Courage Campaign Founder Rick Jacobs Responds to UTF With Answers Surrounding Marriage Equality Research

Tuesday, I wrote a post titled, "Courage Campaign Not to Release Marriage Equality Research - Information Behind Project Could Help Mend Broken Trust." In it I wrote that to regain some of the trust lost among the LGBT grassroots community when they pulled out of the 2010 Prop 8 repeal effort, Courage Campaign should answer some questions about how the partially community-funded research was conducted, such as who was behind it, how much of the raised money was spent and in what capacity, what demographics made up the focus groups, and more.

Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs agreed to answer the questions and sent me the following response.


First, thanks for your consistently sober, careful and thoughtful reporting and insight of and into the LGBT equality movement. You are one of the best examples of the new generation of activists that has arisen post-Prop. 8. In that vein, it’s important to note that the atmosphere and the attitude since the campaign have changed radically. On the one hand, there is less trust than before and that is both good and bad. The good of it is that activists question authority, doing their own diligence and making their own decisions about where to put their energy, effort and donations. The bad of it is that a very few spend time looking for what is wrong and picking it apart without looking for or at the solutions.

The LGBT community is nearing the end phases of the struggle for equality. Whether via the judiciary, state and federal legislation or the ballot box, we are making major strides. The ballot box has been the most disappointing and therefore gets the most attention, but we need to remember that if two candidates had come as close as they did in Maine or California, the loser would be gearing up to take on the winner as soon as possible. And there’s the rub. We are not in a candidate fight. We have a disparate movement with lots of voices, all of which are valid, but not all of which can ultimately and equally run a campaign. It just won’t work. In a candidate race, the candidate ultimately decides. In our community, there is no trusted leader, no trusted organization that can say, “follow us. We have the solution.” And frankly, no one yet does.

Over time, that will settle out. Either folks will realize that to win, we need the best of what Obama had, namely the best research possible (which is expensive), the best campaign talent possible (which is hard to find) and highly motivated and integrated grassroots movement that has input and will work to win. And with any good fortune at all, the Olson/Boies lawsuit will obviate all future such electoral battles. We cannot count on that and we must change the way people this country think about LGBT people regardless of legal, legislative or ballot box decisions. The gains of the civil rights movement in the 1960s did not eradicate prejudice; that still takes work to this day.

With that in mind, let me answer your questions.

1. We did a large series of focus groups, round tables, dyads and triads. The goal of the work was to get as broad and a diverse a view of potential swing voters as possible. To that end, we were in San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, LA and Concord. We did round tables with Asian-American, African-American, Latino groups. Our focus groups included all of the above and white folks. We worked with men and women. One conclusion we drew at the end of the focus groups was that we needed to do more qualitative work to go deeper on the issues of religion and education. A poll didn’t make sense at this time. More qualitative work should be done first.

2. Courage members rose to the challenge of funding the only serious research that has been done on this issue since before the campaign. We challenged our members in August to raise $100,000 for research. We said that if we could raise that $100,000, we would ask other groups interested in winning back our rights to match that amount. The only contribution we received from a group was $3,700 from the IAG, which we deeply appreciate. Not one other group put up a penny. By rights, we could have either offered our members a refund and stopped or go ahead. We decided to take the risk and go ahead. To date, we have spent far in excess of $200,000, frankly more than we have raised by a long shot. We did that because we owed our members and the community the real research that had not been done.

3. We assembled the best team we could find. It includes David Binder, Amy Simon, Dean Tipps (former head of SEIU State Council and later an Obama Campaign advisor), Dr. Phyllis Watts (who created the road map by which Planned Parenthood and other allied organizations have thus far defeated parental notification around the country and three times in four years in California). The team was led by Steve Hildebrand with Sarah Callahan and other Courage staff engaged in the process. Dean Tipps has more than thirty years of experience in California policy and politics. He built the SEIU in California from 150,000 to 750,000 members and has been through virtually every major initiative fight in the state. The community knows David and Amy.

4. We will not release the findings of this first round to the press because it would be equivalent, as you point out, to handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars of research to the opposition. Interestingly, the Yes on 8 crew is in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals right now trying to prevent handing over their internal communications because they believe those communications have some value and would be useful to our side. Why would we willingly hand over our research? Had the Obama Campaign, the most data-driven campaign in history, publicized all of its research, John McCain would be president today. We will share relevant data confidentially with allied LGBT and progressive groups over the next two weeks.

5. Keep in mind that Courage is an organization. We are not a campaign. We have always said that we do not think any one organization should dominate the next campaign. And we’ve been consistent in repeating and sticking to our principles that dictate when we would go back to the ballot. They include: research that informs a path to victory; a governance structure that the progressive and LGBT communities trust; a highly experienced, successful campaign manager who is empowered by that governance structure to make decisions; enough money to win. We concluded that those elements are not in place. And your post underscores that they are not in place.

6. We continue to operate a robust, all volunteer field campaign with teams in 23 counties. This is all done under the leadership of 33 volunteer Deputy Field Organizers and four full time staff. We continue our highly successful Camp Courage program, which has trained over 1,400 people since January of this year. Our next Camp is scheduled for 30-31 January in Santa Barbara. We have requests for Camps Courage from at least five other states. Pending funding and targeting, we’ll take the Camps beyond California as we did at the request of Cleve Jones, Kip Williams and Robin McGehee for the National Equality March.

7. Courage Campaign continues our national work in states such as New York, where we recently mobilized our more than 50,000 members to call their state senators in advance of the marriage vote and just did so again this morning. (See email below.) We are working other states as well, in cooperation with local organizers.

(Click email image to enlarge)

8. Courage will play a major role in trying to ameliorate the California budget disaster in 2010 and in setting a course for transforming the way this state functions over a longer horizon. We face a potential $40 billion budget deficit next year that dwarfs the one that cut nearly all services in 2009. If you thought this year was bad, buckle your seat belts; it’s about to get more than bumpy. LGBT and progressive folks are greatly affected by what’s going to happen here. The right wing is getting its wish: state and local governments that are completely starved of funds and therefore incapable of caring for those who most need government in this time of economic crisis. And look at what happened with our former crown jewel, the higher education system. Students virtually rioted because of 300% increases in tuition in a ten year period. We cannot go on that way. The LGBT movement needs to look after itself, but it had damn well better look after this state and other progressive imperatives or we’ll have nothing left. While we are having this discussion about research, the nation is gripped in debate about Afghanistan, healthcare and soon the environment. We have to look out for ourselves, but we are not only for ourselves. If we are, as Hillel said, who are we? And if we are, as any vote-counter would say, how can we win?

After Rick's initial response, I had a couple more questions which he answered.

1. Is the Courage Campaign being "secretive"?

Not at all. We are willing to disclose the basic nature of our work without giving away the details of this robust research, our methodology or thought process to the opposition. As campaign professionals across the spectrum would agree, it is not in the best interest of the LGBT movement to conduct this research in public; otherwise, there’s really no point in doing it.

As to the basic nature of our research, to repeat, we did a large series of focus groups, round tables, dyads and triads. The goal of the work was to get as broad and as diverse a view of potential swing voters as possible. To that end, we were in San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, LA and Concord. We did round tables with Asian-American, African-American, Latino groups. Our focus groups included all of the above and white folks. We worked with men and women. One conclusion we drew at the end of the focus groups was that we needed to do more qualitative work to go deeper on the issues of religion and education. A poll didn’t make sense at this time. More qualitative work should be done first.

2. Will the Courage Campaign focus group research be out-of-date by the time the LGBT community returns to the ballot box?

We conducted focus groups in order to get the best sense of what specific issues roadblock marriage equality, how deeply ingrained perceptions are on the issue, and what sort of messaging works best to address those issues. The results of our focus groups will inform the future polling done by us and other marriage equality advocates, and will be a cornerstone of a political strategy. So, unlike survey data, this focus group research is not out of date and won’t be because it is a fundamental building block for the next phases of research and for our current work.

Reporter Karen Ocamb of LGBT POV also had a chance to speak to Steve Hildebrand, who worked closely with the Courage Campaign on the research. You can see what he had to say on her blog.

Image by Marta Evry of Venice for Change.

Courage Campaign Not to Release Marriage Equality Research - Information Behind Project Could Help Mend Broken Trust

UPDATE: Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs responds to this post.

Thanks to reporter Rex Wockner, Steve Hildebrand, Obama's former Deputy Campaign Manager who worked with the Courage Campaign (CC) on their marriage equality research, has answered the question everyone's been asking - will the research that lead to the grassroots organization pulling out of the 2010 Prop 8 repeal effort be released?

Hildebrand answered in an email to Wockner:

Rightfully so, there is significant interest from reporters and bloggers about the research conducted for the Courage Campaign regarding same sex marriage and voter opinions in California. The high level of press interest should not dictate if this research is made public. What should dictate the public release of our research, is if it's in the best interest of winning same sex marriage rights. In my opinion -- and the opinion of the Courage Campaign -- we do not think it is in the best interest of the marriage equality movement to share strategic research with the media, as it would result in news stories that provide vital strategic information to our opponents.

Same sex marriage opponents have proven to do whatever it takes to prevent LGBT people from gaining equality. They have kept a tight lid on their strategy and tactics and it's proven successful. Our side needs to be just as smart and keep strategic data internal to our efforts.

From the time the California Courts ruled that same sex marriage should be allowed to the repeal put forth by the opposition, this has been a contentious battle. The Courage Campaign research is very instructive and will help lay a path to eventually gain marriage rights through a new vote of the people. We are preparing to share the research with LGBT groups in California and elsewhere.

Putting aside the drama surrounding CC's announcement (and seriously, were any of you that surprised? They have been hinting at it for some time), I have to agree that the core findings of this research should not be released to the public.

I mean, c'mon, many of us did pitch in on this research - do we want our dollars to go to waste by handing the information over to just anyone? I understand that many of you feel your trust has been betrayed because you believed CC was completely behind 2010, but that is a separate issue. The question at hand is what should be done with the research.

I've heard some say that no research was done at all, but I view that as simply a conspiracy theory cooked up in response to the confidentiality surrounding the research. Kind of like all the outlandish theories surrounding secret societies simply because they're secret.

I would ask of CC that they release some of the non-sensitive information, such as how much research was done? How extensive? Who did the analysis and how much of that was done? How much was spent and in what way? How much if any is left over? How big the sample base, what regions of California, etc?

However and whatever way you peel the onion, CC has lost some trust in the grassroots community, no matter whether you agree that trust should have been broken or not. Showing how much research was done and by whom, how much money was spent, how extensively and in what way, could be a first step in rebuilding that trust. (Another step could be to confidentially share their findings with other LGBT advocacy groups who may really need the information.) Otherwise, CC is well on its way to being ironically put in the same position as its old rival Equality California found themselves after Prop 8 - being angrily and distrustfully called to intense accountability with disbelief being the response to anything they say.

Calling our leaders into accountability should be standard practice anyway - but with trust and respect.

The California LGBT population is already suffering from a lack of trust in its leadership. Sure, progress has been made, but any more damage and our fight for equal rights in California may consume itself.

Image of Steve Hildebrand by Rex Wockner.

Courage Campaign Withdraws From 2010 Proposition 8 Repeal Effort

UPDATE 3 12/1/09: Los Angeles Times story on the diverging views amongst the local LGBT community and the strategy to undo Prop 8.

UPDATE 2 8:24 PST: Restore Equality 2010 has issued a response. See Bottom of post.

UPDATE: Lambda Legal's statement at bottom of post.

Original Post 11/30/09

The Courage Campaign, the largest LGBT grassroots organization in California working toward a Proposition 8 repeal in 2010 and one of the first to voice support for this strategy back in May, has announced today that more research and outreach needs to be done to clench a win for marriage equality in the Golden State and has withdrawn its support for a 2010 campaign.

Part of their press release states:

The Courage Campaign, in partnership with Lambda Legal, has recently concluded the first phase of extensive and groundbreaking research about public beliefs and concerns about marriage and homosexuality. It confirmed that attitudes are shifting steadily toward equal treatment of same-sex couples, and that conversations among family members and other close relationships inevitably speed the process. The statement released today is concurrent with a Lambda Legal statement.

"For months, we have laid out the criteria for moving forward. Like the Obama Campaign, we understand that we need a combination of powerful and clear research that informs an expertly run campaign, an unstoppable movement that harnesses the new energy we have seen since the passage of Prop. 8 and the connections through personal stories and outreach in order to win at the ballot box," said Rick Jacobs, the Courage Campaign founder and Chair. "We are taking the lessons learned from last year's Prop. 8 campaign, the campaigns in Maine and other states to understand the fundamental work that must be done before moving forward in California. We also must come together as a community to create a broad coalition and governance structure, put in place a strong manager and secure the resources to win. Right now, the pieces are not all in place to do so confidently."

The recently concluded research validated the lasting effect of the work already being done in the successful Camp Courage training program and by 44 Courage Equality Teams organizing across the state in 23 counties. These grassroots efforts are building support for marriage equality by training Californians to tap into their community's resources to start a conversation and connect the movement for equality to their own lives and their own experiences, along with the broader progressive agenda.

Jacobs hailed the work being done in the field by grassroots activists, saying, "We must build our ultimate victory from the lessons of our recent disappointments," continued Jacobs. "We know that we can change hearts and minds through real conversations with our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. This takes time and has to be built to scale -- so we can't delay. When we go back to the ballot, we must be strong, clear and embracing."

This announcement effectively leaves LGBT grassroots group Love Honor Cherish (LHC) alone in the forefront for a 2010 strategy. Recently, they kicked off a signature gathering campaign for a 2010 ballot initiative that, if passed, will undo the damage of Proposition 8. Statewide organizing coalition Restore Equality 2010, which includes grassroots representatives from across the state, is supporting the signature drive.

In response to Courage Campaign's announcement, John Henning, co-founder of LHC, told Unite the Fight in an email:

We respect Courage Campaign’s decision not to participate in the campaign to restore marriage equality in 2010. Every organization must focus its attention and resources on its most important priorities, and for the Courage Campaign those priorities include numerous progressive causes other than securing same-sex marriage rights.

Meanwhile, we invite individual members of Courage, 80 percent of whom voted to support returning to the ballot in 2010, to join the Sign For Equality campaign. You will join thousands of people across California who have made this campaign their highest priority, and who are busy gathering signatures now.

Currently, the state's largest LGBT advocacy group, Equality California, is focusing its efforts on its re-launched educational campaign Let California Ring with a goal of returning the issue of marriage equality to the ballot in 2012.

Courage Campaign will continue to conduct its well-received Camp Courage and has recently launched its educational campaign Courageous Conversations, which encourages those in the LGBT population and their allies to talk to friends and families about marriage equality over the holidays, utilizing their "story of self," a tool taught at Camp Courage.

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Lambda Legal's press release:

Lambda Legal today called for more outreach, education, research and time to change hearts and minds before returning to the ballot to reopen marriage to gay and lesbian couples in California. At least one initiative to restore marriage equality for same-sex couples is currently circulating that, if it qualifies, would appear on the November, 2010 ballot, but Lambda Legal believes that putting this measure to a vote in 2012 is the strongest strategy.

The Courage Campaign, in partnership with Lambda Legal and other leading groups, has recently concluded the first phase of extensive and groundbreaking research about public beliefs about marriage and gay people. It confirms that attitudes are shifting steadily toward equal treatment of same-sex couples, and that conversations among family members and other close relationships inevitably speed the process.

"Over the past year since Prop 8's passage, we've expanded our community education in California and have seen the remarkable national progress exert a positive influence here," said Jennifer C. Pizer, Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal. "We've seen our many community groups collaborating as never before. With the great field operations of the Courage Campaign, Vote for Equality, Equality California and countless new activists and allies across the state, the next two years hold great promise. This work complements the efforts within California's racial and ethnic minority communities and within the state's diverse communities of faith. There has never been any doubt that the LGBT community and our friends and allies will restore marriage equality in California ÿÿ the only question has been when. We now believe it's November 2012."

The recently concluded research validated the lasting effect of the work already being done in the successful Camp Courage program and by Courage Equality Teams organizing across the state. These grassroots efforts are building support for marriage equality by training Californians to tap into their community's resources to start a conversation and connect the movement for equality to their own lives and their own experiences. This outreach has surged ahead, fueled by the passion and determination of countless new activists who have committed to this cause within the past year.

"We're so close," said Pizer. "Each year, each month, public understanding shifts a bit more in our direction. As crushing as it was to lose in Maine this year and in California in 2008, support is building strongly in our favor: in 2000, Proposition 22 won with 61 percent of the vote; Proposition 8 passed by a meager margin of only four points. It's insulting to have to wait and work to regain a core human right that should never have been taken. As legal advocates, we know minorities should never have to beg the majority for equal rights. Given the decision by the California Supreme Court earlier this year, that's our only path. It's essential that we choose wisely when to return to the ballot ÿÿ while we're within striking distance, we believe we're not there yet."


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Restore Equality 2010 response:

Restore Equality 2010 (RE 2010), the statewide coalition of organizations committed to repealing California’s Proposition 8 in 2010, responded strongly to the statements issued today by the Courage Campaign and Lamba Legal calling for more time before returning to the ballot box. Jo Hoenninger, chair of the interim Executive Committee for RE 2010, said, “This is a movement for equality. Harvey Milk didn’t wait for research. He hit the streets year after year. We honor his memory by gathering signatures now so our rights can be restored in 2010 not at some later time when it might be an easier struggle.” Hoenninger added, “We appreciate the research work done by the Courage Campaign. The results to date – that one-to-one conversations are the most effective way to change hearts and minds – show that it is all the more important for us to continue to have the conversations necessary to gather the signatures for 2010 repeal of Proposition 8 .”

RE 2010 continues to work with coalition partner Love Honor Cherish to gather 1 million signatures by next April ensuring a repeal of Proposition 8 is on the California ballot in 2010. Through the first-of-its-kind social networking site SignforEquality.com signatures have been gathered at locations in every corner of the state of California by volunteers, and have been signed and sent from home by individuals. “We understand that a grassroots effort takes time to find its feet,” said Jeffrey Taylor, spokesman for RE 2010, “We are staunchly committed to creating increased momentum until we meet our goal. Concurrently, we are working to ensure every place and every population in this great state has a voice in the 2010 campaign when we reach our goal.” Taylor continues, “Even though the leadership of the Courage Campaign chooses to wait, many of Courage Campaign’s members are regional representatives with RE 2010. In fact, 80% of the membership of the Courage Campaign are in favor of a Prop. 8 repeal in 2010 “

RE 2010 remains confident even though organizations like the Courage Campaign and Lambda Legal prefer to stand on the sidelines for now. “We are encouraged by the LA Times poll showing an increase in support among Californians for same-sex marriage (now 51% of Californians favor marriage equality), and we are also encouraged by the initial findings from Courage’s research showing a shift in our favor as well.” said Taylor. Hoenninger agrees, “We know this a tough battle, but we are up for the challenge and fully expect those who disagree with us to respect our volunteers.” Taylor adds, “We look forward to Courage Campaign and many other great organizations keeping their promise to join us when the signature gathering effort has been successful and the ballot campaign commences.”

Actors Missi Pyle and Shawnee Smith Wed! Only If They Really Could . . .

In a show of support for marriage equality, actors Missi Pyle and Shawnee Smith participated in a mock wedding ceremony officiated by comedian/actor/Queer As Folk star Hal Sparks.

The event was set up to promote Revenge Is... "All Love is Equal" t-shirt line which will benefit Love Honor Cherish (LHC), the Los Angeles-based grassroots group who is leading the effort behind the 2010 initiative to repeal Prop 8. (See Unite the Fight's interview with LHC regarding the repeal.)



Marilyn Barret wrote about the event on the Huffington Post. The mock ceremony sparked in her the question, "Gays and lesbians are legally protected against most forms of discrimination. What is it about marriage?"

Proposition 8 2010 Repeal Supporters, Not Swayed by Criticism, Explain Strategy Behind the Five Initiatives Submitted

UPDATE 11/19 8:45am PST: San Diegans kick off Prop 8 repeal signature drive

Original posted 11/18/09:

For a year now, the debate on when to go back to the ballot to restore marriage equality to California and repeal Proposition 8 has raged not only amongst the Golden State's LGBT population and its allies but also nationwide.

After the devastating defeat in Maine, the fundamentalist pundits claimed that it was a sign Americans were not ready for legalized same-sex marriage, despite the many advances in Iowa and New England. Unfortunately, contrary to what the politicians say, legislators in both New York and New Jersey appear to have taken a cue from what happened in Maine and are dragging their heels on voting for proposed marriage equality legislation in their respective states.

Currently, the District of Columbia shines as the one bright spot in the nation with its marriage equality bill predicted to pass before the end of the year, despite the Archdiocese of Washington threatening to end Catholic charities if marriage equality is legalized in the jurisdiction.

Amongst these developments, Love Honor Cherish (LHC), the California based LGBT grassroots group leading the charge for a 2010 Proposition 8 repeal, announced Monday the launch of the signature gathering campaign for its ballot initiative. Alongside the announcement, it kicked off the social site and online campaign hub, Sign For Equality.

"SignForEquality.com today launched a groundbreaking effort to gather signatures to repeal Proposition 8 and restore equal marriage rights for same-sex couples marking the first time that social networking technology has been used to qualify a California initiative for the ballot," said the group's press release Monday.

On the same day, California Secretary of State issued a statement that five ballot initiatives had been submitted and approved for signature gathering that caused some confusion.

CA SoS Statement on Five Marriage Equality Ballot Initiatives

John Henning, co-founder of LHC, confirmed with Unite the Fight (UTF) that five versions of repeal language were submitted to the Secretary.

"The reason we submitted five back in September was because of ongoing discussions about which five were most appealing to voters," Henning said. "There were some that voters responded to better."

At the time the language was submitted, Courage Campaign was in the middle of conducting research that LHC hoped would give guidance on which version was the best.

"The research that was underway at the time did inform the five ways the language was written, but we didn’t have any conclusive results on which of the five versions was the best. So we made that decision based on our own good judgment," Henning said.

Henning explained that all the language is very similar and was vetted by very prominent lawyers in the marriage movement, along with other leaders and Equality California (EQCA), the state's largest LGBT advocacy group.

Marc Solomon, Marriage Director for EQCA, confirmed this back in October with UTF. "It was mainly Geoff," he said, referring to Geoff Kors, EQCA's Executive Director. "He’s a Stanford educated lawyer and has much more legal expertise than I do."

Version 5 or 09-0042 ended up being the final language behind which the signature gathering campaign was launched. Henning said that the statewide organizing group Restore Equality 2010 (RE 2010) was involved in the decision making process.

"The final decision was made about a week before they were approved," Henning informed. "We allowed for plenty of time to think about it and [RE 2010]'s Interim Administrative Group (IAG) to consider the matter and give advice. We waited to choose because we wanted the input from everybody we could possibly have."

Henning said that the executive committee of LHC was strongly in favor of version 5 and that the IAG voted unanimously for it.

The full language reads:

This amendment would amend an existing section of the California Constitution. Existing language proposed to be deleted is printed in strikeout type. Language proposed to be added is printed in underlined type.

Section 1. To protect religious freedom, no court shall interpret this measure to require any priest, minister, pastor, rabbi, or other person authorized to perform marriages by any religious denomination, church, or other non-profit religious institution to perform any marriage in violation of his or her religious beliefs. The refusal to perform a marriage under this provision shall not be the basis for lawsuit or liability, and shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any religious denomination, church or other religious institution.

Section 2. To provide for fairness in the government’s issuance of marriage licenses, Section 7.5 of Article I of the California Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Marriage is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

In an email blast sent out Monday, RE 2010 gave a list of actions for supporters of the signature gathering campaign, including donating to reach their goal of $10,000 to cover the cost of the petition drive.

“We set a goal of $10,000 between now and December 1 for a variety reasons," said Jane Wishon, who is part of RE 2010's IAG. "We need money to start the process, update our website and logo, and provide resources for signature gatherers all over the state so that can be out gathering signatures rather than worrying about raising the money needed.”

“At the same time, we need to prove to the larger donors in the community that we’re legitimate, we’re for real and that we can do this,” she added. Monday's email stated they had succeeded in raising 20% of their goal. "I think today we’re at 25% or over $2,500."

LHC will act as the clearinghouse for the signatures that are turned in and will safeguard those submitted either online or mailed to their PO Box that has been set up to receive large amounts of mail.

The Blueprint for Equality, LHC's strategy on a 2010 victory released in July, states that 5,500 volunteers will be needed over the course of 150 days to gather the one million signatures required to qualify for the ballot. 5,000 will each spend one day gathering 100 signatures per volunteer, another 500 "super-volunteers" will spend 10 days gathering the same amount each day.

"What we are looking for is a combination of hardcore volunteers" and others who will give one day said Henning. "The ten days over 150 days is one full day every two weeks for the volunteer. To me it’s a commitment, but it’s not an enormous commitment. We’re looking for 500 people throughout the state to give us that commitment."

"Many of these people we won’t actually ever meet because they’ll be inspired to do it through the website or send them in through the mail," Henning added. "On top of that, they’ll be many people who will be sending just 10 signatures. They’ll have friends and family sign and then send them in."

Gathering 100 signatures in a day is challenge, but Henning doesn't doubt that they'll qualify for the ballot. "I'm extremely confident. I wouldn’t be spending my own time if I didn’t think this will be getting on the ballot."

But LHC and RE 2010 have faced many naysayers, some going as far as urging people to decline to sign the petition. They fear that going to the ballot this soon after Prop 8 will create a backlash against the marriage movement. Others have pointed out that polling has shown no shift in opinion in California on the issue of same-sex marriage, and after the defeat in Maine, believe it is unwise to move forward.

"Sadly, there’s a lot of defeatism in our community," Henning responds. "Some of it comes from the pain of losing Prop 8. You have to have faith that things are going to be better. We can’t just wallow in defeat and fear. People are capable of changing their minds. I know there are people who think we can’t win and they’re always be people who think we can’t win. But there are many people who do."

Henning, whose grandfather is from Maine, has spent every summer of his life in Pine Tree state, claims that Maine wasn't a factor in their decision to move forward. "The defeat in Maine was always possible," he said. "Maine is a relatively rural state. It’s not nearly as diverse of a state as California. Not many people know gay people in Maine. I was amazed that it even got far enough for people to vote."

"What happens in a state that is 3,000 miles away and is 1/30 of the size of California doesn’t really affect what happens in California," he added.

Others resistant to going back in 2010 accuse the groups leading the charge of steamrolling and wonder why LHC should be the ones to heading it up.

"Our group has heart and we represent a part of the pure grassroots in the state," Henning said. "We are not a staffed organization. We are not controlled by big donors. We are doing this because we think it’s the right thing to do. There is no agenda. I think people should look to that, that we have consistently pushed for this with no other agenda."

Henning paused for a moment, then added, "Restore Equality 2010 is another group that has taken a leadership position because these other staffed groups have chosen not to. It was never our intention to be the leader of the 2010 charge, and we’re not going to sit down because a large group that claims to be in charge of the movement has decided not to play ball."

EQCA has stated that if the language qualifies for the 2010 ballot, then they will throw their weight behind the campaign to give the best chances of a victory.

"We’re not going to abandon the effort once the initiative qualifies," Henning remarked. "We’re going to be a part of it. We hope that Equality California will be part of it. They said they will be. I hope we do it all together. We know that a lot of people in the LGBT community want this."

Images by Phillip Minton.

Website Launched for Volunteer-Based Signature Gathering Campaign for 2010 Prop 8 Repeal

UPDATE: the organizing group Restore Equality 2010, has issued the following in response to the signature gathering campaign.

Restore Equality 2010, the statewide coalition of organizations committed to repealing Californiaʼs Proposition 8 in 2010, applauds the launch of the petition drive and social networking site www.signforequality.com by its coalition member Love Honor Cherish, and is ready to implement a statewide plan to support the volunteer signature-gathering effort.

The proponents of the ballot initiative have until April 12, 2010 to gather approximately 1 million signatures.

“This is the moment activists across our great state have been waiting for,” said Jeffrey Taylor, spokesperson for Restore Equality 2010. “Restore Equality 2010 is thrilled to mobilize in support of SignForEquality.com and Love Honor Cherishʼs inspiring and unwavering stand for the immediate restoration of marriage equality in California. The petition drive will be bolstered by our statewide grassroots effort.”

Since the grassroots organizationʼs establishment on August 29, 2009, Restore Equality 2010 has been working diligently to implement The Davis Plan, a democratic structure to ensure the repeal effort covers all geographic regions, populations and supportive organizations across the state. “We are clear that we have a winning structure, and we are clear that the grassroots is the best place to source the repeal campaign,” said Taylor. “The grassroots is nimble enough to embrace the best strategies and tactics to conduct an effective campaign, such as the first-of-its-kind social networking site for our petition drive, SignForEquality.com.”

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Love Honor Cherish (LHC) the grassroots group leading the charge for a 2010 initiative to restore marriage equality in California, has today launched SignForEquality.com, a social site that will be the hub for the volunteer-based signature gathering campaign to put the Prop 8 repeal on the 2010 ballot.

Here's their press release:

SignForEquality.com today launched a groundbreaking effort to gather signatures to repeal Proposition 8 and restore equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, marking the first time that social networking technology has been used to qualify a California initiative for the ballot.

“We’re taking names,” said John Henning, who is heading the SignForEquality.com effort as Executive Director of Love Honor Cherish. “SignForEquality.com will make history by using custom social networking tools, as well as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, to support an all-volunteer signature drive to repeal Prop 8. People throughout California can now help us win marriage back by the simple act of signing and collecting signatures.”

Love Honor Cherish launched www.SignForEquality.com as part of the volunteer signature drive, which began today. The site features a downloadable petition form and training videos for signature gatherers, and uses unique social networking technology to help gatherers set goals, build teams, and find signature gathering events. “In its first day, SignForEquality.com is already the state of the art in California petition signature gathering,” said Henning.

Henning noted that in recent years, signature gathering campaigns have been in the hands of a few powerful elite, who qualify ballot initiatives by spending millions on paid signature gatherers. “SignForEquality.com brings the campaign back to the people,” said Henning. “We’re going to qualify this initiative person by person, and signature by signature.”

The proponents of the ballot initiative have 150 days to gather approximately 1 million signatures. The signatures are due on April 12, 2010.

Love Honor Cherish is one of more than 40 groups that support repealing Prop 8 at the next general election in November 2010. The groups include the Latino Equality Alliance, the Mexican American Bar Association, and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality, among others. For a full list, go to www.RepealProp8.com. Love Honor Cherish is also part of the Restore Equality 2010 coalition, which has elected representatives throughout the state.

As signature gathering gets underway, the campaign to change the hearts and minds of voters has already begun and will continue through the November 2010 election. “Prop 8 passed last year with just 52% of the vote,” said Henning. “Now, a year later, a recent L.A. Times poll says that 51% favor marriage equality. In the next 12 months, we’ll make that margin even bigger.”

Proposition 8 was an amendment to the California Constitution passed by voters in November 2008. It reversed a California Supreme Court decision in May 2008, which held that same-sex couples were guaranteed equal marriage rights under the California Constitution. The new ballot proposition is also a constitutional amendment.

The proposed measure reads as follows:

This amendment would amend an existing section of the California Constitution. Existing language proposed to be deleted is printed in strikeout type. Language proposed to be added is printed in underlined type.

Section 1. To protect religious freedom, no court shall interpret this measure to require any priest, minister, pastor, rabbi, or other person authorized to perform marriages by any religious denomination, church, or other non-profit religious institution to perform any marriage in violation of his or her religious beliefs. The refusal to perform a marriage under this provision shall not be the basis for lawsuit or liability, and shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any religious denomination, church or other religious institution.

Section 2. To provide for fairness in the government’s issuance of marriage licenses, Section 7.5 of Article I of the California Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Marriage is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

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Signature Gathering will be taking place in locations throughout the state. For more information about locations and other opportunities for media coverage, contact Mike Roth at 310-433-8685 or mike.roth@lovehonorcherish.org

Back in July, LHC released their Blueprint for Equality, their strategy to a 2010 victory. It projects that, over the course of a winning campaign, they will need to enlist 12,500 volunteers and raise $31.3 million to repeal Prop 8.

Specifically for the signature gathering phase, LHC wants to avoid spending $2 per signature through paid signature gatherers, which could cost millions. So their focus is an all-volunteer effort, which is quite a daunting task. The Blueprint states:

An all-volunteer signature gathering effort would be a major undertaking. It takes about 4-6 hours to collect 100 signatures in a public place. Therefore, to get the required 1 million signatures, it would take, for example: (1) 5,000 volunteers spending one full day at a shopping center, or a full evening at a bar to get 100 signatures, for a total of 500,000 signatures, plus (2) 500 “super-volunteers” each doing this 10 times over the course of 5 months, for an additional 500,000 signatures. This is a total of 5,500 volunteers, a number that is large but attainable given the high level of interest in repealing Prop 8. It is also important to note that signature gathering can occur anywhere in the state. The only requirement is that the signatures and the petition circulators are registered voters.

To get involved in this historical effort, go to SignForEquality.com.

Californians Rebel Against 2010 Marriage Vote

Despite a slight 51% majority of Californians supporting marriage equality while 43% oppose, 60% of them do not want to revisit the issue in 2010 says the Los Angeles Times. Just last year 52% passed Prop 8 while 48% opposed it.

The findings come from a new Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences poll of 1,500 registered voters who were interviewed from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3. It was conducted by two nationally prominent polling firms, the Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies.

Views on same-sex marriage were sharply polarized based on political party, with 66% of Democrats thinking it should be legal and 71% of Republicans in opposition. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59%-34%.

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The survey showed that same-sex marriage continues to reverberate differently along race and generational lines. Just over half of whites backed it, while just under half of African Americans and Latinos did.

All three groups, however, opposed having to vote on it in 2010. (Asians were questioned by the poll and included in the overall sample, but their numbers were statistically too small to isolate.) Young voters continued to be far more supportive of gay marriage rights than their elders.

Among those ages 18-29, 71% said they supported same-sex marriage; among those 65 and older, only 37% favored it. Younger voters were also one of the few groups who backed putting it on the 2010 ballot, which will be dominated by the races for governor and U.S. Senate.

This could raise some red flags for groups like Love Honor Cherish and Equality Network who among others are leading the charge to restore marriage equality to California in 2010 and are actively involved in the statewide organizing group Restore Equality 2010. (They were also the lead organizers behind Wednesday's march in remembrance of Prop 8's passage.)

This Sunday, November 8, they will be holding a town hall meeting to discuss the signature gathering campaign to get language on the 2010 ballot to undo Prop 8.

The Facebook Event Page states:

For activists in: Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Chinatown, Culver City, Fairfax, Hollywood, Koreatown, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Mid-Wilshire, Pacific Palisades, Playa Vista, Santa Monica, Silverlake, Venice Beach, Westwood, West Hollywood, and West L.A.

√ Learn about Restore Equality 2010 and the movement to repeal Proposition 8

√ Help qualify our marriage equality initiative for the ballot by signing up as a volunteer
or Hub Coordinator

√ Get training on how to properly collect signatures

√ Meet and strategize with fellow activists

VIDEO: Los Angeles One Year Prop 8 Anniversary March and Rally. Strategies Against Prop 8 Still Vary.

Last night in Los Angeles, more than 200 hundred of us took to the streets to remember the devastating passage of Proposition 8 one year ago. And after the defeat in Maine, we had even more reason to remind the world that we won't sit back while our rights are being stripped away.

The battle with Prop 8 is far from over. The federal challenge against it is set to go to trial this January. That's right - trial! It will be the first time a marriage case will have a full trial, with expert witnesses, first-hand accounts and an examination into the motivations of those who work against us.

Chad Griffin of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization behind the Olson/Boies team fighting Prop 8 in court, said "Our founding fathers did not intend for people's Constitutional rights to be determined by political campaigns. The results in Maine underscore exactly why we are challenging California's same sex marriage ban in federal court. When the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia, more than 70 percent of Americans disapproved of interracial marriage. The U.S. Constitution guarantees equal rights to every American, and when those rights are violated, it is the role of our courts to protect us, regardless of what the polls say."



On top of the court case, Restore Equality 2010 is working to return marriage equality to California at the ballot next year. They are gearing up for signature gathering and fund-raising.

Their press release states, "Tapping into the anger of Proposition 8 and the loss in Maine, the 'Million for a Million' campaign will include an online fundraising appeal to a network of more than 400,000 grassroots activists, fundraising events in Southern California, Northern California and the Central Valley, and outreach to major donors within the LGBT community in California and throughout the country."

“With a sophisticated online component and with the support we have among the grassroots, I believe we can raise the money necessary to move the campaign for 2010 to the next level,” said Eugene Hedlund, founder of TruthandHope.org, whose organization won awards for its work on the Obama campaign.




Organizations throughout the state have endorsed the “Million for a Million” campaign including: Yes! on Equality; TruthandHope.org; Equality Network; One Struggle, One Fight; Meet in the Middle for Equality; and Restore Equality 2010, whose members include Love Honor Cherish, SAME, Stonewall Democrats, Marriage Equality USA, Latino Equality Alliance and more.

Other groups are focusing on an educational campaign on marriage to lay the foundation for a 2012 ballot initiative. Equality California recently announced that they will be relaunching Let California Ring, an outreach and educational arm of the state's largest LGBT advocacy group.

Courage Campaign, one of the largest progressive netroots organizations in California and on record of being in support of 2010, is currently still conducting in-depth research, while consulting with Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand, to determine the best strategy going forward.

Images by Marta Evry of Venice for Change; slide show by yours truly. (And yes, that's me with Lt. Dan Choi.)

California's Restore Equality 2010 Issues Fundraising Challenge for Marriage Equality Research

I received this in my inbox from Restore Equality 2010, the coalition working to restore marriage equality to California next year. I thought I would pass it on!

Hello, fellow Restore Equality Activists!

You’ve been asking what you can do to help restore marriage equality…

Good news!

You can help us get the word out about our upcoming signature gathering campaign by answering our challenge match!

We will be announcing our own fundraising efforts soon, but we believe that asking for major contributions for Restore Equality 2010 should come after the election out of respect to Maine and Washington’s upcoming elections.

Research Benefits Our Efforts

The generous folks at Courage Campaign have been conducting research to ensure that we have the best ballot language submitted so that we can win in 2010. In order to find those voters who have not made up their mind about marriage equality, additional funding was needed. We benefit from the findings of this research, so Restore Equality 2010 is asking you to help us contribute to their efforts.

A few anonymous donors have already come forward, issuing a challenge to the RE 2010 team: Raise $1750 towards our coalition partner Courage Campaign's research, and they will match your donations for a total of $3500! That doesn’t sound like much, and we think you all will do better. To donate now, go to http://actblue.com/page/coalitionchallenge

This comparatively small goal, however, can be achieved in a few days...or even hours...if we get the word out. This is your opportunity to see how easily fundraising goals are achieved when we communicate in large numbers. If we get 100 people to donate $17.50, or if we get 200 people to donate $8.75, then we meet our goal. Please be clear there is no donation too small. As President Obama's winning campaign showed, large numbers of people donating $5, $10, $20 at a time can break fundraising records. Let's start showing California and the entire country just what we are capable of doing. Again, the link to donate is: http://actblue.com/page/coalitionchallenge

If you make a donation of $25 or more, we’ll send you a Restore Equality 2010 shirt.

You can be the first in your community to proudly wear your activism for this cause!

Here's a quote from the e-mail from our anonymous donors:

"I consider collaboration with Courage Campaign and all the other orgs doing great work for 2010 vital. I also consider showing the community that Restore Equality 2010 can raise funds equally vital. I am contributing these matching funds so that the RE 2010 community can see how small, incremental goals in fundraising can be achieved easily, and how even small donations are big communications that inform how campaigns are run."

And here's what Courage Campaign's Rick Jacobs has had to say about the research:

"Leading California elected officials and community leaders have hailed this research process as the key first step in winning back marriage equality. A joint statement released by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former State Senator Shelia Kuehl, San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty, LA City Council Member Bill Rosendahl, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and SCLC’s Rev. Eric Lee said, “We must support the intensive public opinion research work necessary to provide reliable and useful information to the movement for equality. The Courage Campaign's plan for conducting this research, led by Steve Hildebrand, is exactly what we need to get that work started. These steps are critical to helping us understand how to move Californians to support marriage equality and how to change the way those who still don't support us think about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."

When our friends at Courage called for their members to support the research, they expected some of the money to come from the coalition of groups who support repealing Prop 8 in 2010. That's us. No matter how you feel about the research and its cost (marketing and campaign professionals on the IAG confirm that $350,000 for statewide research is comparatively inexpensive), our contributing to Courage helps Rick Jacobs, Sarah Callahan and others be able to sell a 2010 repeal to the doubters far more easily.

To donate, go to http://actblue.com/page/coalitionchallenge

The members of the IAG are grateful to you for your hard work and dedication not just towards restoring equality in 2010, but in helping our LBGT community realize its full potential as activists and leaders.

In solidarity,

The Restore Equality 2010 Interim Administrative Group

P.S. Don't forget: If you make a donation at http://actblue.com/page/coalitionchallenge of $25 or more, we’ll send you a Restore Equality 2010 shirt!

VIDEO: Restore Equality 2010 Holds Town Hall in Santa Barbara

Unlike what happened with Prop 22, Santa Barbara rejected Prop 8 due to a lot of hard work done by locals who support LGBT rights.

Santa Barbara once again is at the forefront, this time gearing up to undo Prop 8's damage by restoring marriage equality to California in 2010.

Santa Barbara affiliate KCOY reports on the Restore Equality 2010 town hall that took place Saturday.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: EQCA's Marc Solomon Talks About Relaunching 'Let California Ring', 2010 and 2012

There's been a lot of talk lately about the progress Restore Equality 2010 has been making throughout California, a coalition of grassroots groups who believe in returning to the ballot in 2010 to restore marriage equality. They've created the Davis Plan, which divides California up into 10 regions which will then elect their own representatives, and have established an Interim Administrative Group that is helping organize the process.

But during all this progress, I've wondered, "What progress is being made for November, 2012?" One of the major accusations against those who support 2012 is that they prefer to wait for their rights instead of fighting for them immediately. They object to this claim, stating that for the next three years, they will be working hard to navigate California's complicated demographics through field work and messaging, leading to a well-developed campaign for 2012.

So I decided to check in with Marc Solomon, Marriage Director for Equality California (EQCA), whose organization has become the forefront of the 2012 movement. When I called him up, he remarked on my timing. EQCA had a major announcement to make.

The Announcement

We sat down together at Java Detour, a local coffee house haunt, and I asked, "What's the big announcement?"

"We are relaunching Let California Ring," Marc answered. "By that I mean, we’ve added new people to the Executive Committee and the idea is to bring together resources and leaders who are doing critical work on the ground."

A press release issued today stated, "Let California Ring is the country’s largest marriage education effort of its kind. Today a broad-based coalition re-launched Let California Ring, a comprehensive campaign to build support for marriage for California’s same-sex couples with a focus on work in communities of color."

"Let California Ring (LCR) is a not-for-profit marriage education campaign. It’s not about a specific year - it’s about educating and moving people on the issue of marriage," Marc told me. "Between 2006 and 2008, it invested 15 million dollars of moving people on the freedom to marry. It did a lot of work – it invested about 4 million in paid advertising and different kinds of media – newspaper, radio, some television, all in the people of color (POC) communities.

"There was a lot of good work done, but it was overshadowed by the win in courts [the marriage cases] and the NO on 8 campaign, which was a much bigger and intense campaign."

Though Equality California Institute is the fiscal sponsor, LCR is a coalition of groups. "LCR is housed at EQCA Institute, we’re the convenors, but the Executive Committee of LCR is charged with developing budget, raising the funding – so it’s a true coalition and partnership."

The New Let California Ring

So, who are the new people on the LCR's Executive Committee?

"The people who have stayed on is Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry; Matt Foreman of HAAS Jr. Fund and former Executive Director of the Task Force and Empire State Pride Agenda; Thalia Zepatos, consultant of the National Collaborative, and Shannon Minter [of NCLR]," Marc informed. "New folks are me, Marc Solomon; Louis Lopez, founder of Honor PAC, who in my opinion, is the most sophisticated Latino LGBT organization that I’ve run across; Karin Wang, who's on the board of API Equality LA; Ron Buckmire, who chairs the Jordan Rustin Coalition; Rev. Madison Schockley, an amazing supporter, who is an African American United Church of Christ minister in N. County San Diego; Kathy Schwamberger, Vice Chair of EQCA Institute Board; and Roger Doughty, Executive Director of the Horizons Foundation out of San Francisco."

So what's the plan?

"We want to raise at least 15 million over the next three years," Marc said. "The primary focus of this work is going to be to move POC communities on the issue of marriage."

By partnering with organizations represented in the LCR's Executive Committee, as well as faith organizations, such as California Faith For Equality, Marc informed they plan "to do message testing development across the board, but particularly develop messaging that will work in these specific communities." All of this will be part of an education campaign.

"What we want to do in 2010 is research and work on pilot projects to put in place the messaging and delivery mechanisms that work, and put people on the ground to do the field organizing. So yes, it involves message testing."

And after that?

"The next step is to improve our messaging and then to add more components to a field education campaign. The additional components are media, TV, radio, online, newspaper ads, direct mail, mobilizing leaders in the community, getting news stories placed," he said.

Marc then refers to the work LCR did in the past, which he characterizes as having been "pretty scientific."

"They picked Santa Barbara and Monterey, which are similar communities in many respects," he said. In Santa Barbara and Monterey, they did polling before any work was begun. Then in Santa Barbara, they began an education campaign with paid media and field work. In Monterey, which was the control variable, they did no work.

"It was a two month experiment and there was some pretty dramatic movement in the polling [in Santa Barbara]," Marc said. "People from 18-29, the movement was 19% and Monterey showed no movement."

"It created this echo chamber [in Santa Barbara] where you see the TV ads and you talk about them, and you see someone at your fair and festival, talk to someone about marriage, you get a knock on your door, you get a direct mail, and it spurred on lots and lots of conversations and it spurred on a lot of volunteer activity," Marc continued. "So Santa Barbara was more prepared for the NO on 8 campaign. If you talked to the Santa Barbara people at the Gay and Lesbian Center, they were really ready and put on a strong local effort."

Santa Barbara voted against Prop 8, a marked change from Prop 22.

"People move only one way on this issue, and it’s our way," he said. "It’s about provoking conversations, hearing people’s personal stories, seeing things that relate to you and on television."

So how will LCR look today?

"We want many more groups and organizations involved with this work as much as possible," Marc said. "We’re creating three committees to help them get involved."

1. Messaging Committee - they will work with a team of experts, some with more specific expertise in POC messaging. "What we’re envisioning is that all the people out there with the ideas of messaging - because many people have become real analysts of media - we want to provide a way for plenty of input and suggestions and then test them and try them out. We then want to go out and do real training on how to use the messaging. And have different methods on line and use our field operation as a means of disseminating that messaging. Having a task force for the back and forth is important."
2. Families Committee - this committee will focus on getting the stories of the 18,000 same-sex couples legally married in California during the "summer of love" before Prop 8 passed out to the public. "What we’ll do through this committee is organize and train married couples, their children, their parents as well as those who aspire to get married to tell their stories," Marc informed. "And specifically, one of the projects is going to set up a speakers bureau, and our field organizers will identify places for them to speak – such as churches and community groups and labor meetings, you name it. With the message research that we will have done, we will conduct training of the couples, but the most important part of the training is help people speak from the heart as to why marriage matters to them, or to their moms, son and son-in-law."
3. Field Committee - "The idea is to expand the reach and level of involvement of door-to-door canvassing. The concept that we’re thinking about or envisioning is a statewide field committee and then the local committees that will support the field work."

How will this differ from all the work going on right now, especially for 2010?

"This work is persuasion work on the freedom to marry no matter when we go back to the ballot," Marc answered. "It’s not connected to any year. It’s to build greater and greater support by having personal conversations. In order to be effective, we have to grow the numbers of people who are taking action."

The Work for 2012

What’s actually being done for 2012 that’s different?

"I think that this is the work right now that needs to happen to get ready to go back to the ballot down the road," Marc said.

But he immediately added, "So why am I saying down the road? It's because LCR is not-for-profit - it’s educational, it’s a 501c3. This work done by the EQCA Institute cannot be about a specific year."

Marc paused, thinking hard about his next words. "However, wearing my advocacy hat, we want to be in a place where were are prepared to go back to the ballot in 2012. That might sound a little convoluted, but because 501c3 is about education, it’s not about ballots."

"EQCA, the advocacy organization, has made it very clear about when we support going back to the ballot, and that’s November 2012 and not later, " he added. "We think reasonable deadlines have power."

2010 Decline to Sign Campaign?

This led to my next question on a touchy subject. There's been rumblings amongst the 2010 groups that a Decline to Sign campaign has been in the works against a 2010 ballot initiative. I asked him directly if EQCA was engaging in this, or if he knew of one in the works.

Marc shook his head and said emphatically, "I can say definitively - no. Absolutely not. And that it is shocking to hear that word is floating around, and I wonder, 'Where is this coming from?'"

I asked if he knew.

"I have no idea," he answered. "Honestly, it’s sort of sad that that idea is floating out there. Disappointing."

Thoughts on 2010 Progress

Recently, Love Honor Cherish submitted several different versions of ballot language to the Attorney General as place holders for 2010. It was reported that EQCA had input on the language. But how much?

"It was mainly Geoff," Marc said, referring to Geoff Kors, EQCA's Executive Director. "He’s a Stanford educated lawyer and has much more legal expertise than I do."

"So look, the idea is that when anything that is submitted on behalf of our community, we should be putting our best selves forward," he quickly added. "We don’t want to end up with a summary from the Attorney General or a title from the Attorney General that disadvantages us because once there’s a precedent, that could be used for future ballot language as well. We don’t want ballot language that would hurt kids and create a precedent there either. So even though we couldn’t be more clear that we think 2012 is the right time to go back and that 2010 is the wrong time to go back to the ballot, we still are providing technical support because whatever is submitted could have long-lasting ramifications."

I was curious to know what he thought of the progress made by Restore Equality 2010.

"I know a lot of the people who have gotten involved in 2010 well."

Marc then laughed as he thought of a story. "I was out this past Saturday night, and it’s almost comical. I went up to a friend of mine who is a 2010 person and asked, 'Are we allowed to talk because you’re 2010 and I’m 2012?' We just laughed about it because in some ways, it’s become this sort of dividing line. One the one hand, it’s very serious, and on the other, you can sometimes be lighthearted about the fact that we are all fighting for the exact same thing, and we are divided into these different camps.

"I respect lots and lots of people who are fighting for 2010. I admire the motivations of many of them - the passion and the reasoning. And I disagree. Period. And I wish we weren’t in this situation and I wish we were all pulling together behind a plan."

The Status of California's Grassroots

It's been almost a year since Prop 8, and I've observed energy is waning. So I asked Marc for his view was on the current grassroots situation in California.

Marc mulled this over a bit.

"In the wording of the website of LCR, which we’ve updated, we’ve made very clear that the world is a changed place and that grassroots leadership is exceptionally important to the success of the equality movement," Marc answered. "I feel EQCA, and I personally feel, a great sense of responsibility to support, nurture and learn from the new grassroots activists.

"I see some groups that are really finding niches for themselves and continue to do really important work, groups that have a lot of staying power, like Equal Roots and FAIR," he said. "I was very impressed at the leadership of Kip Williams of One Struggle One Fight. He is someone who has a huge amount of integrity. I think what he pulled off in helping put together by co-directing the [National Equality March] was really exceptional. These kind of leaders need to be supported."

Marc paused.

"At the same time, I think the idea that we should go back to the ballot as soon as possible because if we don’t, the grassroots is going to die, is sort of the tail wagging the dog. The grassroots needs to be in this struggle for marriage equality and equality for all LGBT people for the long haul."

How Supporters Can Get Involved

So where can people plug in? I asked.

"One, we’re going to have a field committee that a lot of people can plug in to," he said. "The best place is to go to your local [EQCA] field office. We’re canvassing every single weekend out of our nine field offices around the state."

These field offices will continue to operate under the EQCA name but will be supported by the work being initiated by LCR.

"The LCR field committee will be to there to enhance, support and build on existing field efforts. In some places I’m sure will work hand-in-hand with the EQCA field operation on the ground, and in other places."

The LCR website is a work in progress for now. It will provide over the next few months the most cutting edge grassroots mobilization tools available.

"Between now and election day we are phone banking everyday from 2:30-5:30pm out of our field offices to support Maine, and in the evenings to support Washington state. We’ve committed to 25,000 phone calls and I want to blow that out of the water.

"And as we roll out programs, like the speaker’s bureau, we’ll reach out to you if you're married or you can reach out to your local field organizer," Marc informed.

"If you live in the Central Valley or Silicon Valley or San Diego, I promise you our organizers will put you to work, work that is really important to winning marriage back. We need the people power now."

Read Marc's post about the relaunch at California Ripple Effect.