Prop 8 News from Stop8.org: Bay Area Reporter

Prop 8 appeal creates legal thicket Wednesday, 08/11/10
Bay Area Reporter

The attorneys for Protectmarriage.com, the group behind the Prop 8 campaign, have already notified the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals they intend to appeal Walker's decision. Yet there is some question as to whether they can indeed carry the fight to the appellate level.

Attorneys for the two same-sex couples who sued the state claiming Prop 8 violated their constitutional rights, as well as for the city and county of San Francisco, have claimed in court papers that the Prop 8 proponents fail to meet the requirements needed to seek appellate review of Walker's decision.

Pointing to what is known as "Article III standing," they note that "where private persons have intervened in a lawsuit to defend a state law, and the trial court has ruled for the plaintiff, intervenors cannot by themselves prolong the litigation through an appeal unless the intervenors independently establish their Article III standing."

In other words, unlike at the trial level where Prop 8's backers were allowed to defend the anti-gay law in court, only the state's governor or attorney general can appeal Walker's decision.

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Prop 8 ruling met with tears, dancing, and resolve Thursday, 08/05/10
Bay Area Reporter

A jubilant crowd took to the streets in San Francisco on Wednesday night to cheer Chief U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's decision that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, addressed a crowd of around 800 people from the steps of City Hall. "The last time I stood on these steps, we were in pain because Prop 8 had just passed," she said as she blinked back tears. At the time, she recalled, her son comforted her, "Mom, it's just a matter of time."

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Unconstitutional Thursday, 08/05/10
Bay Area Reporter

Proposition 8 is unconstitutional - but don't start ringing the wedding bells yet.

In a sweeping 136-page decision, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled Wednesday that California's ban on same-sex marriage violates the United States Constitution. The successful federal challenge was brought by attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies, in a case known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

Court watchers at the Federal Building scrambled to download the decision as it was released Wednesday afternoon shortly before 2 p.m., reading the text aloud from their mobile devices to an elated crowd.

Walker was not swayed by the defendants during the trial that took place in January and June.

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license," Walker wrote. "California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation."

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Legal experts weigh benefits, risks of Prop 8 challenge Thursday, 07/15/10
Bay Area Reporter

The tone was cautiously optimistic at a panel discussion held last week by the San Francisco Bar Association to discuss the federal court challenge to Proposition 8.

Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, moderated the discussion with San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, Santa Clara University Professor Margaret Russell, and the Recorder federal court reporter Dan Levine.

The panel discussed the recently-concluded arguments in the Prop 8 case, known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a constitutional challenge to California's same-sex marriage ban. Chief District Court Judge Vaughn Walker is expected to issue his decision in the case any day now.

With the Perry case, "I could not think of one thing that I would have wanted to go differently," Minter said at the July 8 forum.

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Coalition behind No on 8 dissolves Thursday, 07/08/10
Bay Area Reporter

The coalition behind the No on Prop 8 campaign in 2008 is dissolving.

The executive committee of Equality For All announced Monday, June 28 that it had voted "to formally wind up operations and dissolve the corporation." The announcement came in an e-mail blast from Cary Davidson, Equality for All's counsel.

Equality for All is the coalition of LGBT and allied organizations against Prop 8, the measure California voters passed in November 2008 that amended the state constitution and bans same-sex marriage. The campaign's formal name was No on 8 Equality for All.

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Website launched in response to Pugno primary win Thursday, 07/08/10
Bay Area Reporter

Sacramento's Stonewall Democratic Club has responded with the launching of the website, http://www.StopAndrewPugno.com, calling on the LGBT community to help stop Pugno's political aspirations in their tracks.

"We're certainly not excited to see Pugno on the ballot but it was completely expected," said Stonewall President Chris Moore, the creator of the website. Moore is also the new deputy director of political affairs for Equality California.

"It's going to be a difficult race no matter who you are, because the registration in the district is neck and neck," Moore told the Bay Area Reporter. "It's been trending Democratic and it's at a tipping point."

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Wedding Bell Blues: Small crowd gathers at Harvey Milk Day marriage canvassing rally Wednesday, 05/26/10
Bay Area Reporter

About 50 people gathered at San Francisco's LGBT Community Center on Saturday, May 22 to celebrate the legacy of Harvey Milk and stoke enthusiasm for Equality California's canvassing efforts as it prepares to repeal Proposition 8 in 2012.

The small crowd was a far cry from the thousands of angry protesters who flooded San Francisco streets after the same-sex marriage ban passed in November 2008. After the rally invoking Milk's name, just over a dozen people hit city streets to talk to potential voters about marriage equality.

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Pressure mounts to pass ENDA Thursday, 05/20/10
Bay Area Reporter

It's been 16 years since the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was first introduced in Congress, and according to organizers of a Tuesday rally at Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office, it's closer than ever to being finally passed.

Braving wind and a light rain, a crowd of about 100 gathered to call for a vote on ENDA. According to media reports this week, Pelosi promised LGBT leaders on Monday that a House vote on ENDA would come before the end of the year.

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Marriage equality activists hit the streets on Milk Day Thursday, 05/20/10
Bay Area Reporter

It is still more than two years away from when LGBT groups in California plan to seek repeal of Proposition 8, the ban against same-sex marriage, yet the fight to regain marriage rights for same-sex couples is well under way in the Golden State. And this weekend will see a statewide action to talk to voters about marriage equality.

With the state's inaugural Harvey Milk Day set for this Saturday, May 22, LGBT lobbying group Equality California has decided to use the occasion for a statewide canvassing effort to speak to voters about repealing Prop 8 in 2012, when a measure seeking to overturn the antigay law is expected to be on the ballot.

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GOP voters embrace same-sex marriage backer Friday, 04/02/10
Bay Area Reporter

Last week's Public Policy Institute of California poll found that Campbell had 23 percent support among likely Republican voters, one point shy of Fiorina, who had 24 percent support. A third candidate in the race, conservative state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, had 8 percent support.

His neck-and-neck tie with Fiorina is all the more remarkable considering Campbell supports marriage equality and was a vocal opponent against Proposition 8, the measure voters passed in 2008 that overturned the California Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. Should he be nominated by GOP voters in the June 8 primary, it would mark the first time that Republicans have backed a pro-same-sex marriage candidate who is truly competitive in a statewide race.

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CA poll shows 50% support for same-sex marriage Thursday, 03/25/10
Bay Area Reporter

The creep toward majority support of same-sex marriage in California continues, as a new statewide poll has found that 50 percent of residents of the Golden State now support marriage equality.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, a majority of the state's residents are more likely to support same-sex marriage than to oppose it, with those against marriage equality at 45 percent. It is the first time a PPIC poll has found more than 45 percent support for same-sex marriage since it began asking about marriage equality in 2000.

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Perez calls 2010 Prop 8 repeal effort DOA Thursday, 03/04/10
Bay Area Reporter

In his first press call with LGBT media outlets since being sworn in as the state's first openly gay Assembly speaker, John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) said that there is "no practical way" to repeal the state's anti-same-sex marriage ban this year.

The comments are likely a fatal blow to the fledgling grassroots efforts to place a repeal measure of Proposition 8 before California voters in the fall. Already the majority of the state's LGBT rights groups had decided it makes more political sense to seek repeal of Prop 8 in 2012.

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Signatures, money lacking for Prop 8 repeal effort Saturday, 02/20/10
Bay Area Reporter

Despite efforts to utilize volunteers to gather 1 million signatures to put a measure on the November ballot to repeal Proposition 8, one of the grassroots groups pushing the effort has acknowledged it is well under its goals and may have to use paid signature gatherers.

However, the group, Love Honor Cherish, only reported raising a little over $19,000 during a portion of 2009, which is well under what a signature-gathering firm would charge.

In a phone interview last week, John Henning, executive director of Love Honor Cherish, said the signature gathering is going "fine," but added, "we are not meeting our daily targets, and we're trying to work to get to the point where we are meeting our daily targets."

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Bill would divorce religion from marriage Thursday, 02/04/10
Bay Area Reporter

It is a breakup many LGBT activists say is long overdue, and now openly gay state Senator Mark Leno wants the state to intervene in the split. Leno is pushing a bill that would, in effect, divorce religion from marriage under California's statutes.

Leno's bill, SB 906, is called the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act. It would emphatically state that faith leaders in California will not face penalties or be arrested if they refuse to marry same-sex couples. The legislation also clarifies that any church that does not sanction same-sex marriages would not lose its tax-exempt status.

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Sister of Prop 8 mastermind runs for judge in Sacramento Thursday, 12/31/09
Bay Area Reporter

The lesbian sister of Proposition 8 mastermind Frank Schubert has announced her candidacy for Sacramento County Superior Court judge.

At her campaign Web site, Anne Marie Schubert, a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, promotes herself as a law and order and victim's rights candidate with several endorsements from local law enforcement organizations.

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Strife hits amid Prop 8 repeal effort Friday, 11/20/09
Bay Area Reporter

Despite the concerns, in a conference call with reporters on Monday, November 16, Henning said that if backers get their measure on the ballot, "We absolutely do feel we'll be able to reunify the community around this issue."

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights who was a member of No on 8's executive committee, said in an interview, "I want see Prop 8 repealed, and if we could repeal it tomorrow or if we could've done it last month, I would have been fully supportive of that."

However, Kendell also said that she's worried that "we have not yet done the work" necessary to win repeal "and time is bearing down on us with very little possibility that that work can happen in the deep and muscular way it needs to between now and next November."

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2010 Prop 8 repeal ballot language submitted Friday, 09/25/09
Bay Area Reporter

As expected, ballot language to repeal Proposition 8 in 2010 was submitted to the state attorney general's office, though it is unclear whether the language submitted this week will be the actual wording of any proposed ballot measure.

The proposal, submitted Wednesday night by Love Honor Cherish, removes Prop 8's language in the state constitution that says, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" and replaces it with "Marriage is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion."

The proposed ballot language also prohibits courts from requiring priests, ministers, rabbis, or other religious authorities "to perform any marriage in violation of his or her religious beliefs."

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Political Notebook: Gay GOPer has star role in same-sex marriage fight Thursday, 09/17/09
Bay Area Reporter

Last year Karger was astounded to read how much money anti-gay groups pushing Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, were able to raise in San Diego, a place he knew well from his political campaign work.

"It was surprising because it is not a socially conservative place," said Karger, who was especially irked to see hotel mogul Doug Manchester "gloating" about donating $125,000 to help put Prop 8 on the ballot.

Another quote in the news article also struck a chord with Karger.

"This one guy said we should boycott these businesses supporting the anti-gay groups," recalled Karger.

Inspired, Karger founded Californians Against Hate, a 501(c)4 organization, and set out to do just that; he led a successful boycott of Manchester's hotels that continues to this day. Knowing how to draw a media crowd, he chose to launch the boycott the Friday of San Diego's Pride weekend and invited parade grand marshals Cleve Jones, founder of the AIDS Quilt, and Gilbert Baker , creator of the rainbow flag, to speak.

"My bottom line is you have to change people's opinions. You got to think big," said Karger, who donated $2,500 of his own money to the No on 8 efforts.

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Coalition developing structure for 2010 Prop 8 repeal effort Saturday, 09/05/09
Bay Area Reporter

Marriage equality advocates from across the state hoping to repeal Proposition 8 in 2010 met last weekend in San Francisco to adopt a structure for a statewide signature gathering campaign and elect an interim leadership team to develop a political action committee.

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Therapists push group to back same-sex marriage Friday, 08/28/09
Bay Area Reporter

Marriage and family therapists in California are continuing to urge their state association to take an official position in support of same-sex marriage.

At a town hall forum in San Francisco last weekend, officials from the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists heard from many therapists who were unhappy about the group's recent actions.

Those actions include publication of homophobic articles in the May-June issue of the association's magazine, the Therapist, that even Mary Riemersma, the association's executive director, now admits were "lame." She suspects the group's board will take a different position on marriage equality, perhaps as early as next month.

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MEUSA split over Prop 8 repeal Thursday, 08/20/09
Bay Area Reporter

"It may appear to the untrained eye that these two organizations are totally divided," she said, referring to EQCA and Courage. "I don't think that is true and I think MEUSA, in partnership with other organizations, can continue to move forward in a productive and synergistic fashion."

"Everyone agrees we can't wait and should be in motion now to restore marriage equality," McKay added.

McKay believes there are two key areas where marriage equality proponents can work together, regardless of whether they favor a ballot measure in 2010 or 2012. Those are: establishing a coalition leadership structure and research and focus group testing to refine messaging and ballot language.

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Gays squabble over Prop 8 repeal debate Thursday, 07/30/09
Bay Area Reporter

Asked about what the discord said about the community's ability to pull together as a mid-September deadline for November 2010 ballot language nears, Solomon suggested it's time to get to work.

"I think it's incumbent on groups like Equality California now and others to step up and to offer a vision and a plan for the community and rally support behind it," said Solomon, who came to California from Massachusetts, where he helped with the successful effort to secure same-sex marriage several years ago.

"My view now is that the community is looking for that. I don't know if the people will say that, but my view is the community at large is looking for leadership," said Solomon.

In a message to marriage equality advocates, Solomon wrote, "We've got to pull this ship together, and fast, if we stand a hope of winning in 2010, 2012, or any time."

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AG candidates express support for repealing Prop 8 Friday, 07/10/09
Bay Area Reporter

Several of the candidates responded to interview requests from the Bay Area Reporter. All said they oppose Proposition 8, the equal-marriage ban upheld by the state Supreme Court in May, and would seek to repeal it.

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Marriage supporters need 1,000 voters a day Friday, 06/26/09
Bay Area Reporter

Based on results of the private poll done for a coalition of LGBT and allied organizations in May, number crunchers at Marriage Equality USA have determined that if a Prop 8 repeal measure is on the November 2010 ballot, the campaign needs 999 new supporters a day. That number drops to 453 new supporters a day should proponents wait until November 2012.

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Groups begin talk of ballot wording Friday, 06/12/09
Bay Area Reporter

In addition to the issue of kids and schools, the ballot language likely would contain wording making it clear that religious groups would not have to perform equal marriages if such unions go against their faith. When this question was asked in the Binder-Simon survey, support for equal marriage stood at 52 percent.

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Ballot fight likely in 2010 to repeal Prop 8 Thursday, 05/14/09
Bay Area Reporter

Following the Courage Campaign's "Camp Courage" in Oakland earlier this month, organizers of the grassroots training event all but said they were ready to go forward next year. Then last week, EQCA unveiled its new campaign, "Win Marriage Back: Make It Real." Officials said that 25 newly hired field organizers would soon begin working with same-sex marriage supporters up and down the state in advance of any official electoral campaign. EQCA also began airing television ads statewide this week featuring same-sex couples talking with their families about marriage equality.

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SF Dems fan out in effort to repeal Prop 8 Friday, 05/08/09
Bay Area Reporter

Talking to opponents of same-sex marriage is thought to be especially critical. Even in San Francisco, one out of every four voters supported the measure. But for now the canvassers are sticking to neighborhoods where there's at least some support for same-sex marriage as they build their base, hoping to eventually help in a statewide effort to repeal Prop 8. In the Marina, for example, a breakdown of Yes on 8 votes provided by David Latterman, president of Fall Line Analytics, shows between 25 percent and 35 percent of district voters cast ballots for Prop 8.

Bornstein, who came up with the idea for the canvassing campaign, said activating the base and getting organized is the primary goal. The campaign is not designed to target swing voters specifically, "but having a physical presence out there does make a difference" with them, he said.

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Media mavens discuss Prop 8 coverage Thursday, 04/23/09
Bay Area Reporter

California media professionals discussed coverage of the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage campaign and its aftermath last Wednesday, April 15, in a forum sponsored by the Commonwealth Club.

Responding to a question from moderator Scott Shafer, host of KQED's California Report, Bay Area Reporter news editor Cynthia Laird said the November election was "very challenging" to cover. While clearly an advocate of LGBT rights and marriage equality, she said the newspaper did not have a policy to "prop up [the No on 8 campaign] and its shortcomings."

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Miss California, come on down! Thursday, 04/23/09
Bay Area Reporter

Prejean has stated in numerous post-pageant interviews that she believes her response to the question posed by gay blogger Perez Hilton cost her the Miss USA crown; she was named first runner-up.

"Miss California probably doesn't realize how hurtful her statements are, especially to LGBT youth," Kors said in a statement. "But this is about something much bigger than the issue of marriage alone, and I have to believe that if she meets us, she will come to see our humanity, and at the very least, I hope she will understand that what she says as Miss California can either hurt people or being them together."

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Organize now, EQCA told Wednesday, 04/15/09
Bay Area Reporter

While the report states that one person needs to be in charge, it also noted that grassroots groups are going to be active in any campaign and that it's more effective to "channel" and "focus" those groups, rather than "control" them.

"Right or wrong, there is a feeling that volunteers were too restricted in what they were asked to do and that sentiment will carry forward to the next effort," the report notes.

At the same time, campaigns are by their nature focused.

"We understand how hard this may be to hear for a large, diverse, egalitarian movement," the report states. "... But the hard truth is, that while a movement such as this can be run as a democracy over the long term, once you're actually in a campaign, things are different."

To make everything work, one person has to be in charge and that person, "cannot be overly concerned about whether or not he or she will be 'liked' after the election," the report states.

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EQCA Prop 8 report finished, but not released Thursday, 04/09/09
Bay Area Reporter

Geoff Kors, EQCA's executive director and a member of the No on 8 executive committee, told the Bay Area Reporter in a March 30 e-mail that the report "was expected to be received tomorrow and released in its entirely sometime soon."

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Celebrate Iowa court marriage decision tonight Friday, 04/03/09
Bay Area Reporter

Supporters of same-sex marriage will join Marriage Equality USA at Castro and Market streets from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. tonight (Friday, April 3) to celebrate the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous decision to uphold same-sex marriages in that state.

There will be an update on plans for California's "day of decision," when the state Supreme Court announces whether it will overturn Prop 8, the measure passed by 52 percent of California voters in November that eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry. The court's decision is due by June 3.

Popcorn - an Iowa staple - will be available and country western dancers will be on hand.

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Marriage backers have much to do before returning to ballot, Kendell says Thursday, 04/02/09
Bay Area Reporter

In terms of work that needs to be done, areas Kendell identified are: public education, rural outreach, faith outreach, and outreach to communities of color by LGBTs of color. All of those cost money and require an infrastructure to be in place, she noted.

"We don't have the depth of resources to execute all of those need areas. To do that, to run a grassroots, viral [campaign] in 18 months is a multimillion-dollar proposition," Kendell said, referring to a timeline for a possible 2010 ballot measure.

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Therapists urge state group to oppose Prop 8 Saturday, 03/21/09
Bay Area Reporter

Mary Riemersma, the association's executive director, wrote, "The members of the CAMFT board have great respect for those organizations and individuals that have as their mission to act to protect the rights of same-sex couples, however that is not CAMFT's purpose. The various things that you have asked CAMFT to do would use resources intended to be used to assure parity for marriage and family therapists and parity for mental health treatment."

Riemersma, who's straight, told the Bay Area Reporter that she's not a voting member of the board. She also said that she supports same-sex marriages, but the association, which has a budget of about $3 million and approximately 30,000 members, has "limited resources."

Board members of the San Francisco chapter of the state association wrote to Riemersma saying they were "extremely disappointed" with CAMFT's decision and, among other requests, asked it to take a formal position to repeal Prop 8.

Bruce Weitzman, the openly gay president of the San Francisco chapter's board, told the B.A.R that he will give a presentation on same-sex marriage in Washington on Saturday to encourage the board to take a position "that is in line with their code of ethics."

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Catholic bishops revealed as key in marriage battle Saturday, 03/21/09
Bay Area Reporter

In what turned out to be the largest total contribution from a single organization, $1.4 million of the Yes on 8 campaign's coffers came from the tax-exempt Knights of Columbus, based in New Haven, Connecticut. The Catholic Church operates its legislative efforts through the little understood entity, of which nearly all Catholic bishops and priests are members.

But the church's involvement in repealing same-sex marriage rights in California has been largely obscured by the intense public and media attention Mormon leaders received last year for their efforts to pass Proposition 8. After voters passed the anti-same-sex marriage constitutional amendment in November, LGBT protesters rallied outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' temples throughout the state rather than Catholic churches.

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Prop 8 proponent ascends to leadership role in state Senate Wednesday, 02/25/09
Bay Area Reporter

Pamela Brown, policy director for Marriage Equality USA, said Hollingsworth could use his new role to promote anti-LGBT views.

"I don't know that it'll change anything that we'll be doing," said Brown.

But Brown warned that Hollingsworth and other Prop 8 leaders continue to use their visibility to promote intolerance toward LGBT youth.

"We've been hearing back from our survey and the stories from children of same-sex couples have been particularly frightening. We're hearing kids were running up and down the hallways of schools yelling 'Yes on 8' as a different way now of saying 'faggot,'" said Brown, who said she believes Hollingsworth shares the responsibility for that.

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'I Do' education campaign launched Thursday, 02/19/09
Bay Area Reporter

"Everyone will have ownership," Kors told the Bay Area Reporter. "We want everyone working together."

He added that the Let California Ring Web site would be expanded to include not only the current partners such as Marriage Equality USA, but also a number of the anti-Prop 8 groups that have sprouted up since the passage of the initiative last November.

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Ballot proposals to repeal Prop 8 in planning stage Thursday, 02/19/09
Bay Area Reporter

"We have to remember that Prop 8 was passed by a slight majority [52 percent] and there are people who are open to changing their minds."

"We know engaging in open dialogue and sharing personal stories has a powerful impact," he said in the e-mail. "That's why we're encouraging people to continue having those conversations and to have them with people who may not be supportive of the freedom to marry."

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The Mormon factor in marriage fight Thursday, 02/05/09
Bay Area Reporter

But documents unearthed by the Bay Area Reporter show that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a consistent strategy to fight same-sex marriage that dates back more than two decades.

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No on Prop 8 'regrets' tour hits Denver confab Thursday, 02/05/09
Bay Area Reporter

If she could do it over, said NCLR's Kendell, "I would have been more of an asshole," she said.

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Summit planners stingy with No on Prop 8 dollars Thursday, 01/22/09
Bay Area Reporter

With hundreds of LGBT marriage equality advocates expected to attend the Equality Summit in Los Angeles Saturday, January 24 it appears that more than half of those organizing the event failed to contribute to the No on Prop 8 campaign during last year's election.

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Prop 8 supporters set up legal defense fund Wednesday, 12/10/08
Bay Area Reporter

A Yes on Prop 8 campaign lawyer announced December 10 that a legal defense fund has been established to help prevent the measure from being repealed by the state Supreme Court.

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