Gay-marriage supporters focusing on new states to overturn traditional marriage laws

CNA ^ | April 3, 2009

[NYer]

Hartford, Conn., Apr 3, 2009 / 02:20 pm (CNA).- On Wednesday, Love Makes a Family, a gay-rights activist group, declared victory in the state of Connecticut and discussed plans to follow gay-marriage advocate Tim Gill’s strategic plan by re-deploying their lobbying and financial resources to focus on overturning traditional marriage laws in other states and on the national level.

In a letter to the organization’s members, Ann Stanback, Executive Director of Connecticut’s Love Makes a Family, said her group will "cease operations" in the state "on December 31, 2009" and will begin work on the national level to repeal the 1996 Federal Definition of Marriage Act.

Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled in October of last year that gay marriage was Constitutional, making Connecticut one of three states where gay marriage has been declared legal by state Supreme Courts: Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa.

Stanback told her supporters that she has enjoyed the last eight years working to win acceptance of gay marriage, feels confident that gay marriage is "secure for all time," and now wants to "spend time with [her] very patient wife, Charlotte." 

Detailing the group’s next steps, Stanback says priorities include: to "smoothly enact marriage equality," secure support of Connecticut Congressmen to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, lobby for more protection of the "transgender community," elect a "pro-equality" legislature that is friendly to the gay community, and to share their "successful strategies" with other states.

The Love Makes a Family website lists successes over the last eight years including: 20,000 active gay marriage supporters, shifting public option in support of gay marriage to 53%, incrementally introducing the public to gay marriage through an adoption law in 2000, "a handful of rights to same-sex couples" in 2002, civil unions in 2005, and finally "marriage equality victory in 2008."

While groups like Love Makes a Family are claiming success and "ceasing operations," billionaire Tim Gill, who has reportedly donated over $150 million to gay marriage causes, is still behind the scenes directing the U.S. gay marriage strategy.

Last August, CNA reported that Gill detailed his gay-rights strategy at the Democratic National Convention. He laid out a plan and declared, "The only way that bigots will learn, is if we take their power away from them." His strategy encourages donors to focus on winning strategic local and state level legislative offices, and promoted sharing ideas and donating money across state lines on key winnable races.

In April of 2007, Denver political analyst Floyd Ciruli told Time Magazine "Gill [and his people are] incredibly strategic. They simply don't waste money. They put their funding where they can take control of legislatures." Ciruli adds, "People were unaware of what was going on for quite awhile, but now I think everybody knows that they have really changed the direction of the [Colorado]. I'm not sure that everyone really understands how potent [Gill] is, but he now has to be the number one gay rights advocate in the country in terms of funding and strategy. They're taking significant contributions and putting them brilliantly in legislative environments where a few seats changing will change the entire control of a state."

Now that gay-marriage is "secure" in Connecticut, the big money from donors like Gill is likely drying up and being reallocated along with out resources to new winnable races in other states.

[Old Professer]

Dawn comes late under cloudy skies.

[little jeremiah]

Hmm - is that a koan?

I’ve been very literal minded lately and don’t get nuances...

[Old Professer]

Didactly, no; but curiously related in tone.

Simple certainties oft prove certainly simple.

[Old Professer]

In language there is wealth and wealth is soon splurged; in nuance there’s caution and economy held closely tight; released in but bits when people bravely face fright.

But when one engages in punditry, then language and nuance mate with careless abandon and the Devil may take.

[Old Professer]

Caution — I have a habit of crafting my own words...

[Old Professer]

I am an artifact from a time before tools.

[little jeremiah]

We are all from before tools and time.

[Old Professer]

It’s been a damn fine ride...

[fwdude]

I don't understand. How does money in politics trump basic good sense in ethics and the survival of civilization? Are there that many blind voters?

I must be that naive.

[fwdude]

I'm afraid the few remaining states that have mere laws on their books defining real marriage are going to wake up too late to do much about the onslaught of these well-funded homo-activists. As a few more fall by judicial fiat, against the express wishes of those states’ citizens, I'm sure others will scramble to implement their own amendments. But the momentum of the courts’ recent decisions will be with the moral anarchists, and we can expect more and more successful challenges to implementing these amendments.

[little jeremiah]

My ride on earth is winding down, looking forward with anticipation towards the next door to open. But maybe I still have work to do in this dwelling, even if the task is small.

[cradle of freedom]

TIM GILL ...If you have not heard this name, you are in the dark about what is going on with this issue. Tim Gill is a gay, Colorado millionaire who has been funding gay friendly candidates for about four years now. He started an organization that studies the candidates at the local levels in many states. He targets any candidate who takes a pro-family position. He then sends money to that candidates opponent with the condition that he/she vote for the pro-gay agenda. Gill then floods the district with repeated negative mailings about the pro-family candidate. He never mentions anything about gay issues instead he makes negative accusations against the pro-family candidate. The voters see all of this negative stuff about the pro-family candidate and they vote against him/her. The voters are being deceived and manipulated.

What I would like to know is - what are the churches doing? Are they all waiting for the Rapture while our country goes to Hell? Millions of people are at church every Sunday, what a force they could be if they used their organization and social networks to inform the people and get them united to save our country.