According to final tallies, donors on both sides on Prop. 8 gave more than $83 million. To put this in perspective, here is what $83 million dollars will buy:- Health insurance for 7,000 families for one year;
- 1628 kidney transplant surgeries;
- 4.3 million school lunches;
- 2733 college educations at 4-year private schools;
- 6486 college educations at 4-year public schools;
- Funding for 692 small homeless shelters for one year (10 person capacity); or
- Food for 22,800 families of four for one year
Donors spent over $83M in Prop. 8 race
The Monterey County Herald
Updated: 02/03/2009 01:35:34 AM PSTSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Donors gave more than $83 million to support or oppose the ballot initiative that abolished same-sex marriage in California, according to campaign disclosure reports made public Monday.
The new filings cover the weeks immediately before and after the Nov. 4 election. They show that elected officials, businesses, churches and individuals poured more than $28 million into the race during the contest’s closing days.
The final tallies show that opponents of Proposition 8 raised $43.3 million in 2008 and had a little more than $730,000 left on hand at year’s end. The measure’s sponsors raised $39.9 million and had $983,000 left over.
Isn’t it a shame that a few anti-gay Californians forced citizens to spend $83 million on a measure that denies gay and lesbian couples the right to marry when that money could have done so much good to help the sick, poor, and hungry? Thousands of needy Californians could have benefited from the funds that were spent on Prop. 8.
Not included in the donation tally are the tens of thousands of volunteer hours that went to both campaigns. Those volunteers could have been devoting their time to working in hospitals and on school programs. Instead, all we ended up with in California is a law that denies civil rights to a specific group of citizens. This is the reality of Prop. 8.
Crossposted at Salinas Valley Equality.
The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU-with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars-argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because the people of California have established strict safeguards that prohibit the underlying principles of the California Constitution from being changed by a simple majority vote. By taking away a right only from one group, Proposition 8 violates the most basic principle of our government: that all people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.The case is Strauss et al. v. Horton et al. (#S168047). For more information, go to: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme/highprofile/prop8.htmCalifornia Attorney General Jerry Brown is also asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 on the ground that certain fundamental rights, including the right to marry, are inalienable and can not be put up for a popular vote. On November 10, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that he hoped the Court would overturn Proposition 8. On CNN, he said of Proposition 8's passage, "It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end, I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area."
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom weighed in (via emailed statement):
Today, the California Supreme Court took an important step in resolving the most important civil rights issue of our generation, by deciding to hear arguments on the validity of Proposition 8.Allowing same-sex couples to marry affirms the very best of what California stands for - and proudly continues our state's long-standing commitment to equality and justice.
I am optimistic that the court will do the right thing, and rule that eliminating fundamental rights from a historically persecuted minority amounts to a revision of the Constitution and exceeds the power of initiatives.
When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher - more commonly known as Joe the Plumber - will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.Wurzelbacher, who became a household name during the presidential election, will be focusing his talk on the proposed stimulus package. He's apparently not a fan of the economic rescue package, according to members of the group.
..."In case you weren't planning to attend CWG tomorrow morning, you might want to reconsider because Joe the Plumber will be joining us!" Kimberly Wallner, an aide to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, wrote in a message to her e-mail list this afternoon.
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