Election leaves gay couple feeling isolated in conservative bastion
Temecula area of Riverside County is heavily GOP with a strong evangelical and Mormon base. They're 'more Bush conservative than Reagan conservative,' in that faith has a bigger role, an expert says.
Frustrated by the passage of Proposition 8, the measure banning gay marriage, Lorian Dunlop walked outside her Murrieta home and nailed a sign to her tree.
"Shall We Vote on Your Marriage Now???" it asked.
It was a rare act of defiance for Dunlop and her spouse, Darcie, who have spent the last four years living a quintessential suburban life in a quiet neighborhood where they felt safe and secure.
But the battle over gay marriage changed all that. They attended local rallies against Proposition 8 where people in passing cars hurled insults and anti-gay slurs. At home, their political signs were repeatedly vandalized or stolen.
They look at their community differently now. An edginess has crept in.
"I feel like we are in a hostile environment," Dunlop said, sitting in her living room. "More hostile than it was before."
Opposition to gay marriage, Republican domination and a strong evangelical Christian base have combined to make southwest Riverside County a bastion of social conservatism in a largely liberal state.
It is sometimes called California's Bible Belt, with mega-churches running from Temecula to Wildomar and about 10,000 Mormons scattered throughout the valley.
Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1 here, making it the most conservative part of the largely conservative Inland Empire. Experts say the lure of affordable housing has provided a steady stream of newcomers who have expanded and solidified the Republican base -- a base more attuned to social than economic issues.
Results from Tuesday's election have not been broken out by precinct, but in 2004, President Bush easily won Temecula and Murrieta, defeating Sen. John Kerry with 40,113 votes to 17,318. In some neighborhoods, Bush won over 70% of the vote.
"I think it's fair to say they are more Bush conservative than Reagan conservative, in that faith and religion figure more into their thinking," said Shaun Bowler, a political science professor at UC Riverside.
In other parts of California, Latino and Asian immigrants have brought a diversity of political and religious views with them. But the portion of foreign-born residents in the Temecula-Murrieta region is only 11%, compared to an average of 26% statewide, said Karthik Ramakrishnan, associate professor of political science at UC Riverside.
