Anti-Gay Marriage Supporters
In the Name of God, Bible’s teachings, and religions that advocate DOMA’s definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, beliefs have been strong opponents of same-sex marriage.
Brian Brown, the president of the conservative National Organization for Marriage, acknowledged that opponents of gay marriage outspent three to one in the state ballot campaigns in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota (still illegal, but not banned), and Washington State. Yet, despite these “shots-in-the-arms,” from the objectors, the voters of those states decisively cast their votes for gay marriage in those states.
Brown was not alone in his celebrated cause of “preserving marriage as God designed it.” Frank Schubert, a wealthy California consultant, orchestrated campaigns to combat same-sex marriage as did the Roman Catholic Church affiliates.
Religion Not Always An Obstacle to Marriage Equality Campaigns
While religion has been seen as an obstacle for LGBT persons and has been used as a justification for not giving them their full rights, according to Sharon Groves, Director of Religion and Faith at Human Rights Campaign, it was the reason that the marriage equality campaigns in those above states succeeded.
Sharon Groves, Religious Activist
Dr. Groves, a lay leader at a Unitarian Church, chaired the Committee on Ministry and worked on community voting rights, and neighborhood outreach, and racial justice issues, says that religious engagement was a key to the solution: a thoughtful, multidimensional engagement with people of faith made the difference in each of these four campaigns. A writer of numerous articles on marriage equality, Dr. Groves has been with the HRC since 2005.
Historically, LGBT activists have been resistant to engaging faith communities. After all, in many cases, LGBT persons have been made to feel unwelcome in their congregations, their communities, and sometimes, in their own homes where they have been ostracized.
Proposition 8 Regarded as Too Secular
Using Proposition 8 ‘s defeat in California as an example of what can go wrong when religious communities are not focused. The Rev. Rebecca Voelkel wrote after Proposition 8’s loss that “it is naive to believe that rights-based arguments can trump the value-based arguments of conservative religious leaders. It’s also naive to ignore the power and influence of the moral authority given to religious leaders within communities of faith.”
Now Religious Leaders Know Better
This time around, political strategist and religious leaders knew that religion would be a decisive factor in the four states’ elections. So, they organized. Each state’s campaign had a faith director and faith organizers.
What Minnesota Did
Campaign efforts (phone banking, canvassing, persuasion efforts) were all in sync with faith communities. For instance, nearly 3,000 faith leaders made 10 to 30 one-on-one calls to people of faith. These methods were particularly effective for undecided voters and were used in all four states.
A Black Coalition Proved Fruitful
In Maryland, the Rev. MacArthur Flournoy worked together with Reverend Delman Coates, an African American Baptist, who became a spokesperson for marriage equality. Through alliance with LGBT clergy and straight persons, the black faith team made progress in undermining the assumption that gay marriage was only a concern for white people.
Pro-Equality Roman Catholic Organizing
In all four states, there was an increase in pro-equality Roman Catholic organizing. Catholics for Marriage Equality, using a Maine model, emerged in all four states. This loose federation gave permission to Catholics to follow their conscience even if it meant disagreeing with their bishops.
Washington State, as well as the other three, ran powerful ads in major newspapers across the state highlighting Catholic support. Thousands of Catholics were mobilized and raised the money for these ads.
Religious Leaders were Promoted
To combine the messages of the campaigns with the stories of religious leaders, the Human Rights Campaign as well as other campaigns joined forces with Auburn Theological Seminary. Many top level religious leaders were media- trained to provide a pro-faith, pro-equality message.
Religious Messages Can Be Effective Tools
While the religious right and other religious entities fund, organize and launch anti-LGBT campaigns, by organizing people of faith, with a “boots on the ground” strategy, Minnesota, Maine, Maryland, and Washington state were able to defeat bans on same-sex marriage.