Fight Over Gay Marriage Ban Heats Up

At West Hollywood's 'Wedding Park' in June (more photos here) | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist

We've been following Proposition 8, which seeks to eliminate gay marriage on the November ballot, for some time now. The trend, as of late, has been that new issues and announcements come one at a time, maybe every other day. But more recently, the twists and turns in navigating the proposition has been more than a daily one.

Today, a few major news items are hitting the media regarding Prop 8:

• If you get married now, it can't be reversed if gay marriage is banned, says California General Attorney Jerry Brown. "I believe that marriages that have been entered into subsequent to the (May 15) Supreme Court opinion will be recognized by the California Supreme Court," Brown told The San Francisco Chronicle. "I would think the court, in looking at the underlying equities, would most probably conclude that upholding the marriages performed in that interval (before the election) would be a just result." Prop 8's language is silent on retroactivity.
  
• The archdioceses of Los Angeles, San Francisco and from across the state are supporting Proposition 8 and telling parishioners to do the same. The California Catholic Conference issued the statement Friday strongly encouraging members of the faith "to provide both the financial support and the volunteer efforts needed for the passage of Proposition 8."
  
• And speaking of "financial support," the funding from each side is getting weighty. The LA Time has a database and map on who and where the funding of the opposition and support is coming from. As of August 4, opposing sides have raised over $5 million while supporters have rallied together $3.5 million.
  
• On the opposition fundraising side of things, a noticed trend for wedding gifts are for couples to ask friends and relatives to ask for a donation to No on Prop 8 instead of wedding registry presents.