"Our Gettysburg"

Posted By Josh Goodman | September 11, 2008

Finally, both sides of the gay marriage debate have found something on which they agree: The California campaign this fall will be a seminal moment in the culture wars.

From the Contra Costa Times :

In the past eight weeks, combatants in the Proposition 8 battle have poured in more than $20 million to gear up for an all-out confrontation about whether the nation will begin to move toward tolerance of same-sex marriages -- or to preserve traditional views of marriage.

"It's a defining issue for this state and the country," said Brian Brown, executive director for the National Organization for Marriage, a New Jersey-based Mormon group with a branch in California, which has contributed nearly $1 million to the Yes on 8 campaign. The outcome of the battle, he said, "will affect what our children will be taught about marriage, and it will affect our religious liberties."

Opponents say the campaign to defeat the ballot measure is a fight for gay rights around the country.

"I really think this is our Gettysburg," said Kathy Levinson, a Silicon Valley philanthropist and gay rights activist who pledged last week to match $100,000 in donations to the No on 8 campaign. "If Proposition 8 passes, we'd lose a generation of time. If we as a perceived liberal and tolerant state lose this battle, many smaller states will feel permission to say 'not yet.' If it fails, it's a statement that says the country has changed, that full acceptance of gay and lesbian citizens has come and it would be perceived as a watershed moment."

Josh Goodman

Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..

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