Steven Spielberg
and his spouse, Kate Capshaw, followed in the footsteps
of Brad Pitt and chipped in a $100,000 donation to fight
Proposition 8, the constitutional marriage amendment
that would take away the rights of gays and lesbians
to marry in California.
"By writing
discrimination into our state constitution, Proposition 8
seeks to eliminate the right of each and every citizen in
our state to marry regardless of sexual orientation,"
the couple said in a written statement released
Monday. "Such discrimination has NO place in
California's constitution, or any other."
Despite a recent
spate of celebrity gifts to defeat the ban, backers of
the measure are still winning the money game, outraising the
No on 8 campaign $17.8 million to $12.4 million,
according to Tuesday's Los Angeles Times.
Financial backing
is critical to the ability of both sides to air ads
promoting their position, with weekly spots costing anywhere
from $3.5 million to $5 million in order to ensure
that state voters view them seven to 10 times.
Alongside the
cash injection from the entertainment industry, the Los
Angeles Times reports that San Francisco mayor
Gavin Newsom will attend a $5,000-per-person New York
fund-raiser Thursday with New York State governor
David Paterson, a longtime supporter of marriage
equality. (The Advocate)
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