This is one of the most important e-mails I have ever sent to you—perhaps THE most important. Please read on because I have alarming news.

In 56 days, 12 million Californians will go to the polls to elect a new President and weigh in on Proposition 8—the ballot measure that would eliminate our right to marry.

A number of public polls have shown that our side—the NO side—is ahead. This is much better than being behind, but the devil is in the details. An in-depth analysis of the polling reveals that fully 20% of the voters are still undecided. 

We've learned from losses on other anti-gay ballot initiatives, here and in other states (Wisconsin, Colorado, etc.), that people lie to pollsters about their prejudices. There is typically a 7-10 point difference between what people tell the pollster about their views on LGBT rights and how they really vote. In other words 7-10% say they believe in equality but actually vote against us.

When you consider all of these factors, we’re in a dead heat on Prop 8. 

So, we cannot rest easy—we must do everything we can to match the efforts of our opponents. Every single vote and donation counts!

That’s why I’m writing. We need you. It costs money to reach voters, and lots of it. That means we need you to give. And if you already have, we need you to dig deeper and give again. We need you to help in every way you can.

Our plan for defeating Prop 8 requires us to match anti-gay efforts dollar for dollar.  We’ve been doing that.  Until a few days ago, that is, when the right wingers behind Prop 8 did something really scary—they bought time to begin running their misleading and discriminatory TV ads a full week before we bought time to begin running ours. 

Let me share with you why this is a concern:
Most ballot measure ads, that are not about corporate interests, begin running when voters receive their vote-by-mail ballots—this year that’s October 6. We bought air time to begin our ad run that week. Just days ago we learned our opponents bought time to begin running their ads on September 29—a full week prior to when the vote-by-mail ballots are received.

We're concerned because our analysis of undecided voters tells us that they may well make up their minds based on the first TV ads they see.

We cannot afford to let them get on the air first, especially when the race is so close!

That means we need to raise millions more to purchase an additional week of time. And, the longer we wait, the more expensive it gets to buy that time. So, we need money and we need it fast so we can get the biggest bang for our bucks.

YOU CAN HELP!

Go to the campaign website right now and make the largest donation you can afford.  

THANK YOU for taking some action today. We can win on November 4, but only if you and I and everyone gets involved.

Sincerely,


Lorri L. Jean
Chief Executive Officer
LA Gay & Lesbian Center

Equality California