"We are silent today, but we're just biding our time," said activist Rosalyn Strode who heads Bakersfield Citizens Opposed to Obscenity and Lewdness. "We'll have our say in November."
The initiative campaign proposes to amend the state Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. It received $250,000 this week from an evangelical group, Focus on the Family, and declared that the debate about same-sex marriage "is not over." Focus on the Family, led by the Rev. James C. Dobson, posted a statement on its website declaring that California's "judicially imposed social experiment has hastened the demise of religious freedom across the U.S."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, June 19, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 50 words Type of Material: Correction
Focus on the Family: An article about the first full day of same-sex marriage in California in Wednesday's Section A referred to the head of Focus on the Family as the Rev. James C. Dobson. Dobson is not a clergyman. He has a PhD from the University of Southern California.
Spurred by that challenge, proponents of gay marriage launched their own fundraising campaign.
Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, which favors gay marriage, estimated that his side may need to raise more than $20 million for the campaign -- an amount equal to what it expects the pro-initiative forces to raise.
In an interview, Kors said that his organization and several others have set up registries on their websites. Similar to the department store programs that allow couples to register for gifts, the site allows newlyweds to instead direct contributions to various political action committees that will support same-sex marriage.
Some couples came up with the same idea.
In Norwalk early Tuesday, Adam Pearson, 32, and Matt Armendariz, 38, of Long Beach wiped away tears of joy at being married and said they were not going to have a reception. Instead, they said, they might have a benefit to raise money for the political campaign.
One striking aspect of the couples who turned out Tuesday was the sheer longevity of many partnerships. People who had been living together as couples for 20, 30 or 40 years without being able to marry could hardly believe that their relationships were finally being legally sanctioned -- often by county officials who shed any bureaucratic aloofness and appeared to share in the joy of the occasion.
Warren Wood, 69, and Doug Hairgrove, 68, said they have been together for 47 years, since they both attended the University of Redlands. Now retired after careers as middle-school teachers, they were in line for a marriage license at the Riverside County clerk's office in Indio. "This is fabulous," Hairgrove said. "This is a major, major step and we are thrilled to be a part of it."
