Box Turtle Bulletin

Employee Fired By LDS-Owned Firm for Opposing Prop 102

I received this email earlier this morning. Portions are reprinted here with permission:

I worked for a Mormon-owned CPA firm… I was fired from my job after admitting that I had voted NO on prop 102.

I was discussing the election on Wednesday with some co workers (who don’t vote) and I asked if you would have voted, what would you have voted on 102? She told me she would have voted no, so I said well at least I’m not the only one on the office that was against it. Then she said wait, what was a no vote for? So I explained 102 to her. She got extremely angry and started saying it was an abomination. So I told her that I had a cousin who was gay that was murdered in a hate crime because he was gay. So I supported it because it was just an equal rights issue. So I just dropped it and didn’t discuss it anymore.

The next day she had a meeting with the owner, and when I came in on Friday they told me that I was being let go. When I asked if it was because of my work performance, the owner said “Let’s just call it a management decision.” I had spoken to the owner just weeks before about the upcoming year and he was telling me he wanted to give me a raise. He had booked me for a tax seminar for the second week of Dec., so I know he was planning on me being employed with him for awhile until this.

This is what we’re up againt: people who act with impunity.

Protests Continue Through the Weekend

The protests against Prop 8 continue. Via Queers United, we have some more scheduled for this weekend:

Friday, November 14, 2008

Tucson, Arizona
5:00 p.m. Assemble at El Presidio Park (115 North Church St., on the Plaza in front of Tucson City Hall)
5:30 p.m. March to La Placita Village
5:45 to 7:00 p.m. Rally and Official Presentation for Launch of FAMILIES YOU KNOW at La Placita Village (201 Church St., Tucson)
See Wingspan for more details

La Jolla, California
11:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
UC San Diego,
9450 Gilman Drive

Costa Mesa, California
12:00pm – 2:00pm
Vanguard College
Lawn in front of Heath @ Vanguard
562-310-7470, Ebonee.Batiste@vanguard.edu

Hollywood, CA
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The CNN BUILDING
6424 Sunset and Cahuenga

Hermosa Beach, CA
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The Intersection of Pier and Hermosa Ave.
Hermosa Beach Pier

San Francisco
6:00 p.m.
San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St.

Los Angeles, CA
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
UCLA
Bruin Plaza / Campus

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Join The Impact
Nationwide protests on Saturday. Please click here for more information on a city near you.

Costa Mesa, Orange County, CA
12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
South Coast Plaza
Bear Street (Where the mall, Crystal Court, and Metro Pt. meet)

New York, NY
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
City Hall
260 Broadway

Las Vegas, NV
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
The LGBT Center, 953 E. Sahara Ave., Ste. B-31
standoutforequality@thecenterlv.com, 702-733-9800

Valencia Santa Clarita / Stevenson Ranch California
4:00 p.m.
Corner of Valencia Blvd & McBean Pkwy, Santa Clarita
http://www.myspace.com/noonH8

Victorville, CA
6:00 p.m.
Corner of Bear Valley Rd and Hesperia Rd. (NorthWest corner by Bank of America)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Lake Forest, CA
10:00 a.m.
Saddleback Church
1 Saddleback Pkwy

Newport Beach, CA
10:00 a.m.
At the Mormon Temple in Newport Beach, Calif.
2300 Bonita Canyon Dr., at the corner of Bonita Canyon and Prairie Rd.

Long Beach, CA
10:30 a.m.
Jesus Christ Church of Latter-Day Saints [Silent Protest]
1140 Ximeno
714-881-9427, csibri@mac.com

Los Altos, CA
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
1300 Grant Rd
BrandonRN2004@aol.com

Philadelphia, PA
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Independence Hall
143 South 3rd Street

Pasadena, CA
3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Intersection of Colorado Blvd & Lake Ave
Jimmy Chen at gqgemini@gmail.com or 323.229.7336

Long Beach, CA
3:00 p.m.
Intersection of PCH/7th/Bellflower
Contact: Brittney at felisperdita@verizon.net

San Clemente, CA
3:00 p.m.
242 Avenida Del Mar
Contact: Edson McClellan at 949.584.6084 or emcclellan7@gmail.com.

Danish Study Refutes Paul and Kirk Cameron

In April 2007, anti-gay “researcher” Paul Cameron and his son Kirk sent out a press release claiming that studied information from Denmark that proved that gay men died on average 20 years younger than their heterosexual counterparts. Jim Burroway provided a very thorough refutation of the Camerons’ claims, showing them to be nonsense and bigotry.

Also interested in the Camerons’ claims was Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor teaching at Grove City College, a small liberal arts college with a conservative evangelical philosophy. Dr. Throckmorton’s beliefs about homosexuality support traditional faith positions, primarily in the way in which a same-sex attracted person lives their life (i.e. in accordance with the confines of their faith).

But Throckmorton is no fan of bogus claims or fraudulent statistics. He contacted Morten Frisch, a prominent epidemiologist in Denmark, and asked him to review Cameron’s work. Frisch was unhesitatingly critical of the Cameron’s claims.

Although the Camerons’ report has no objective scientific value, the authors should be acknowledged for providing teachers with a humorous example of agenda-driven, pseudo-scientific gobbledygook that will make lessons in elementary study design and scientific inference much more amusing for future epidemiology students.

Well it now appears that Dr. Frisch was not content with dismissing the Camerons’ statements. Dr. Throckmorton is reporting that Frisch and colleague Henrik Brønnum-Hansen followed up with a study of their own and found the opposite of what the anti-gay activist had claimed. Throckmorton’s initial assessment is:

Frisch and Brønnum-Hansen found that Danish men marrying soon after the Danish same-sex marriage law was enacted had markedly higher death rates than men in the general Danish population. They speculate that these men were ill, ordinarily with AIDS or AIDS related illnesses, but also from other life-threatening diseases, and wanted to marry to establish rights of survivorship or other benefits for a surviving spouse. However, the mortality for homosexual men marrying after 1996 is virtually the same as for heterosexual men in Denmark. Thus, since HIV/AIDS has been more successfully managed, the mortality rates have declined dramatically. [emphasis added]

Thanks to Dr. Frisch for following up and to Dr. Throckmorton for his analysis.

All Of Those Gay Friends You Say You Have? They Are No Longer Your Friends

Yesterday, Timothy Kincaid provided a first-hand account of the meeting at LA’s El Coyote Cafe to listen to Marjorie Christoffersen explain her decision to contribute to the Yes on 8 campaign. This decision was particularly painful to El Coyote’s mix of loyal gay and straight customers. Now, via Queerty, we have video of the event.

The first video is of Marjorie Christoffersen’s talk before the crowd.

So far, so good.

That is, until they decided to take questions from the audience:

Those who voted to disenfranchise their gay and lesbian neighbors have been stunned at the outpouring of anger over the passage of Propositions 8, 102 and 2 (in California, Arizona and Florida, respectively).

It’s mystifying to me, but they seemed genuinely surprised that people that they thought they knew and loved would be angry to see their rights put up to a vote and defeated. It mystifies me because I wonder how many straight people would put up with the idea that their right to marry should be subject to a vote — and they lose that vote? How would they react?

And now many of those people who voted against us and who gave money to a cause to render us second-class citizens, they fall back on the defense that “many of my best friends are gay.”

Well, that doesn’t work anymore. Here’s a news flash: All those gay friends you have? If you supported Prop 8 (or Prop 102 or Amendment 2), they are no longer your friends. You can safely drop that line of defense.

AFA Gearing Up For Another Boycott?

Ugh. It was bad enough when I felt like I had to eat at McDonalds out of loyalty. Does this mean I’ll have to start drinking Pepsi?

Why can’t they boycott cool stuff?

Prominent Mormon Distances Himself from Prop 8

Bill Marriott is making sure that he isn’t tied to the Mormon Church’s efforts to remove fundamental rights from gay Californians. (SL Trib)

While acknowledging that he is a Mormon, Bill Marriott said this week that neither he nor his company, Marriott International, contributed to the campaign to pass Proposition 8, a California ballot measure that would define marriage as solely between a man and a woman.

In the highly competitive travel industry, it is not wise to alienate travelers. And Marriott was responding to calls from some activist to boycott his hotel chain.

For the past 20 years, Marriott International has had domestic-partner benefits and has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for two years in a row, Marriott said in a release. Many of the hotels have hosted gay-community functions and events for years.

“The Bible that I love teaches me about honesty, integrity and unconditional love for all people,” Marriott said. “But beyond that, I am very careful about separating my personal faith and beliefs from how we run our business.”

It’s a pity more Mormons didn’t read the part about honesty and integrity in their Bibles, especially those who were in high levels of the Yes on 8 Campaign.

Protest In NYC

Huge numbers of people — estimates range widely from 3,000 to 10,000 — converged at the Mormon Temple in New York City to protest the passage of California’s Proposition 8. JoeMyGod was there, and he has a great roundup.

One good question which has arisen out of these protests is this: where were all of these people before the election? I think I have one piece of an answer that I will set about to put into words this weekend. But Dan Savage, who was also at the NYC protest, has a very different perspective that I had never thought of before:

Gay people generally aren’t the placard-waving, bomb-throwing, chaps-wearing, communion-wafer-stomping radicals we’re made out to be by the Bills O’Reilly and Donohue. Most gays and lesbians are content to be left to alone; many gays and lesbians go out of their way to ignore political threats and political activism and political activists. Only when gays and lesbians are attacked—only after the fact—do gays and lesbians take to the streets. Remember: the Stonewall Riots were are a response to a particularly brutal and cruelly-timed (we’d just buried Judy!) police raid on a gay bar in New York City; ACT-UP and Queer Nation were a response not to the AIDS virus, but to a murderous indifference on the parts of the political and medical establishment that amounted to an attack.

Most gay people grow up desperately trying to pass, to blend in; most of us flee to cities where we can live our lives in relative peace and security. We don’t go looking for fights. And most gay people walk around without realizing that they’ve internalized the dynamics of high school hells some of us barely survived: it’s better to pass, to stay out of sight, to avoid making waves, lest you attract negative attention, lest you get bashed.

But once you get bashed, once someone else throws the first punch, then you fight back—what other choice do you have?

A Culture of Bullying

Today at the El Coyote meeting I had the fortuity to sit at the table of someone who had at one time been the editor of a prominent national gay magazine. He told me a story which I find both believable and relevant.

Some years ago, this magazine sent two persons under cover to Evergreen, the Mormon ex-gay ministry. One had participated before and was thus vetted, the other was his friend.

At the conclusion of their efforts, the news magazine wrote up their experiences. And that’s when the Mormon legal team became engaged. My tablemate told me that there were two New York law firms that swung into action. They made it perfectly clear that the merits of the story were irrelevant; the church would bankrupt the magazine with legal fees.

I can say with certainty that my attitude about members – and especially leaders – of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has changed dramatically in the past six months. And not for the better.

I’ve not seen one individual – within or without the church – whose life has been made better because of the meddling of the Mormon Church’s leadership in the political arena.

Mormons Protest the Resignation of Anti-Gay Theater Director

Scott Eckern, the Artistic Director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento, has not had a good week. On Friday, Jeremy at GoodAsYou noted that Eckern had given $1,000 to the campaign to eliminate marriage rights of – let’s be real – a large percentage of people in Eckern’s business.

This did not sit well with Marc Shaiman, the composer of Hairspray, whose show ended the company’s summer season. He called Eckern and told him:

“The idea that your donation came from a salary that for a short amount of time was drawn from profits from a show I wrote upsets me terribly and I would never allow anything I write to play there and will encourage my colleagues to consider doing the same.”

Several others in the theater world were equally horrified. The theater company found themselves faced with a resentful performers, a black-list from creators, and ill will from much of their audience. I think it’s no secret that those who delight in musical theater – gay or straight – are not likely to have voted in mass for Proposition 8.

Eckern did the honorable (and only possible) thing and resigned his position:

“I am disappointed that my personal convictions have cost me the opportunity to do what I love the most which is to continue enriching the Sacramento arts and theatre community,” he said.

His Mormon Church supported his decision.

I may be a bit cynical but I’m inclined to think that the evidence shows that what he really loved the most was adhering to the anti-gay doctrines of his church. Otherwise he’d still be doing all that enriching.

Well the story isn’t over. Protestors have come out to support him.

“This is a witch-hunt,” said Lance Christensen, who says he’s a regular patron of the theater and took off work to show his support for Eckern. “This man has devoted 25 years of his life to theater in Sacramento.”

Something struck me as a bit – shall we say – untheaterish about this crowd. And guess, what. At least some of them have a little extra something in common with Eckern which they didn’t disclose to the reporter.

Take Lance Christensen, for example. Well it turns out that Lance is an alumnus of Pepperdine and BYU and his linkedin “groups” includes the LDS Church. Oh, and that job he took time from? That would be Director of Legislation for the extremely homophobic California State Senator Tom McClintock.

And then there’s that sign in one picture at the Sacramento Bee saying “We love the Eckern Family”. Gosh, most folks never get a chance to know wife and kids of the Artistic Director at their local musical theater.

Hmmmm. Funny coincidence.

UPDATE:

The Chicago Sun-Times indirectly confirms that the “pro-Eckern” rally was not theater-goers but just his friends from church:

“This is not fair – a lot of people wanted this passed, not just Mormons,” said Lynnette Black of Sacramento who rallied in support of Eckern in front of Music Circus last week. “We (church members) worked hard and within the law. It’s very hard to see this attitude toward Mormons.” [emphasis added]

Wouldn’t it be nice if they just told the truth about who they were and why they were there?

K-EARTH Morning DJ Contributed to Yes on 8

Monday through Friday from 5:00 am to 10:00 am, K-EARTH 101 in Los Angeles is DJ’d by Gary Bryan.

After stints in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and New York (on America’s most-listened-to station, Z100), Gary took over the morning show on KEARTH 101. Following in the footsteps of one of LA’s greatest personalities, Robert W. Morgan, is a daunting task, but the loyal and friendly KEARTH 101 audience made him feel right at home. It’s been over 5 years, and each day Gary enjoys working with Lisa, Sammy, Tim and Bob, bringing the music and fun to Southern California.

Gary is married (since he was 19) to June, and they have four children: Jack, Kate, Marie and Grace, and two grandkids, Eva, 2, and Jesse, 1.

K-EARTH is an oldies station currently owned by CBS Radio.

The following information is from the database of contributions (Click to enlarge):

This contribution may well be consistent with Bryan’s listeners. But I will not be listening to KRTH in the morning on my drive tomorrow.

(hat tip to reader John)

1997 Mormon Memo Emerges, Revealing Longstanding Strategy

An eleven year old internal LDS memo has emerged which proves that the Mormon church has been plotting against same-sex marriage for more than a decade.

The memo, dated March 4, 1997, provides insight into the late LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley’s strategy for opposing same-sex marriage. It describes a meeting in which Hinckley gives the go ahead, but urged caution. According to the memo, “he (President Hinckley) also said the (LDS) Church should be in a coalition and not out front by itself.”

In fact, the LDS church has been way out front in its battles against gays and lesbians, both in California and in Arizona.

The memo was addressed to Elder M. Russell Ballard, who has played a central role in the LDS’s fight in Arizona and California. He appeared on several closed-circuit satellite broadcasts to Mormon churches with specific instructions on the California campaign for Prop 8. In one such broadcast in late October, he reminded the faithful that the central doctrine of Celestial Marriage was propelling the church’s drive to impose its theology on state constitutions:

“We know that it is not without controversy, yet let me be clear that at the heart of this issue is the central doctrine of eternal marriage and it’s place in our Father’s plan,” Ballard said.

Parts of the 1997 memo were first published on the DailyKos web site on November 3. Those portions reveal that the LDS leadership has been strategizing for California even back then.

Update: You can see the entire memo by clicking here (PDF: 260KB/8 pages).

El Coyote: An Uncompromising Faith

The Meeting
About 75 people showed up for the early lunch at El Coyote Cafe to listen to Marjorie Christoffersen explain her decision to contribute to the Yes on 8 Campaign. Most of those attending were men who had been customers of Margie’s restaurant for many years. Some were children of Mormons or had been raised in the faith. And while there was at least one who just wanted to vent his anger, most truly wanted to hear Margie out and, if possible, find a solution.

Before her presentation, Arnoldo, an employee of 28 years, expressed that the management doesn’t share her views and that she doesn’t talk politics or religion with her staff. All were allowed to believe, vote, or contribute as they wish. He received polite applause.

Then it was Margie’s turn.

The Message
Although Margie is usually a spry woman, today she was breathless, and distraught and appeared fragile, not an easy task for a woman of her height. She stood supported between her daughters and read a prepared speech – most of which had already been released.

She praised the restaurant as a beacon of diversity, people from all places and where everyone doesn’t have to agree, where they can get along even with differing views. She credited her aunt for being sympathetic to the plight of the “gay individual” before there was support and how the restaurant became a safe haven for “that community”. She told of visiting sick people and providing “a healing place”.

She explained that she had been a member of the Mormon Church all her life and that she had responded to their request with a personal donation. She shared that El Coyote had contributed to many gay interests and charities.

Margie told of the 89 employees whose families relied on their job. She expressed how customers were part of the Coyote family. She lamented that this situation could harm a place with such diversity and harmony and joy and mutual respect and diversity of viewpoints.

“It saddens me that my faith will keep some from coming to the Coyote. But I cannot change a lifetime of faith in what I believe deeply. And I cannot and will not change my love and respect for your views”.

She did not apologize or express remorse.

The Response
Billy Schoepner, the Maitre d’, announced that the restaurant would contribute an undetermined amount in the neighborhood of $5,000 to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and to Lambda Legal. He also expressed an intention to run full page apologies in Frontiers, a gay magazine, and in LA Weekly, an alternative magazine.

But the crowd was more interested in Margie’s response than that of the restaurant.

The first question to Margie was if she would be willing to make a personal contribution to the efforts to reverse the proposition. She responded, “I have to be faithful to my views and my church”, and quickly left the room. Her daughters remained behind, looking angry, dismissive, and indignant that those there would question their mother or them. They answered no questions nor made any statements.

Lucile, a waitress that is much loved by some there, tearfully told how she felt that God had led her to El Coyote. It was there that she met and learned to love gay people, which prepared her to be supportive when her brother came out. She expressed her fears that if Coyote goes down, she goes down.

But it soon became apparent that those present had not been satisfied by Margie’s response or the concerns of the staff.

Our friend Regan stood and spoke about how she had been subject to many people saying wonderful and loving things to her, a black woman, but once she was out of sight they had a different story. She noted that Margie had entered fragile and trembling but had certainly had the strength to rush from the room. Regan was not impressed.

Many there were distressed to know that a tithe of their profits was given by the owners to the Mormon Church, an organization that planned, organized, and funded an effort to take away the civil rights of those who made her business successful.

An executive with the Trevor Project told how 1,200 to 2,000 kids call the suicide hotline each month and that most come from the Midwest and that many many of them were from Mormon families that kicked them out, ex-communicated them, and left them selling their bodies on the streets to survive.

Several people sought a solution. One suggested writing Margie letters to express how she had hurt them. Others wondered if an ongoing contribution to a gay support organization in an amount equal to the tithe she pays to the Mormon Church would not bring reconciliation. Some expressed a desire to help the staff find new jobs should they lose employment as the result of Margie’s stance.

But there seemed to be a consensus that as long as Margie was a visible part of the restaurant, those present could not eat there. She would have to at least stay home and distance herself from the business. Some insisted that she sell her interest in the establishment entirely.

Some with Mormon families told of the difficulty that comes with disagreeing with the Church. You lose all family and all friends and all hope of salvation. The Mormon faith does not allow for disagreement or dissent. Truly Margie had been put in a position by her church’s leadership that threatened her business and her happiness.

But one man spoke of how he was raised Mormon and his family is still in the church. He said that there comes a time when you have to decide whether to hold onto one particular doctrine of your church or whether you will refuse to harm those you know and love.

And sadly, Marjorie Christoffersen has made her decision.

It was a very sad room that left today. I did not speak to anyone who said that they would continue to patronize the restaurant. They felt that they could no longer profit a woman who used their support to take away their rights. Many felt betrayed, some had lost a home.

No one stayed for lunch.

UPDATE
Micah, blogging at Shut Up! I Know! was also present. His observations were similar to mine.

Earlier today the LA Times reported on the controversy

Bob Montoya, a manager at El Coyote, said customers have called and threatened to boycott the restaurant, but it does not appear to have affected business. Montoya said he thought a boycott, if one was called, was misguided, as the restaurant has a number of gay employees and has always been gay friendly.

“I”m gay and I work here, and I’ve been here for 31 years,” Montoya told The Times. “It’s gay friendly. People have been coming here for many years, gay and straight, families and everybody.”

Perhaps Bob has not noticed a change in business. But I drive home past El Coyote nearly every day. Last night the front parking lot was only about a quarter full, far less than usual.

Protests Continue This Week

The protests against Prop 8 continue. Here are some more scheduled for this week:

Wednesday, November 12
Encinitas, CA
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Corner of Saxony and Encinitas Blvd.
Phone: 5305759264
dancewithwolves@wildmail.com

West Hollywood, CA
7:00 p.m.
Santa Monica & San Vicente

New York, NY
6:30 p.m.
Manhattan Mormon Temple
125 Columbus Ave at 65th Street

San Diego, CA
7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral
2728 Sixth Ave.
For more info, contact Chris Harris at (619) 298-7261 or harrisc@stpaulcathedral.org.

Sacramento, CA
11:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Meet on the West Steps of the Capitol (10th Street Side)
March will end up back at the West Steps at 4:30 am
For those that can ONLY participate in the morning’s performance piece – arrive no later than 4:30 am.

Thursday, November 13
UC Riverside
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
UC Riverside Bell Tower

Irvine, CA
4:30 p.m.
Corner of Campus & Culver Drive, Irvine
Marching to Culver & Alton.

State, College, PA
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Allen Street Gates
Corner of College and Allen Streets
814-360-5717, hvstonewall@gmail.com

Friday, November 14
Tucson, AZ
5:00 p.m.: Assemble at El Presidio Park (155 N Church St)
5:30 p.m.: March to La PLacita Village
5:45 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Rally
See Wingspan for details.

UC San Diego, La Jolla
11:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
9450 Gilman Drive

Vanguard College
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Lawn in front of Heath @ Vanguard
562-310-7470, Ebonee.Batiste@vanguard.edu

Hermosa Beach, CA
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The Intersection of Pier and Hermosa Ave.
Hermosa Beach Pier

San Francisco
6:00 p.m.
At the San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St.

Saturday, November 15
Nationwide rallies. See Join the Impact for details.

Prop. 8 Post-Mortem: Was There A Gay Bradley Effect?

Was the passage of Prop. 8 always a foregone conclusion, despite poll results throughout the summer and early fall showing most likely voters opposed it?

Or were the major polls correct, and the sentiment of California voters actually shifted in the weeks leading up to Election Day, from opposition to support?

Throughout the election campaign, supporters and opponents of marriage equality maintained that survey results consistently understate support for antigay ballot measures because many respondents wish not to appear bigoted to a pollster.

The existence of a racial Bradley effect -­ i.e., a pattern in which the polls’ accuracy is affected by significant numbers of racist Whites lying to pollsters and saying they would vote for a Black candidate ­ has been widely disputed, and wasn’t evident in polling this year.

But was there a gay Bradley effect in California?

In my latest post at Beyond Homophobia, I review data from the Prop. 8 pre-election and exit polls and conclude that there is no evidence that survey respondents said they would vote No when they actually supported the measure.

Rather, the polls suggest that the No vote was shrinking in the weeks leading up to the election, and this trend probably continued right up to Election Day. Add to this the unexpectedly high turnout among key voter groups — which increased their impact on the outcome beyond what pollsters had projected — and the fact that many undecided voters ultimately supported the measure, and the final results are not difficult to reconcile with pre-election polls.

Thus, we can use the poll data as a tool for better understanding how the various strategies pursued by each side between May and November ultimately affected the outcome of the election.

You can read the entire analysis at Beyond Homophobia.

Dan Savage on Stephen Colbert

“It’s sort of like ‘Gay Survivor.’ We’re going to outlive, outlast, and outsmart the bigots.”