Stymied, Calif. Gay Activists Rally Grass-Roots Effort

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:23 PM CDT

(Newser) – Gay-marriage proponents in California are taking a page—and some staff—from the Obama campaign in an attempt to swing conservative votes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many believe Proposition 8 passed because there was little outreach to districts that voted for the ban. “They would fly over from San Francisco once or twice and throw a few leaflets down,” said a lesbian resident of Fresno, in the conservative Central Valley.

A canvassing and fundraising campaign, modeled on Obama’s, will attempt to influence a future vote on gay marriage. Most believe the California Supreme Court will uphold the ban, paving the way for another proposition. But a Yes on 8 activist who tried the same tactics cautioned against optimism. It’s a “harder effort” than the presidential campaign, he said. “Most people don’t even want to talk about” it.

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Justices of the California Supreme Court. (AP Photo)

Gay rights activists at a rally against Proposition 8 in San Francisco in March. (AP Photo)

A No on 8 rally last November. (AP Photo)

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If you want to win in this, you have to change people's minds through contact. It isn't a message as much as a method. - Rick Jacobs, Courage Campaign

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