Constitutional Law

Ballot Measure To Strip Calif. Gay Couples of Marriage Rights Gaining In Polls

The ballot initiative, Proposition 8, to strip gays of marriage rights in California is gaining steam in recent polls, The Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper’s report coincides with other news accounts about the ballot measure’s gains.

An Oct. 17 SurveyUSA poll shows Proposition 8 winning among likely voters, 48% to 45%. Polls conducted in the summer, showed much less support for Proposition 8. Opponents of gay measure launched Proposition 8 following the California Supreme Court’s decision in May that prohibiting same-sex marriages violated the state’s constitution. In a guest blog post for ACS, Shannon Price Minter, a lead attorney representing gay couples before the California Supreme Court, stated that if Proposition 8 were to prevail, “it would mark the first time that voters in any state have stripped same-sex couples of an existing, established right to marry.” The WSJ’s article also noted that the “outcome of California’s battle could affect whether states move to recognize gay marriages.”

Both Minter and the WSJ article noted the large amounts of money from out-state-groups to propel Proposition 8. The WSJ reported that between “30% and 40% of the $25.5 million in donations raised” for passage of Proposition 8 “has come from the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Minter noted in his guest blog post that socially conservative advocacy groups Focus on the Family and the American Family Association have also funneled large sums of money into pushing Proposition 8.

Earlier this month, Connecticut became the third state, joining California and Massachusetts, to recognize full marriage rights for gay couples.  

Full post as published by ACS Blog on October 22, 2008 (boomark / email).