Win Marriage Back

We’re making progress: A recently released poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows majority support for marriage for same-sex couples for the first time! Support has increased six points over the last year.

EQCA’s multi-year grassroots field campaign to move people on marriage equality – the largest of its kind in history – has had over 700,000 conversations across the state since it was launched just once year ago. Through the work of our dedicated volunteers, coalition partners and our paid field staff in nine offices across the state, we’re working hard in the areas where we need to gain more support. And the PPIC poll is just one of many ways we know that this work is paying off.

But we can’t stop now. We need a greater majority of Californians to be with us before we go back to the ballot, so that we can beat the opposition in another heated campaign. We must keep this effort going and have millions of conversations so we can win marriage back.

Messages that Work

Where We Are, What We're Doing

• Learn about messages that work.
• Read more about EQCAI's work in 2009 (.pdf) >
• Find out about our plans for 2010 >

Federal Court Challenge to Proposition 8

Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a U.S. District court case challenging the validity of Proposition 8. Unlike the California State Supreme Court challenge, the petitioners are challenging the merits of Proposition 8 under federal law. Equality California filed a friend-of the-court brief outlining our position.

Do you think it is unconstitutional to allow the majority to vote on the rights of a minority? Ask President Obama to file a brief in support of this case at www.eqca.org/enough.

Returning to the Ballot

• Voters who support us are more likely to vote in 2012. We have the chance to gain four more points in 2012 than in 2010 through voter turnout alone.
• Funders are skeptical about supporting an expensive campaign right now, in the midst of a recession and without having done the work we must do to prevail at the ballot box.
• Some key organizations do not support a ballot initiative in 2010, including many organizations working in communities of color who feel they need more time to build support in their communities.
• It is much easier to build the support we need outside of electoral battles, which only increase divisiveness and lead voters to become entrenched in their views.

Equality California reached its position through extensive feedback from our members, donors, community partners and political experts.

•  Download our analysis and plan>
•  Read more and react at our blog, the California Ripple Effect>

Newspaper Editorials

Recent editorials in major California newspapers have all come out in favor of winning marriage back for same-sex couples.

• Los Angeles Times
• Sacramento Bee
• San Francisco Chronicle