Opponents of Proposition 8, the measure banning same-sex marriage in the state say they have been out-funded and will lose come November unless they begin matching funds donated by the measure's supporters. The L.A. Times reports: "Although the Yes on 8 campaign has not yet posted its latest fund-raising report, supporters said Tuesday that they have raised at least $25 million, compared with $15.75 million raised by the other side. 'As a result of not being able to match dollar for dollar, we have seen a change," said Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, which is fighting Proposition ...

Young people have grown up with out gay celebrities prominently featured in the media, gay characters all over the TV, and peers who come out of the closet before they come out of high school. The younger generation has also witnessed the biased ugliness that swept thru the country during the Bush administration, giving them firsthand insight into how an uber-organized portion of the populace can tyrannically stifle the rights of a minority. And since young people have, historically, been the ones to rise up and correct the civil rights mistakes of their forebearers, one would think that the early ...

California’s Proposition 8, the measure to ban same-sex marriage in the state, becomes the most expensive battle in the history of gay marriage opposition.   Prop 8 is the measure that won approval to be placed on on November’s ballot.  It would amend the state’s constitution, banning same-marriage approved earlier this year by the California Supreme Court.  Proponents of the measure have raised 25.4 million while those opposing the amendment to the constitution have raised 15.8 million.  The total funds raised are likely to be even higher since these figures are only reported from the two main organizations fighting for ...

After same-sex marriage became legal in June, California revised the form to read “Party A” and “Party B” instead of “Bride” and “Groom”. Anti-gay activists immediately leaped on the change as evidence of harm to heterosexuals. Which is nonsense. But it appears that some folks missed being called a bride or groom on the form and so the state will revise the form to allow each party to tick a box for bride or groom if they so choose. ...

The bad news for the forces of equality keep coming. First, a poll was released showing that the YES ON PROP 8 (which would ban marriage between same-sex couples in California) is leading 47 to 42 percent and now comes word that the heterosexual supremacists have more than $11 million more cash on hand than the NO ON PROP 8 folks, the Equality For All coalition.Campaign finance figures show supporters of the gay marriage ban have taken a significant lead in fundraising even as Proposition 8 has lagged in public opinion polls. A backer, ProtectMarriage.com, reported taking ...

Lie #1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay. The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890) Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.TRUTH: The California Education Code will not be changed by the defeat (or passage) of Proposition 8. The Code already includes the ...

While I have always been in favour of Same Sex Marriage, it never really hit home for me until this past Winter when my fiance (at the time, boyfriend) was hospitalised with double pneumonia and septic shock, further complicated by his HIV.** We are a sero-discordant couple. He is HIV+, I am HIV-.Every day, I had to fight to get information on what was going on in respect to his health. While I figure that a heterosexual would be in the same position (at least in New York), it made me realise that in the future, were he to be ...

A new CBS poll by SurveyUSA has opponents of Proposition 8, the measure that would ban same-sex marriage in the state, understandably concerned: "According to the poll, likely California voters overall now favor passage of Proposition 8 by a five-point margin, 47 percent to 42 percent. Ironically, a CBS 5 poll eleven days prior found a five-point margin in favor of the measure's opponents. The only demographic group to significantly change their views during this period were younger voters — considered the hardest to poll and the most unpredictable voters — who now support the measure after previously opposing it. ...

The L.A. Times reports: "More gay couples were married in California in the first three months that same-sex marriages were legal than were married in the first four years it was legal in Massachusetts, according to a new study. The data, released Monday by UCLA's Williams Institute, found that an estimated 11,000 same-sex couples were married in California from June 17, when the California Supreme Court began allowing the weddings, to Sept. 17. As of spring, 10,385 same-sex couples had wed in Massachusetts since the state legalized such unions in May 2004, according to a study by the institute released ...

Source: Los Angeles Times , Sacramento Bee , San Jose Mercury News The California Department of Public Health announced Monday that it is changing the state's marriage license form -- again. State officials changed the forms after the May state Supreme Court ruling that legalized same sex marriage. After that ruling, courts mandated state paperwork to use gender neutral language. State officials dropped the terms "bride" and "groom" and replaced them with the word "Party A" and "Party B." "Following the Supreme Court decision in May, we moved quickly...(read more) ...

Schools will now be required to teach students that gay marriage is the same as traditional marriage, starting with kindergarteners. Or so say the supporters of Proposition 8 on their official website, Protectmarriage.com. It’s right there in the education code, they tell you. This is one of Yes on 8’s three central themes (along with individuals being sued and churches losing tax preferences for not celebrating homosexuality) and is included in all their outreach. It is referenced in their television ad and repeated in letters to the editor. Consider this press release quoting Dr. Jim Garlow, senior pastor ...

Earlier we reported on how the bigots backing Prop 8 redesigned their web site to try and attract younger voters.   They are at it again.   This time they have paid (hopefully big bucks) to distribute a news release deceptively titled "Young Voters Warn Californians About Impact of Gay Marriage." Yes friends, we got trouble right here in River City.   You see "Young adults desperately warn voters about the unfavorable consequences of same-sex marriage before November's election!"   Yes, "Those in favor of Proposition 8, the marriage amendment which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, ...

You may have heard of marriage defender David Blankenhorn. A while ago, I reviewed his anti-gay marriage tome The Future of Marriage. Recently, he wrote an op-ed piece in the LA Times opposing marriage equality.Now, I have respect for Blankenhorn because in his zeal to "defend" marriage he doesn't demonize gay men and lesbians in the process. In fact, unlike many on his side, he goes so far as saying things like "I reject homophobia and believe in the equal dignity of gay and lesbian love." Such a sentiment is commendable and appreciated.Yet, I do question his often-use ...

Now here's an exemplary Christian. Father Geoffrey Farrow of the Saint Paul Newman Center in northeast Fresno received a standing ovation from half his congregation after offering up a sermon about loving thy neighbor and then urging his congregation to vote against Proposition 8, the California measure that would ban same-sex marriage. He also came out to the local ABC news reporter in an interview following his mass. Said Farrow to his congregation: "In directing the faithful to vote 'yes' on Proposition 8 the California bishops are not merely entering the political arena, they are ignoring the advances and insights of ...

It’s amazing. Last June, 49 state legislators in Phoenix decided that making same-sex marriage even more illegaler in this state was more important than solving the budget deficit or problems with education, immigration, health care or energy policy (Arizona has more sunshine than any other state in the union — helloooo!). They even thought it was so important that they were willing to break their own rules in the process. But now, ask any of those same legislators if they support Prop 102 and just watch how they duck and weave on what ought to be a simple yes ...

Hollywood, long considered a bastion of liberal thinking, is being chided for not opening its wallet to save the right to same-sex marriage in California even as several A-list gays and lesbians rush to the altar. With a month to go before a November 4 referendum seeking to abolish the newly won right of same-sex couples to marry in California, some in the entertainment community are anxious that more of their own are not supporting gay rights by donating money to defeat the proposed ban. So far, the largest celebrity donations have come from actor Brad Pitt and director ...

Grant Johnson, a 49-year-old traffic engineer who lives in the Sierra foothill town of Coarsegold, passionately supports Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to ban gay marriage. In past elections, Johnson might have written a letter to the editor about his views. This year, he had a better idea. He made a video and put it up on YouTube. The spot Johnson made, "Garriage," is one of dozens of homemade advertisements for and against Proposition 8 that are dueling it out in cyberspace. It begins with images of gay weddings and then moves on to dramatic ...

We've already shown you the clip of Biden and Palin's take on gay equality, and given you our thoughts on the matter. But we want to look at one particular moment from last night's debate just a little more closely. The point we want to look at is how moderator Gwen Ifil wrapped up the gay discussion: Okay, so yes, both Biden and Palin voiced non-support for the word marriage. But prior to this, Joe Biden had just given a passionate call for parity in terms of benefits, saying he "absolutely, positively" supports that notion. He also had stated, ...

Pepperdine professor Richard M. Peterson is probably a very nice man. He’s an advocate for persons with disabilities and special education needs and seeks to help adolescents in the areas of anger management and conflict resolution. He seems to be a caring individual. But when it comes to Proposition 8, Professor Peterson let his strong religious convictions overrule his compassion and even his integrity. Peterson is the voice of authority in the anti-marriage ad put out by the Yes on 8 campaign wherein he sternly warns Californians that unless Proposition 8 passes people could be sued for their personal ...

Arizona needs help. A measure amending the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage may very well pass there given that the measure's supporters have outraised those against the ban by millions of dollars: "Figures released Thursday show the campaign in support of Proposition 102 has raised $6.9 million. That’s compared to the roughly $355,000 raised by the measure’s opponents...A recent statewide poll found that 49 percent of those surveyed would support the proposal. Forty-two percent said they would vote against it, and 9 percent were undecided. The poll was conducted by KAET-TV and Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School ...