Four states will be voting on the fate of same-sex marriage within their boundaries this November. In Maine, the legalization of same-sex marriage is on the ballot. In Minnesota, the vote is whether or not to ban gay marriage in the state constitution, a la North Carolina. And in Maryland and Washington, voters are being asked to affirm the legislatively passed marriage equality laws.
As with all pushes for change, it comes at a cost—campaigns, promo videos and ads aren’t cheap, after all. Fortunately, the Human Rights Campaign has decided to invest a whopping one million dollars in the four states facing marriage-related ballot measures. The cash infusion brings HRC’s contributions to legislative and electoral marriage issues in the 2011-2012 cycle to $4.8 million.
“These ballot measures are the critical issues in November for our community, besides reelecting the president” and a small handful of specific races, said HRC’s Michael Cole-Schwartz. “And part of why they’re a big deal is because our opponents have rightfully had the talking points that all of these states have banned marriage for same-sex couples [in the past].”
Each state will receive $250,000. In addition to the funding, HRC has hired about 30 staffers who are working on the ground in the various states. This chunk of change follows the hefty donation from Amazon.com’s founder, Jeff Bezos, to Washington’s Referendum 74.
“This is the year where we really think that we have the opportunity to be the victors,” he added, saying, “We want to stand up and be leaders … and spur more investments in these campaigns as well.”
