CA Gay Fight Bringing In Record Dough


California’s gay marriage battle has been breaking records left, right and center. But mostly right.

We knew that Proposition 8 supporters are raking in dough to reverse this year’s state Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex nuptials, but we had no idea the depths of their efforts:

Supporters and opponents of a ballot initiative that would outlaw same-sex marriage in California have poured $41.2 million into the race, more than the combined total spent in the 24 states where similar measures have gone before voters since 2004.

Campaign finance figures show supporters of the gay marriage ban have taken a significant lead in fundraising even as Proposition 8 has lagged in public opinion polls. A backer, ProtectMarriage.com, reported taking in $25.4 million through Sept. 30 of this year compared to the $15.8 million in donations raised by the main committee opposing the measure.

Both sides of the debate plan have set aside over $10 million for new television ads, some of which will debut this week. While the gay rights activists are holding their own in that arena, they’re lagging behind when it comes to cash on hand. The “no on 8” side has a meager $1.8 million, while the conservative set have $12.8 million to burn.

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