No clear path to victory for gay marriage

December 1, 2009

The effort to get same sex marriage on the California ballot in 2010 took a hit Monday. Rick Jacobs, the leader of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign, sent out an email announcing that after spending more than $200,000 on “qualitative research” into the issue in California that “we do not see a path to victory.”

So, the Courage Campaign sent a note to its supporters Monday calling “for more research and time to change hearts and minds before returning to the ballot.”

In his email, Jacobs said that the research — led by Obama confidant Steve Hildebrand — found that “The biggest hangup people have is that the right wing has done a very good job of telling people that somehow children will be affected should same sex marriage become legal. It worked in both Maine and California, even though top public officials in both places said it would not.