Groups go all in on same-sex marriage referenda in four states

Both sides on the same-sex marriage question have run an all-out blitz to convince voters in four states today on whether gays and lesbians should be allowed legally to marry.

Three of the states, Maine, Maryland and Washington, could make history as the first state or states to extend marriage rights to lesbians and gays by popular vote, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Minnesota’s ballot measure would amend the constitution to deny marriage to gays and lesbians; if it fails, it would be a first for a state.

The campaigns have been marked by boycotts of Starbucks and General Mills. The giant coffee maker expressed support for the Washington ballot measure and the cereal maker expressed opposition to the Minnesota amendment.

The National Organization for Marriage said Friday that it was “launching a major push to reach and mobilize 10 million voters” with a $500,000 campaign of robocalls to households in Maine, Maryland, Washington State, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The group said the calls “feature prominent advocates for traditional marriage and family, including Dr. James Dobson, Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Calls will be placed in both English and Spanish, targeting voters across the political spectrum who favor retaining the definition of marriage, which has characterized society for centuries.”

NOM president Brian Brown called the campaign “the largest national mobilization of traditional marriage voters in history…We are proud to work with state- and national-based partners in the four states that have marriage referenda on the ballot – states where we believe the polls are trending in our favor – and in three presidential swing states, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, that many pundits are surprised to find now in play.”

The ACLU has staff working in all four states. The pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign said it has spent $20 million and two years “for our largest mobilization effort ever to ensure that 2012 is a year of milestone victories for LGBT equality,” supporting pro-marriage Democrats and the pro-marriage referenda.

HRC said the four ballot campaigns have placed “more than 4 million phone calls and knocked on more than one-half million doors, setting up one-on-one conversations with more than 1 million voters,” including more than 300,000 volunteers, donations from more than 110,000 people, and 2,000 endorsements from local faith, business and civic organizations.

Here is the language of each ballot measure via Reuters:

MAINE: Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?

MINNESOTA: Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?

MARYLAND:Establishes that Maryland’s civil marriage laws allow gay and lesbian couples to obtain a civil marriage license, provided they are not otherwise prohibited from marrying; protects clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs; affirms that each religious faith has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine regarding who may marry within that faith; and provides that religious organizations and certain related entities are not required to provide goods, services, or benefits to an individual related to the celebration or promotion of marriage in violation of their religious beliefs.

WASHINGTON: The legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6239 concerning marriage for same-sex couples, modified domestic-partnership law, and religious freedom, and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill. This bill would allow same-sex couples to marry, preserve domestic partnerships only for seniors, and preserve the right of clergy or religious organizations to refuse to perform, recognize, or accommodate any marriage ceremony. Should this bill be: Approved (OR) Rejected

So far, six states and the District of Columbia have approved same-sex marriage through the courts or legislatures. Thirty states have banned same-sex marriage by constitutional amendment, and California blocked it with the Prop 8 referendum now under court challenge. The Maine measure would roll back its 2009 referendum blocking same-sex marriage.

Carolyn Lochhead