Equality California delays pro-gay marriage amendment push until 2012

[marmar]

from the LA Times:



Group that spearheaded effort against Prop. 8 postpones push for amendment until 2012
Equality California says a delay until the presidential election year will aid fundraising in the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage. Other groups want voters to decide issue in 2010.

By Ari B. Bloomekatz and Jessica Garrison

August 13, 2009


One of the state's largest gay rights groups announced Wednesday it will wait until 2012 to push for an amendment to the California Constitution permitting same-sex marriage, but other organizations with the same agenda insisted they want to bring the issue back to voters in 2010.

Leaders of Equality California, which spearheaded the campaign against Proposition 8, said they planned to wait until the next presidential election and released a road map for repealing the 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage.

"If we thought November 2010 was the best time to go, the time when we thought we could win back the freedom to marry, we would go . . . But we don't," said Marc Solomon, Equality California's marriage director.

In the analysis and plan titled "Winning Back Marriage Equality in California," the organization said it would wait until 2012 to allow more time for fundraising and outreach, among other reasons. Most of the group's top 100 donors to last year's No-on-8 campaign said they would be reluctant or unwilling to participate in a campaign in 2010.

Equality California estimates that a winning campaign would need between $30 million and $50 million. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prop8-gaymarriage13-2009aug13,0,2862964.story