Stand Up Against Prop 8

Thanks to my good friend Ali, it has come to my attention that Proposition 8, the anti-gay California ballot initiative which would overturn the recent ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the state, has been gaining significant ground in the polls.  According to an email sent out by Equality California, polls on October 7th showed that supporters of Prop 8 were up by five points — a huge reversal from the week before, where opponents of the initiative were up five points.  The LA Times reports similar findings. This is frightening stuff.

The reversal has been largely attributed to new campaign ads put out by the Yes on 8 campaign, which are filled with blatant lies.  The lies include assertions that if Prop 8 doesn’t pass, individuals could be sued for discrimination, that churches would lose their tax exempt status for refusing to marry same sex couples, and that children must be taught about the “correctness” of same-sex marriage in schools.

New ads are fighting back, but these things don’t pay for themselves.  And guess what?  More bad news: supporters of Prop 8 have raised significantly more money than opponents.

A few days ago, I wrote about the decision which legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut, and being complacent and overly-confident like I think most of us have been, said “3 down, 47 to go.”  Well unless action is taken, it might not be three for long.

Here’s what all of us can do:

1. Donate, donate, donate. I know it’s election season, and everyone is begging you for money.  And there are a lot of worthy causes out there.  But if you are able to give, this is probably the most important step that you can take to help the NO on Prop 8 campaign.

2. Spread the word. Write blog posts.  Email friends and family.  Urge others to donate, too.

3. Email Governor Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger has finally spoken out against Prop 8, but as a very high profile and influential politician, indeed one who is a Republican, he is in an excellent position to do more to actively campaign and dispel the myths that proponents of the initiative are spreading.  Tell him so.

And if you’re in California:

4. Vote. And get your friends and family to vote, too.

5. Volunteer. Sign up today. Even if it’s only a couple hours of phone-banking, your effort can make a big difference.  Even if you’re not in California, you can still click that link and get info on phone-banking from home! (Thanks Pizza Diavola!)

6. Get visible. Bumper stickers, signs, buttons, whatever — showing people in a visible way that there is strong opposition to Prop 8 has a bigger influence on public opinion than you may think.

7. Write a letter to the editor. NO on Prop 8 has the tools to help you write your letter today. Do it, and remember that even if yours doesn’t get published, the more that get written, the more that will show up in print.

Did I forget something? Let me know and I’ll add it to the post. Now get to work!

cross-posted at Feministe