As Connecticut citizens gather today in New Haven and West Hartford to celebrate the first gay marriages, it's clear that among the political casualties of the last election was the Family Institute of Connecticut (FIC), the last insurrectional hope of the theocratic hard-right in the state. Among its litany of abject failures, including the state court decision that, like Roe v. Wade, has effectively closed off its practical options:
Policy pipsqueaks: Despite its substantial budget, FIC has historically been phenomenally ineffective in moving legislation. Its poor track record extended into the last session, when it batted 0, losing multiple legislative votes on the requirement that all hospitals (including Catholic hospitals) offer emergency contraception to rape victims, and losing a Judiciary Commmittee vote on marriage equality.
Most significantly and damningly, of course, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that denial of marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples violated the state Constitution, a decision that shut the door on all legislative restrictions and on the FIC's relevance.
Public opinion pariahs. While the FIC's member alerts are filled with populist, conspiratorial histrionics about how the "will of the people" has been frustrated by elected officials and judges, the organization has also failed in the court of public opinion, with growing majorities in Connecticut expressing support of equal rights for gays and lesbians. FIC tried to frame its opposition to emergency contraception as a campaign against religious persecution, a message complicated by the reality that 74% of Catholics in the state endorsed the emergency contraception requirement. Their victimology narrative was finally decimated by the Catholic bishops' announcement that the compromise measure approved by the state legislature and vociferously opposed by FIC was acceptable to the Church, after all.
Just after the Connecticut Supreme Court announced its marriage decision, when any public shock or backlash should have reached its peak, a UCONN poll revealed that 53% of state residents supported the court's action. A later poll indicated that 55% of likely voters opposed a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality. (Overwhelming majorities in the latter poll expressed support for the rights of gays to serve in the military and adopt children.)
Electoral flops. FIC repeatedly threatens dire consequences at election time for politicians who support equality, and they repeatedly fail to deliver on those threats. Once again, no matter how you measure it, pro-equality candidates endorsed by Love Makes a Family (LMF) came out ahead of FIC endorsees in 2008.
General election results - Family Institute & Love Makes a Family endorsees, 2008
FIC
LMF
Endorsed challengers/open seat candidates who won
19%
38%
Endorsed incumbents who won
91%
97%
New allies elected to legislature
2
9
Candidates who won in head to head FIC-LMF match-ups
40%
60%
Elections resulting in district party change
0
3
More on electoral results and Family Institute finances below.
If you were unsure who is behind the drive for a Connecticut constitutional convention to enable ballot initiatives, it's becoming ever more clear. The Family Institute of Connecticut and their national allies are trying to use this process to get a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality on the Connecticut ballot:
Opponents of gay marriage say their easiest political work is done: Most states have passed laws or constitutional amendments banning recognition of same-sex unions.
Now they say their task is getting more difficult: Seeking to ban same-sex marriage in some of the nation's most gay-friendly states, including Connecticut.
The anti-gay and misnamed "National Organization for Marriage" (NOM) will likely be raising substantial funds for the cause, as it has done to advocate for a California ballot initiative:
NOM, a taxable political advocacy group that can raise money without contribution limits, has quickly built up some fundraising muscle.
It started a California chapter in January. By March, the group had raised just over $775,000, according to campaign finance filings. Only the California umbrella group ProtectMarriage.com has raised more for the cause.
And who is behind NOM? It is directed by none other than the former, overpaid director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, Brian Brown!
As the
beginning of the state legislative session approaches on
February 6, local supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender
equality are gearing up with an impressive variety of organizing and
outreach activities.
A documentary by an Emmy award-winning Guilford resident portrays the
struggle for the freedom to marry in Connecticut. "Marriage
Makes a Word of Difference" will
premier in New Haven, New Britain, and Norwalk in February.
As Sue Campbell reported
in the Courant, LMF is taking the unconventional step of
hiring an organizer to conduct outreach to faith groups. The Religious
Organizing Project Coordinator will educate and mobilize
people of faith and clergy on marriage equality.
Last year, a bill banning discrimination based on gender identity or
expression was approved by the CT Senate, but was stalled in the
House. (See fact
sheet, FAQ,
and vote
history.) Over 38%
of the U.S. population (including MA, RI, and VT residents)
are protected from gender identity discrimination, but CT has not
caught up to its neighbors yet.
The CT
TransAdvocacy Coalition and other organizations will host an
educational forum and lobby day on the Trans Anti-Discrimination bill
on February 20 at the Legislative Office Building (event
flier).
(Empirical evidence from mikect that anti-marriage equality and anti-choice stances are huge political losers in Connecticut, no matter how many hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved. - promoted by tparty)
Last year, the Family Institute of Connecticut Action Committee, the
political arm of the anti-gay advocacy organization, endorsed 64
General Assembly candidates,
expressing its preferences in one-third of
all state legislative elections. However, its electoral
priorities were much more narrowly defined. It contributed to
only ten
state legislative candidates in the 2006 election cycle and most likely
targeted its volunteer and communications energies on these anointed
few. A review of these contributions and the FIC's
organizational
finances unveils the candidates who
were most ideologically loyal to the FIC's homophobic and anti-choice
agenda, as well as the organization's multi-faceted record
of failure and wasted
cash.
The
group lost seven of its ten targeted races. Two of three
winning candidates were long-term incumbents, giving FIC only one
new elected ally among its top picks - Sam Caliguiri. His win
had
much less to do with FIC than with the $214,000 he raised,
more
than any legislative candidate in the state (half came from GOP PACs,
lawyers and lobbyists).
Candidate
PAC
donations
Opponent
Outcome
Matthew
Daly
$4,192
Sen.
Edith Prague
Lost
by 39%
Edna
Garcia
$3,698
Ed
Gomes
Lost
- got 12% in 6-way
special election
Greg
Hannan
$2,000
Sen. Ed Meyer
Lost
by 29%
Sam
Caliguiri
$2,000
David
Zoni
Won
by 10% (open seat)
Dan
McCann
$1,900
Rep.
Mike Lawlor
Lost
by 26%
Eric
Thompson
$1,582
Sen.
Gary LeBeau
Lost
by 44%
Chris
Oliveira
$1,300
Sen.
Andrea Stillman
Lost
by 21%
Rep.
Al Adinolfi
$900
Phil
Brewer
Won
by 22% (incumbent)
Rick
Giordano
$300
Sen.
Andrew McDonald
Lost
by 25%
Rep.
Minnie Gonzales
$250
Frank
Dejesus
Won
by 44% (incumbent in primary)
Total
$18,122
($11,100 in cash)
70%
of candidates
lost by average of 31%
Totals include non-cash, in-kind contributions to Daly
($2,842), Garcia ($1,698), Thompson ($1,582), McCann ($300), Giordano
($300), and Oliveira ($300) in
the form of printing, lawn signs, mailings, or the FIC donor
list. Average % loss of losing candidates does not include
Garcia.
More details on the FIC
record and finances below.
(An excellent analysis of recent polling numbers on marriage equality in CT. - promoted by tparty)
Today the Hartford Courant released
a public opinion poll suggesting that the state is split on
marriage equality for gays and lesbians, with 49% favoring legal
recognition of same-sex marriage and 46% opposing it, a difference that
falls within the 4.4% margin of error. Dividing lines on this
issue include religiosity (church attendance), perception of marriage
as a religious or civil institution, and party affiliation.
A strong majority of 62% support civil unions.
Here party affiliation drops away as a divider, says
the Courant - 70% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats support civil
unions. (This suggests that unaffiliated voters are far more
likely to oppose civil unions, if 62% is the average - either
a curious anomoly or an error.)
At the same time, the public says they accept homosexuality, at least
as long as they're on the phone with a pollster. Nearly
two-thirds said homosexuality is always acceptable or acceptable for
some people. An overwhelming 84% believe that homosexuals
should have all of the same rights or priviliges as heterosexuals
(though for some, these rights do not extend to civil
marriage).
Below I've summarized past poll findings, trends, and other interesting
results. Given the poll findings; the gradual if uneven
growth in the acceptance of civil unions, marriage equality, and
homosexuality; and the electoral success of marriage equality
supporters, state legislators and the Governor should expect little in
the way of backlash if they should decide to do the right thing and
support marriage equality. The findings also suggest
that a focus on marriage as a civil institution, extending equal rights
to gays, eliminating "separate but equal" status, recognizing the legal
status of marriages from other states, and the support of clergy and
faith groups will continue to turn the tide in favor of equality.
Governor Spitzer introduces bill to allow same-sex couples equal access to marriage
NYS Dept. of Civil Service also announces it will respect out-of-state marriages of gay state employees in area of spousal benefits.
Albany, New York, April 27, 2007 - Today Governor Eliot Spitzer became the first governor in the nation to introduce legislation providing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Additionally, the New York State Department of Civil Service stated that legally married same-sex spouses of state employees would be eligible for medical and other benefits administered through the NYS health plan.
Spitzer Bill Introduction,
"Today is a watershed moment in our community's struggle to win the freedom to marry in New York and have our relationships treated the same as any other relationship under the law," said Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle. "We are extremely proud to have a Governor who understands that all New York families need access to the protections and responsibilities that the state provides through marriage. We thank Governor Spitzer for keeping his promise to act on marriage equality and for his commitment to seeing that this bill becomes law."
...
This is what can happen in CT if progressives, democrats, rational independents, and social libertarians rally behind a progressive candidate for governor.
The loons came out of the woodwork for the recent Judiciary Committee hearing on the marriage equality bill. Easily the most bizarre and colorful testimony came from Robert Muckle, Vice President of Connecticut Right to Life. In this video, I've added visual aids to help flesh out his unique arguments.
Muckle was only one of many eccentric, homophobic, and unintentionally comic speakers to grace the hearing. The video below highlights some of the more entertaining and disturbing representatives of the anti-gay fringe. The final speaker is particularly over the top. They demonstrate that one of the best ways to win the marriage equality debate is to let the opposition speak - in a loud, spontaneous, and unguarded fashion.
This is a bit about Equal Rights, Civil Rights and, more importantly, knowing your wingnut opposition, and who they chose to associate and share political tactics with. (Please bear with me if it seems to meander a little! CM1)
"Open Hearts Cafe"
Live Entertainment, Appetizers, Coffee and Desserts. Plus Silent Auction plus plus to benefit Love Makes A Family ["a non-profit organization working towards marriage equality for same-sex couples living in Connecticut"]
Saturday, March 31st
6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
$10 ($15 at the door)
Mary Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church
168 South Broad Street
Milford, CT
This is on the "Green", sort of across from Rainbow Gardens.
Make reservations by emailing pastor at mtm-umc dot org or call 203.874.1982, so they know how much food to make!
A fitting follow up to the Marriage Equality hearings in Hartford this week, and the fabulous multi-level reportage by contributors to My Left Nutmeg.
CGG at Connecticut Local Politics and I had hoped to live-blog in person from the Judiciary Committee Hearings today, but unfortunately both of us had to cancel at the last minute this morning.
Happily, we all can still watch the hearings about marriage equality from home on CT-N.
Right now, the committee is just wrapping up testimony from legislators and state agencies. We'll soon launch into testimony from the public, which will surely be interesting. If you'd like to discuss, join me in the comments (where I'll do a little live-blogging for a bit for those of you who can't watch online.)
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