clerk and formally assume joint responsibility for a household. Five years later, in January 2003, parliament legalized same-sex marriage, giving gay and lesbian couples the same tax and inheritance rights as heterosexual couples.

Spain
A closely divided parliament legalized same-sex marriage in 2005, guaranteeing identical rights to all married couples regardless of sexual orientation. The new measure added brief, relatively simple language to the existing marriage statute: "Marriage will have the same requirements and results when the two people entering into the contract are of the same sex or of different sexes."

Canada
In 1999, Canada's governments extended "common law" marriages to gay and lesbian couples. Through a series of court cases beginning in 2003, same-sex marriage gradually became legal in nine of the country's 13 provinces and territories. In 2005, Parliament passed legislation making same-sex marriage legal nationwide. In 2006, an effort to reconsider the issue was defeated, leaving the law unchanged.

South Africa
South Africa's parliament legalized same-sex marriage in November 2006, one year after the country's highest court ruled that the existing, more restrictive marriage laws violated the constitution's guarantee of equal rights. The law allows for religious institutions and civil officers to refuse to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies, a provision that critics claim violates the rights of same-sex couples under the constitution.

Norway
Gay couples in Norway will be granted the same rights as heterosexuals to marry, adopt and undergo artificial insemination under a new equality law passed June 17, 2008. The law replaces 1993 legislation that gave gays the right to enter civil unions, but did not allow church weddings or adoption. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2009.

Credits:
CBS, AP, The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life

Same-sex marriages to begin Nov. 12 in Connecticut

By The Associated Press
11.04.2008 1:31am EST
(Hartford, Connecticut) Gay marriages in Connecticut can start Nov. 12.

Superior Court Judge Jonathan Silbert on Monday scheduled a hearing on that date to enter the final judgment in the case that allows same-sex marriages in the state.

The proceeding is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Attorneys in the court case say that once the hearing ends, couples can pick up marriage license forms at town and city clerk’s offices.
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled last month that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law. Massachusetts and California already allow gay marriages but a question on Tuesday’s ballot in California seeks to ban them.

Nation watches Calif. measure to ban gay marriage

By The Associated Press
11.03.2008 9:28am EST

(San Francisco, California) Five months and thousands of weddings after California’s highest court sanctioned same-sex marriage, anxious eyes around the nation will closely follow voters Tuesday as they decide whether to turn back the clock.
Given the state’s size and influence, the vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has become a referendum on sexual orientation and civil rights. Both sides call it the “Gettysburg” of the power struggle between the gay rights movement and the Christian right, with the victors capturing momentum in other states.
“As California goes, so goes the nation,” Mayor Gavin Newsom boldly predicted at a City Hall celebration the day the state Supreme Court legalized marriages of gays and lesbians.

The race has tightened over the last six weeks and is expected to be close. A Field Poll released Friday found 49 percent of likely voters oppose the ban and 44 percent favor it. In mid-September, the measure was losing by 17 points.

“In the minds of many people, Proposition 8 is the most important thing nationally on the ballot,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, which supports the measure. “We have survived bad presidents. But many, many are convinced we will not survive this redefinition of marriage.”

Religious and civil rights groups, wealthy philanthropists and middle-class donors have poured $69 million into campaigns for and against Proposition 8, making the initiative the most expensive election question this year outside the race for the White House. Almost $21 million has come from campaign contributors outside California.

Even the presidential candidates weighed in on Proposition 8: Sen. John McCain endorsed it and Sen. Barack Obama opposed it. Former President Bill Clinton recorded a telephone message that went to millions of California households Friday asking voters to defeat the measure.

The majority of opinion leaders in the state, including almost every major newspaper, the League of Women Voters, the state NAACP, and moderate politicians such as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein oppose the measure, which critics say unfairly denies one group a basic right.

Corporations that normally shy from contentious issues also have come out against it. The founders of Google, Yahoo and Adobe Systems took out a newspaper ad Friday encouraging Silicon Valley residents to reject it.

“This is the most intense and expensive social issues fight we have ever seen. And I think the real reason is because it’s very rare in American life (that) we have ever put existing rights on the ballot,” said Patrick Guerriero, a former leader of the gay Log Cabin Republicans who now directs the “No on 8″ campaign.

But the measure’s opponents have found a formidable foe in the coalition of religious and social conservatives who sponsored the initiative. Since leaders of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appealed to members to back the ban, Mormon dollars and volunteers have streamed into California.

L. Whitney Clayton, the church’s liaison with a coalition called ProtectMarriage.com, said the religious right and Mormons see a threat to the fundamental underpinnings of their faiths.

“The impact upon society over the long run is something that makes people very apprehensive,” Clayton said. “What will our children be taught in school? What will happen to the freedom of religion? What will people be able to preach and believe, and will they be able to do the things that they are accustomed to doing?”

California Roman Catholics, at the urging of bishops, also have stepped up with money and manpower, as have evangelical Christians.

The initiative’s backers contend that people of faith will be forced to embrace same-sex marriage if the ban loses, and teachers will be required to inform children about gay relationships, an assertion denounced by state education officials. They also argue that opponents of same-sex marriage are unjustifiably being painted as bigots.

The measure, which would change the California Constitution to limit marriage to a woman and a man, marks the first time voters have been asked to ban same-sex unions retroactively. If passed, it would overrule the state Supreme Court decision in May that said preventing gays from marrying was unlawful discrimination.

Many couples have hurried to tie the knot before Election Day despite uncertainty over whether their unions would remain valid if voters approve the measure. Attorney General Jerry Brown has already opined that the ban would not be retroactive, but legal scholars have expressed uncertainty and said the matter would almost certainly be litigated.

Beyond what that might mean for already married couples, the measure’s adoption or rejection could affect the pace at which other state courts and legislatures move to legalize same-sex marriage. Depending on how the vote goes, it could also reinvigorate efforts to get Congress to consider a law extending nondiscrimination workplace protections to gays and lesbians or a federal constitutional gay marriage ban.

Gay couples are expected to begin marrying this month in Connecticut, the third state after Massachusetts and California to allow same-sex weddings. The Iowa Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a similar case next month. Meanwhile, gay rights activists have been lobbying lawmakers in New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire to take up marriage legislation.

“If those who favor man marrying man were to win in California, it would be a big boost to their movement and a big loss to our efforts to preserve the definition of marriage as its always been known in our country and Western civilization,” said Tim Wildmon, president of the Mississippi-based American Family Association.

A setback for same-sex marriage in California would deprive the gay rights movement of the opportunity to show mainstream America what happens when gay couples can marry, said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

“No matter where you sit in this country, it moves the hearts and minds of all when we have a big slice of the nation to watch and see gay people can get married and not one thing has changed,” Solmonese said. “Those dire warnings about the end of the world as we know it just aren’t coming true.”

Same-Sex Marriage on the Ballot in Arizona, a Second Time

By JESSE McKINLEY
Published: October 29, 2008

PHOENIX — Under a state law enacted in 1996, it is illegal for same-sex couples to marry in Arizona. The law has been upheld by the state’s courts, and there is no visible movement — among voters or lawmakers — to overturn it.

Nonetheless, Arizonans on Tuesday will be asked to vote for the second time in two years on a proposal to amend the state’s Constitution to bar same-sex marriage. A similar ballot measure was rejected in 2006.

Supporters of this year’s measure, Proposition 102, say a constitutional amendment is necessary to prevent “politicians or judges” from overturning the state law, an apparent reference to neighboring California. The State Legislature voted to place the measure on the ballot in June, shortly after same-sex couples gained the right to marry in California.

“The people of Arizona have their own way of doing things, but at the same time, we are also part of the United States,” said Kelly Molique, a spokeswoman for Yes for Marriage, the main backer of the measure. “So we see what’s going on in other areas.”

When Arizona voters turned down the 2006 ballot measure, they became first in the nation to do so. Until then, backers of such statewide constitutional bans had a 27-for-27 winning streak.

Since then, opponents of same-sex marriage have had further cause for concern: courts in California and Connecticut said laws in those states barring such unions were unconstitutional, bringing to three — along with Massachusetts — the number of states where same-sex couples can marry.

Backers of the Arizona measure have raised more than $7 million to promote it, with major financing coming from Focus on the Family Action, the conservative Colorado organization that is also backing a ballot measure in California that would reinstate that state’s ban on same-sex marriages.

But officials favoring Proposition 102 say the vast majority of contributions have come from inside Arizona.

State Representative Steve B. Yarbrough, Republican of Chandler, said the court decision in California had been a “pretty persuasive point” for putting the proposed constitutional amendment to a vote.

“It allowed folks like myself to go to state senators and say, ‘See, see, see,’ ” Mr. Yarbrough said.

But opponents of the Arizona measure say that unlike in California, in Arizona there is no effort in favor of same-sex marriage that threatens to overturn the current ban.

“Their claim that we have to protect marriage from attack is ridiculous, because there’s no such attack,” said State Representative Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat and chairwoman of Arizona Together, which opposes Proposition 102. “It’s a fake threat.”

The opponents have raised less than a tenth of the money raised by supporters, a gap they say may have to do with the amount of national money pouring into the fight over the California measure, which is expected to be one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns ever.

Barbara McCullough-Jones, executive director of Equality Arizona, a gay rights group in Phoenix, said she had no doubt that the highly publicized California campaign was affecting fund-raising in Arizona and Florida, which is also voting on a constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage.

“On a larger political landscape, Arizona is not necessarily the type of state to move public policy on a national stage,” said Ms. McCullough-Jones, who wrote an opinion piece, “Will Arizona Be Abandoned?”, in July. “And that reality comes up against activists in this state again and again.”

Ms. Sinema, the state lawmaker, said the California measure carried higher stakes for same-sex couples.

“Look, if on Nov. 5 this passes, gay marriage will be illegal in Arizona, and on Nov. 5, if this fails, gay marriage will be illegal in Arizona,” Ms. Sinema said of Proposition 102. “But people in California have something to lose.”

Still, many gay rights activists in Arizona are hoping for a repeat of 2006, when most everyone was surprised by the defeat of the effort to bar same-sex marriage.

Jason Cianciotto, the executive director of Wingspan, which serves the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in Tucson, said he vividly remembered watching the 2006 returns come in.

“I called a colleague and I said ‘I think we might pull this out,’ and she said, ‘If we do, I’ll eat my hat,’ and lo and behold we won,” Mr. Cianciotto said of the 2006 vote. “And I look forward to skeptics eating their hats this time as well.”
More Articles in US » A version of this article appeared in print on October 30, 2008, on page A29 of the New York edition.

Breaking news: South Bay lawmaker receives recall threats

by Matthew S. Bajko

m.bajko@ebar.com

They've threatened pro-gay business owners. They've physically beaten up their opponents. They've launched cyber attacks. And they've spread lies to advance their cause.

Now backers of Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage amendment on Tuesday's ballot, have threatened to recall an openly gay South Bay politician if he does not convert to their side in the fight.

Evan Low, who serves on the Campbell City Council, reported this week that he had received threats from half a dozen people that if he did not rescind his endorsement against Prop 8 he would be recalled from office.

"I have received seven calls today threatening to recall me from office if I do not publicly retract my position and switch to Yes on 8," Low informed supporters in an e-mail Wednesday, October 29. "The Yes on 8 campaign is continuing their efforts of deception and coercion. Let's have a strong showing during this final stretch."

Chip White, a spokesman for Protectmarriage.com, the main group backing Prop 8, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Instead of backing down, Low turned up in San Francisco this morning (Thursday, October 30) to join Mayor Gavin Newsom and other Asian American politicians from the Bay Area for a walk through Chinatown to urge voters to support marriage equality.

In his e-mail Low urged his supporters to donate to the No on 8 campaign (http://www.noonprop8.com) as well as attend several rallies in Silicon Valley over the weekend. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Low said he did not know where most of the callers lived or if they were being coordinated by the Yes on 8 campaign.

"At least one person I knew was from Campbell," he said. "Whether or not these calls or threats of recall are attributed to Yes on 8 directly, it still shows the attempts of people on that side of the issue will go to threaten. It is just ridiculous."

He called the threat of a recall a "pathetic attempt" that would not impact his speaking out against Prop 8.

"It is bad enough they want to eliminate rights for people. It is just ugly, plain and simple," said Low.

Gloria Nieto, political director at the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center in San Jose, labeled the tactics thuggish and said they would not work.

"You know what a bunch of thugs. They are attacking our Web sites, threatening our elected officials. It is nothing but thuggery; it is disgusting," said Nieto. "I don't think it will work in Campbell. I will be the first in line to support Evan so he knows people are backing him up."

Low noted that despite being near San Francisco, there are quite a large number of Prop 8 supporters in Silicon Valley. More than 3,000 people turned out for a recent Yes on 8 rally in Cupertino, and Low said one doesn't have to look hard to find Yes on 8 lawn signs.

"We don't need to go that far to see where so much work needs to be done," said Low.

Several No on Prop 8 get-out-the-vote South Bay rallies are planned this weekend.

Saturday, November 1 from noon to 2 p.m. opponents of the measure will gather at the following locations: in Cupertino at DeAnza College, corner of Stevens Creek and Stelling; in San Jose at the intersection of Stevens Creek and Winchester; in Willow Glen at the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota.

Sunday, November 2 from 2 to 5 p.m. No on 8 backers will gather at the Bed, Bath and Beyond on Hamilton Avenue.