I just returned from a lunchtime press conference held by Cleve Jones, Rick Jacobs, union officials, and other leading supporters of overturning Prop 8 and legalizing same-sex marriage. The location of the press conference, however, seemed to puzzle some of the reporters in attendance: the sidewalk in front of a gay-friendly, union-friendly, new, Hyatt-affiliated hotel on the Sunset Strip. 

But after listening to Jones and Jacobs, I think their strategy makes sense. Same-sex marriage advocates have gone after same-sex marriage opponents; the effect of those protests is in dispute, but some of those protests, as Jones acknowledged, have backfired. A more productive strategy -- one represented by this press conference -- is for same-sex marriage supporters to put pressure on their friends. The message: prominent people and businesses must speak out in support of marriage equality. One can't simply be gay friendly and remain silent in these times.

Thus, the press conference in front of the Andaz Hotel. The same-sex marriage supporters, who have been urging the Hyatt chain to sever ties with Doug Manchester, a major Prop 8 donor who operates the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, called on the Andaz to join them and speak out against the San Diego franchisee.  Jacobs also made an appeal to Penny Pritzker, the top Obama fundraiser whose family owns the Hyatt chain, to speak out on the subject and isolate Manchester.

Gay marriage supporters have organized a boycott of San Diego hotels whose owner is a donor to Prop 8, the California initiative to ban same-sex marriage. The New York Times takes notice here. One important bit of news: opponents of gay marriage are highlighting the boycott to attempt to spark a backlash and raise money. I wonder if they're on to something. The No on Prop 8 campaign -- which is the pro-gay marriage side -- can only lose if it seems to attack opponents of gay marriage in a way that seems to be attacking their religion. (The hotelier, Doug Manchester, is a Catholic). They need to make the positive case for the rights of gay couples to marry, and to emphasize that passing the initiative could lead to cancellation of those couples who have recently married. This campaign is a fight over voters who are undecided on the issue -- voters who are comfortable with gay couples but aren't sure about calling their unions marriage. These aren't voters who are going to respond to attacks or boycotts; in fact, they may shrink from them.