California's Gay Marriage Opponents Outraising Supporters

"We are going to lose this ... if we don’t raise the money we need to compete on the airwaves," Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California and a member of the No on 8 executive committee, said during a conference call with LGBT reporters Tuesday afternoon.

The call, dubbed an "Emergency LGBT Media Briefing," was held in response to a just-released poll conducted by Lake Research Partners, which shows the yes side leading by four percentage points. Currently, 47% of voters support the banning of gay marriage in California, while 43% would vote against a ban, according to the poll.

That is a major shift from recent polling results that claimed opponents of the ban, Proposition 8, had a five-point advantage among voters. The reason for the shift, Kors explained, is simple -- Yes on 8 is raising more money, and its most recent ad campaign has been highly effective. The ad features riled-up San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, telling a crowd of supporters in May, just after same-sex marriage was allowed by the state supreme court, that gay marriages are coming "whether you like it or not."

Though Lake Research Partners' Celinda Lake said studies show the No on 8 ad campaign has proved to be effective with voters, Kors said the additional money raised by Yes on 8 has allowed ban supporters to get their message out to a wider audience.

Supporters of outlawing same-sex marriage have taken a substantial lead in fund-raising, with ProtectMarriage.com taking in $25.4 million through September 30 and the main No on 8 committee reporting $15.8 million in donations.

Steve Smith, manager of Equality for All, which is a coalition of groups working to defeat Prop. 8, predicted the coffers for both sides would level out by November 4. "What's happening is a little seesaw battle," Smith told the Associated Press.

On the conference call, Smith and Kors put it a little more plainly -- No on 8 needs to raise at least $10 million in the next 28 days.

That money, they say, will be used to directly combat the Yes on 8 ad campaign's strategic advantages. Smith stressed that No on 8 is having great success reaching young voters through grassroots and Internet viral marketing campaigns, but that more money is needed to compete with television advertising. (The Advocate)

Keywords: California marriage

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Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Nat Gozzano
Date posted: 2008-10-08 4:56 PM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:

It's not just about money folks. Proposition 8 is going to pass no matter how much money we raise unless they start hitting back hard! The no on 8 people are political novices and are being creamed in the ad wars on content. Yes on 8 ads are clearly working because they use tried and true fear tactics. No on 8 needs to cut the warm and fuzzy crap and start driving home with this message "Are you going to let the Mormon Church and Pat Robertson rewrite the California Constitution to reflect their extremist values?". They need to use those right wing extremists crazy quotes and brand prop 8 as their scary creature, and fast. Anybody out there who cares should contact the No on 8 people and let them know loud and clear that they better start getting ugly, like the other side, or this things going to slip away from us forever! Be afraid, be very afraid!

Name: Chris Daley
Date posted: 2008-10-07 8:14 PM
Hometown: San Francisco

Comment:

Here is the core of an email that Geoff Kors from Equality California is circulating (edited to meet the 1000 character requirement): So this is crunch time. With less than a month before the election, we must get on the air now to answer these lies and swing votes back to our side. And the ONLY way to do that is to raise more money. So, how much will you sacrifice to protect your equality or the equality of people you love? It’s that simple. Will you give up something, anything, to ensure equality? I am. I'm donating 15% of my income to make sure that the No on Prop 8 campaign can answer these lies. What are you willing to give up today so we can protect our community from this pack of televised lies: A night out? A vacation you had planned? A home improvement project? I ask you to do what you can. Donate to defeat Prop 8. Work the phone banks. And urge everyone you know to vote NO on Prop 8. Because if we are not willing to sacrifice, we will not win.

Name: frank
Date posted: 2008-10-07 3:55 PM
Hometown: Jackson, CA

Comment:

The moment I saw the Yes on 8 campaign commercial I knew we were in trouble. If we think that this is the worst those people have in their arsenal we are sadly mistaken. We know these people and we know what they're capable of. The No on 8 campaign needs to get realistic and take the gloves off from this point forward. We need to expose their religious based bigotry for what it is and not pull any punches or we have already lost the battle. Do we need to do our part by talking to our family, friends, and coworkers about the issue? Yes. But without a strong, emotion provoking campaign on our side we are seriously crippled. We are a creative, resourceful group of people. If there was ever a time to put that into play it is now. Please consider donating to the campaign and please also consider letting the campaign know that they need to step it up a couple of notches and not just televise the same vanilla ads they've been offering.

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