Promoters of a
constitutional ban on same-sex marriage that will
appear on Tennessee's November 7 ballot are trying to
scare voters into giving them money, an opponent of
the measure said. A fund-raising letter sent by
Republican state senator David Fowler of Signal Mountain,
as director of Family Action of Tennessee, predicts that
"pro-homosexual individuals and organizations" opposing the
state constitutional amendment will spend between $4
million and $6 million to defeat it.
Randy Tarkington,
manager of a group campaigning to defeat the proposed
amendment, said Fowler's prediction is "ridiculous." The
amendment would restrict marriage to unions between a man
and a woman. "It's so typical of their tactics," said
Tarkington, manager of Vote No on One. "Basically,
they're saying, 'Let's scare people so they'll give us
money.'"
Fowler wrote the
fund-raising letter for RealMarriage.org, a campaign
initiative of Family Action of Tennessee. The letter seeks
donations "to battle homosexual activist groups from
Hollywood, New York, and Washington, D.C., who have
chosen Tennessee as their Southern battleground." The
"radical homosexual activists" have chosen Tennessee
as a key battleground in an effort to have marriage legally
recognized for gays and lesbians, Fowler wrote.
Fowler's letter
also cites Tennessee's law on constitutional amendments,
requiring approval by a margin of at least more than half
the total votes cast for governor. Because the
amendment requires votes exceeding 50% of those cast
in the governor's race, Fowler said voters who skip the
amendment are voting no.
"What we're doing
is making sure that we meet the burden that's upon us
to get a certain minimum number of votes and making sure we
don't get caught unprepared by someone with a lot of
money," Fowler said.
Records at the
state Registry of Election Finance shows that Fairness
Committee, a campaign organization created by Vote No
on One late last year, has spent about $25,000. Most
of the money has been spent on printed materials and
newspaper ads. The group had a cash balance of $9,480
on July 1, based on the quarterly report.
Tarkington said
he did not know the amount raised since July 1, but
"if we've raised $50,000 to date, that would probably be
good.... If Mr. Fowler would tell me who is going to
give us $4 million to $6 million, I'd really
appreciate it. I'd like to get in touch with them."
Fowler said his
$4 million to $6 million estimate is based on "a
number that we heard from some individuals within the
community supporting homosexual marriage."
Tennessee is
among seven states voting on bans on same-sex marriage this
year. The others are Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin. (AP)
