Calif. same-sex issue has nation watching

November 3, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

A new poll shows 44 percent favor the ban on gay marriage.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Five months and thousands of weddings after California’s highest court sanctioned same-sex marriage, anxious eyes around the nation will closely follow voters Tuesday as they decide whether to turn back the clock.

Given the state’s size and influence, the vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has become a referendum on sexual orientation and civil rights. Both sides call it the “Gettysburg” of the power struggle between the gay rights movement and the Christian right, with the victors capturing momentum in other states.

“As California goes, so goes the nation,” Mayor Gavin Newsom boldly predicted at a City Hall celebration the day the state Supreme Court legalized marriages of gays and lesbians.

The race has tightened over the last six weeks and is expected to be close. A Field Poll released Friday found 49 percent of likely voters oppose the ban and 44 percent favor it. In mid-September, the measure was losing by 17 points.

“In the minds of many people, Proposition 8 is the most important thing nationally on the ballot,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, which supports the measure. “We have survived bad presidents. But many, many are convinced we will not survive this redefinition of marriage.”

Religious and civil rights groups, wealthy philanthropists and middle-class donors have poured $69 million into campaigns for and against Proposition 8, making the initiative the most expensive election question this year outside the race for the White House. Almost $21 million has come from campaign contributors outside California.

Even the presidential candidates weighed in on Proposition 8: Sen. John McCain endorsed it and Sen. Barack Obama opposed it. Former President Clinton recorded a telephone message that went to millions of California households Friday asking voters to defeat the measure.