Same Sex Marriage

The Salt Lake Tribune has details here.

Remember the big post-election protests by the No on 8 side after the victory of Prop 8, the California initiative to ban same-sex marriage? They were followed by efforts on the Internet to harass individual donors to Prop 8. There were boycotts of the businesses of Prop 8 supporters and attempts to cost Prop 8 supporters their jobs. These tactics represented a strategic blunder by supporters of marriage equality.

The protests are over now, but the damage continues. Don't agree? Consider this federal lawsuit (the complaint is here) filed by same-sex marriage opponents -- that is, backers of Prop 8. They are challenging the constitutionality of California's rules requiring the disclosure of full names and addresses of those who donate to ballot initiatives. The claim? That the disclosures allow opponents to harass donors and thus put their safety at risk.

The lawsuit is more political than legal -- the legal theory is novel and thus unlikely to gain much traction. But the Prop 8 supporters know that the over-the-top post-election tactics of Prop 8 have become a political vulnerability for same-sex marriage supporters. The lawsuit will keep those tactics in the news.

The Courage Campaign, a progressive web site and organization in California, is inviting supporters of same-sex marriage to attend the first "Camp Courage" in Los Angeles later this month. What kind of camp is this? It's a camp for training people to organize to repeal Prop 8 and secure marriage equality for gay couples. It may sound a bit strange, but it's exactly the sort of planning and organizing that same-sex marriage supporters need to be doing. The camp concept appears to be modeled on the so-called "Camp Obamas," the weekend training sessions that the Obama conducted to turn volunteers into organizers.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who supports same-sex marriage, had appeared to be legally obligated to defend the Prop 8 ban on such marriages in an appeal. Such a defense would appear to be his constitutional duty; attorneys general defend laws. And Brown had said he would do just that.

But, just before the deadline for the attorney general to file arguments with the state supreme court, Brown did something different. His office's brief doesn't defend Prop 8. It says it should be overturned, and offers a novel legal theory for how the court might do that. The LA Times has a story here. In it, Goodwin Liu, associate dean and professor of law at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, calls Brown's action "extraordinary" and says: "The chief law enforcement officer of the state is charged with enforcing laws, even laws with which he disagrees."

Many same-sex marriage advocates in California are furious at President-Elect Obama for giving the Rev. Rick Warren, who was a strong advocate of the Prop 8 ban on gay marriages, a role in his inauguration. One prominent member of the No on Prop 8 campaign team has declined his invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony as a result.

Marjorie Christoffersen, the manager of El Coyote, a Mexican restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, has resigned, according to Frontiers magazine. Christoffersen made a $100 donation to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign. After the ban on same-sex marriage passed, protestors who favor same-sex marriage called for a boycott of the restaurant and demonstrated outside. Christoffersen is a Mormon, and her church had urged her to give.

 Via Will Ferrell's "Funny or Die" site. With Jack Black as Jesus and various familiar faces from stage and screen.

The conservative Weekly Standard takes a look at Prop 107, the 2006 Arizona initiative that failed to ban same-sex marriage, and Prop 102, the 2008 Arizona ban that passed. What was the difference? The 2006 ban would have barred domestic partnerships. The 2008 initiative protected domestic partnerships. Also, the Standard quotes a leader of the no campaign as saying that fundraising was weak because California's No on Prop 8 campaign soaked up so much money. If that's true, it means the disastrous No on 8 campaign in California was responsible not only for the setback for marriage equality in California but also for the defeat in Arizona.

Rich Raddon, a devout Mormon who leads the L.A. Film Festival, resigns under fierce criticism for his financial donations to Yes on Prop 8. Same-sex marriage supporters -- that is opponents of the recently passed Prop 8 -- are targeting leaders of arts groups and companies who gave to the other side. In most cases, the support for Prop 8 was based on religious beliefs.

This is madness, and is all but certain to boomerang against the cause of marriage equality. How can you call for tolerance of difference, and convince people that same-sex marraige is no threat to anyone's religion, when you're hounding people for their religious views? Here's hoping that the festival urges Raddon to come back, immediately. And here's also a bit of a mathematical reminder to the self-sabotaging same-sex marriage supporters behind these purges: elections are won by convincing people to join your cause. All your energies should be directed to making new friends, not identifying enemies. 

The Advocate deconstructs the failed No on 8 campaign to defeat the California initiative ban on same-sex marriage -- and points some fingers. In particular, the Advocate blames the leaders of bisexual, gay and lesbian groups that led the campaign committee. This squares with my own reporting on the subject. These activists didn't reach out and bring in top political folks until it was too late. The Advocate adds fuel to the fire by reporting that two of these leaders -- Lorri Jean of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center and Geoff Kors of Equality California -- took long summer vacations. People running big campaigns typically wait until the election is over to do that sort of thing.