The
battle
is
undoubtedly
daunting,
some
even
say
insurmountable.
But
Allen
Thornell,
executive
director
of
Georgia
Equality,
knows
it
must
be
fought,
and
said
he
is
confident
gay
Georgians
will
work
hard
trying
to
stop
a
proposed
ban
on
gay
marriage
from
becoming
part
of
the
state’s
constitution
in
November.
“What
we
need
to
really
do
is
have
a
real
conversation
about
what
this
means,
then
move
voters
to
show
up
and
vote
against
it,”
Thornell
said.
“Whether
we
win
or
lose,
we’re
still
going
to
need
to
improve
the
understanding
of
our
lives
and
our
issues
in
Georgia.”
Georgia
Equality,
a
statewide
non-partisan
gay
rights
group,
led
opposition
to
the
gay
marriage
ban
when
it
was
debated
by
the
General
Assembly.
The
state
Senate
passed
the
amendment
40-14
on
Feb.
16,
the
state
House
approved
it
122-52
on
March
31
and
a
majority
of
voters
must
approve
it
in
November.
Gay
rights
activists
reacted
to
the
loss
in
the
state
legislature
with
a
mix
of
disappointment
and
eagerness
to
begin
the
next
stage
of
the
fight.
“I’m
relatively
new
to
the
cause,
and
at
first
I
was
discouraged,”
said
Bradley
Smith,
co-founder
of
the
grassroots
group
Don’t
Amend
Atlanta.
“But
in
hindsight
there
were
a
lot
of
little
victories
during
the
fight
[in
the
legislature]
and
a
lot
of
the
people
within
our
organization
are
more
passionate
about
it
now
than
they
were
before.”
But
other
activists
fear
gays
may
waste
valuable
time,
money
and
energy
fighting
a
lost
cause.
“It’s
going
to
pass
2-1
—
there’s
no
doubt
it’s
going
to
pass,”
said
Bob
Whitelaw,
chair
of
the
Georgia
Stonewall
Democrats,
a
gay
partisan
group.
“I
believe
most
of
the
people
opposed
to
same-sex
marriage
do
so
on
religious
beliefs,
and
it’s
very,
very
difficult
to
change
their
religious
beliefs.”
Instead
of
focusing
on
defeating
the
amendment,
Whitelaw
said
gay
men
and
lesbians
should
direct
their
energy
and
resources
to
electing
gay-friendly
politicians
since
all
236
seats
in
the
General
Assembly
are
up
for
grabs
on
Nov.
2.
But
most
gay
rights
activists
agreed
that
the
most
effective
weapon
gays
can
use
in
the
fight
against
the
amendment
is
themselves,
by
being
open
and
honest
about
their
sexual
orientation.
“If
there’s
anything
polling
has
consistently
shown,
it’s
that
people
who
know
folks
who
are
gay
are
much
more
likely
to
support
our
issues,”
said
Beth
Schapiro,
a
gay
Democratic
pollster.
“If
anyone
was
on
the
verge
of
coming
out,
now
is
the
time.”
Georgia
Equality
is
solidifying
a
two-pronged
strategy
for
fighting
the
November
ballot
initiative,
approaching
it
as
a
political
and
educational
campaign,
Thornell
said.
The
organization
has
assembled
a
coalition
of
allies
who
opposed
the
gay
marriage
ban
during
legislative
debate,
including
clergy
and
business
leaders,
and
Thornell
said
he
expects
that
base
to
expand.
“I
think
we
will
find
we
have
a
lot
more
friends
out
there
than
we
realized,”
Thornell
said.
Georgia
Equality
plans
to
use
a
direct
mail
campaign
and
also
have
people
go
door-to-door
advocating
against
the
amendment,
Thornell
said.
The
organization
will
embark
on
a
broad
media
drive,
including
advertising
and
writing
opinion
pieces
for
newspapers,
he
said.
A
public
organizing
session
is
scheduled
for
Monday
at
the
First
Metropolitan
Community
Church
in
Atlanta.
An
estimated
$1
million
is
needed
to
effectively
fight
the
gay
marriage
ban,
Thornell
said.
“The
reality
is,
the
gay
community
can
afford
this,”
Thornell
said.
“If
anything,
we
cannot
afford
to
not
afford
it.”
Contributions
can
be
made
via
Georgia
Equality’s
Web
site.
But
to
defeat
the
amendment,
gay
residents
must
do
more
than
just
give
money,
he
said.
When
state
Rep.
Jill
Chambers
(R-Decatur)
broke
ranks
with
the
GOP
by
voting
against
the
gay
marriage
ban
in
the
House,
she
immediately
issued
a
statement
outlining
her
opposition.
“If
brought
to
a
referendum
in
November,
every
gay
household
in
my
community
will
be
‘outed’
with
signs
that
display
‘Vote
No
in
November,’”
Chambers
said.
“The
referendum
will
invite
the
potential
of
verbal
and
physical
altercations
or
vandalism
in
our
neighborhoods.”
Though
an
intimidating
prospect,
particularly
for
those
living
outside
the
metro
area,
Thornell
said
gays
will
be
up
to
the
challenge.
“I
get
hundreds
of
e-mails
a
day,
and
most
of
them
are
people
who
say
they’ve
never
been
involved
in
anything
political
before,”
Thornell
said.
Bradley
Smith
and
many
of
his
cohorts
at
Don’t
Amend
Atlanta
were
among
the
multitude
of
gay
men
and
lesbians
who
came
out
earlier
this
year
to
fight
the
amendment.
And
though
not
equipped
with
the
infrastructure
or
finances
of
Georgia
...
