Prop. 22 Foes Test the Water

Hoping to tap what they believe is a silent majority in Orange County that supports same-sex marriage, religious and gay leaders from across the nation will meet in Irvine today to rally against an initiative that seeks to forestall the recognition of such unions in California.

Opponents of Proposition 22 on the March 7 ballot say their strategy is to prove that backers of the initiative cannot count on broad support even in Orange County, a stronghold of conservative Christian politics.

“We are coming to the front porch of the religious right movement to show that [most people] embrace same-sex marriages, and are, at the very least, tolerant,” said David Elliot, spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Religious Leadership Roundtable.

“There are a lot of open-minded people of faith . . . [who] don’t want to stigmatize and marginalize gay and lesbian people,” he said.

The initiative, known officially as Limit on Marriages, would bar California from recognizing same-sex marriages. No state yet permits gay marriages, but the ballot measure is viewed as a preemptive strike by conservatives.

Critics say the measure is anti-gay, unnecessary, and nothing more than discriminatory rhetoric hiding behind a veil of “family values” ideology. Organizers of tonight’s meeting at Irvine United Church of Christ expect to draw up to 1,000 people to hear more than 40 speakers.

Supporters say the measure is needed to prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying in another state, moving to California and asking that their marriages be ruled valid here; they also say it is needed to preserve the traditional, and biblical, definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

While acknowledging that Orange County is not as conservative as it once was, supporters of Proposition 22 call the rally a publicity stunt that ultimately cannot counterbalance what they say is the county’s strong ethic of social conservatism.

“There was a time when a group like that wouldn’t even think of going to Orange County,” said Pastor Dave Rolph of the Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, which has a congregation of about 25,000. “The county is changing. These days they can do this without being completely vilified.”

Like other proponents of the measure, Rolph said the issue has more to do with linguistic purity than it does with judgment of a gay or lesbian lifestyle; he believes Americans want to keep the word “marriage” intact, referring exclusively to a union between a man and a woman. He said that it is foolish for opponents to characterize the measure as anti-gay.

“You have to draw the line somewhere. Words have to have meaning. A man and a woman. That’s what [the word] ‘marriage’ is,” Rolph said. “There’s nothing to stop other people from coming up with another word for a homosexual union.”

The Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman of the Orange County-based Traditional Values Coalition, a national organization of 32,000 churches, agreed.

“This is not against anybody. My reflective thoughts are . . . we support the protection of marriage, heterosexual marriage,” Sheldon said. “There’s only one kind.”

Sheldon said he believes most Americans feel that way, and perhaps more so in Orange County.

And so, why would opponents stage a rally in Orange County?

Organizers of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable admit they like to hold meetings in conservative areas to make a splash. Last year the group held its annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., home of the conservative nonprofit Christian organization Focus on the Family.

But beyond that, even though a recent public opinion poll by the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California found that 57% of voters favor the measure, organizers believe there are votes to be found in Orange County.

“Yes, it’s a statement” to hold the meeting Orange County, said the Rev. Fred Plumer of the Irvine United Church of Christ, which more than a decade ago embraced the idea of same-sex marriage. But “when it comes to human issues, there are a large number of people who are open and don’t appreciate discriminatory and mean-spirited ways at looking at how life should be organized.”

Plumer said talk about preserving the word “marriage” dodges the real issue, which, he says, is that gay couples are denied fundamental rights enjoyed by married, heterosexual couples, including such things as the automatic right to a spouse’s pension and the ability to file joint bankruptcy.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Irvine United Church of Christ, 4915 Alton Parkway.