California and Beyond: The Battle over Gay Marriage

[Shana A]

California and Beyond: The Battle over Gay Marriage
By Michael A. Lindenberger Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1852263,00.html

Two weeks to go, and already the fight over the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in California is the costliest campaign about a social issue in U.S. history. Spending by both sides has topped $50 million, and the figure is growing. Most of those dollars have poured in since May, when the California Supreme Court turned what had been a slow-moving ballot initiative into a white-hot controversy by issuing the most sweeping declaration of fundamental gay rights to be found in U.S. law. Not only must gays be allowed to marry, the Republican-dominated court said, but it also flatly outlawed nearly any kind of discrimination against them.