In 2008, big money flowed into California from other states in support and opposition to a gay marriage ballot initiative. In 2012, big money is flowing out of California toward similar initiatives elsewhere.
About 2,000 Californians have given a total of almost $1 million in support of gay marriage in Washington, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota, according to campaign finance records. Californians have given only about $25,000 in opposition to gay marriage in those states.
Most of the money has flowed into Washington and Maine, the two states where many polls show the most support for approving gay marriage. Some of the biggest financial support has come from Silicon Valley and Hollywood.
A state has never legalized gay marriage through an initiative, though many, like California, have banned gay marriage through the initiative process.
These elections could eventually have bearing here. If court challenges don't overturn California's ban on gay marriage, it's likely gay marriage proponents will go back to voters. They'd like to go into that battle with momentum from victories in other states.
Sources: States of Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington.
Note: Maryland, Washington and Maine voters will cast ballots on measures that would legalize gay marriage. Minnesotans will vote on an initiative that would ban gay marriage. Some campaign committees in support or opposition to gay marriage don't break out their individual contributors.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Phillip Reese
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.