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As millions of dollars pour into the landmark California campaign over Proposition 8—the proposed amendment that would restore traditional marriage in the Golden State—a review of those donations is painting drastically different portraits of each side of the debate.
An online review of contributions for Protect Marriage’s Yes on 8 reveals that nearly half of the money is coming from gifts of $1,000 or less and 95 percent of individual donations are coming from within the state. Contributions to the No on 8 campaign show, however, that nearly two-thirds of the donations are for more than $1,000. In addition, more than a dozen gay and lesbian rights organizations have combined to pump in several million dollars to try to defeat the measure.
“It illustrates this is a classic battle between a vocal minority and a broad majority of Californians over traditional marriage,” said Andy Pugno, legal council for the Yes on 8 campaign.
As of Sept. 12, the online site Election Track, had tallied $13.3 million dollars from more than 2,500 donations, of which about 47 percent game from donations of $1,000 or less. If the donation threshold is increased to donations of $4,999 or less, the contributions account for nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of all donations on Election Track.
Major donors on behalf of Yes on 8 include $1 million from the Knights of Columbus and $1.6 million from the National Organization for Marriage, both Catholic-affiliated organizations. Focus on the Family, which has been urging its supporters nationwide to contribute to the cause, has generated more than $700,000 in 35 separate gifts. Of the 35 contributions from Focus on the Family, 21 were gifts of $500 or less.
The National Organization for Marriage, which is based in New York but has moved its executive director to California for the duration of the campaign, made 22 separate contributions totaling the $1.6 million. NOM, realizing that California has long been considered a bellwether state for social and political trends, decided early on to financially support a growing network of evangelical pastors who began the difficult process to get an amendment qualified for the November ballot. Money from that group and the Catholic church helped to fund a good portion of the professional signature gathers that augmented a mammoth church-based effort.
In addition to organizational assistance, Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson, Jr., owner of the Irvine-based Fieldstead & Company, has also been a major supporter contributing $600.000.
Thousands respond
Pugno said in all—including the smaller donations that are not included on the Election Track report—more than 20,000 donations have been made on behalf of the Protect Marriage initiative. Pugno also worked closely on Proposition 22, the statue voters approved in 2000 that declared that marriage was between one man and one woman. That statute was the law that four California Supreme Court judges overturned this past spring, nullifying the voices of four million voters. Even with the widespread success of Proposition 22 in garnering 61 percent of the vote, Pugno said California residents seem to be energized by this campaign and the long-term ramifications for the state.
“This (proposition) is many times greater in the response,” Pugno said.
Gay rights groups invest
While the No on 8 campaign is also receiving donations at a rapid clip, a great deal has come in the form of significant donations from gay rights groups. In fact, three different groups have contributed more than $8 million combined. In all, gay rights groups donated about half of the 300 or so donations registered on Election Track. The online site listed the total contributions to No on 8 at just over $9 million. About 13 percent of the contributions came from out of state, compared to about 5 percent for Yes on 8. One-third of the No on 8 contributions came from donations of $1,000 or less.
The Election Track report shows that the No on 8 Equality California of San Francisco group gave approximately 20 separate donations totaling just over $4 million. Another $3 million came in 10 donations from the Human Rights Campaign California Marriage, while the Campaign for Marriage Equality, ACLU of Sacramento, made two contributions totaling $1,250,000.
“The money flowing in from the opposition’s campaign illustrates that, for the gay rights activists nationwide, they realize the battle here is ground zero,” said Pugno. “This is for all the marbles.”
Rounding out the top five for the No on 8 campaign were 15 contributions from Equality California Issues Pac of San Francisco totaling more than $870,425 and nearly $520,000 from the Center Advocacy Project Issues Pac of San Diego, which gave 17 times.
Out of state contributors included the Democratic National Committee’s Federal Fund, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in Washington, D.C., the Human Rights Campaign of Washington, D.C., the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in New York and Denver’s Gill Action Fund.
While Protect Marriage officials are pleased with the breadth of the donations they have received to date, they are still pressing supporters to continue contributing in anticipation of a last-minute surge from the measure’s opponents. At press time, for instance, Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg became the first high-profile celebrities to contribute, each giving $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign.
To counter No on 8 TV ads that began airing during the summer, the Yes on 8 committee was scheduled to launch its support ads beginning on Sept. 29. The campaign declined to release details on the ad’s contents in advance of their airing.
Current ads on TV in California that are aimed against the marriage amendment are unregulated because they don't mention Proposition 8. The pro-"gay marriage" ads — backed by a group called Let California Ring — show a bride being tripped as she walks down the aisle. The groom tries to assist her but is held back. The ad ends with the question, "What if you couldn't marry the person you love?" It's unknown how much money is being spent on the ads — donations for the ads don't have to be reported to the state — but ProtectMarriage.com estimates that it's around $6 million.
Both sides have raised substantial amounts of money, although it's difficult to gauge who is leading but the Yes on Prop 8 has garnered most of their financial support from grass roots supporters rather than advocacy groups.
For more information on Proposition 8, visit www.protectmarriage.com. For a secure link to donate online, visit https://www.icontribute.us/protectmarriage.
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