Prop 8: Repeal in 2010, 2012 or later?

Marriage equality activists met this past weekend in Los Angeles for what was billed as the Equality Summit, a statewide planning meeting to bring together Californians over the issue of repealing Proposition 8.  One part mea culpa over the failure of the No on 8 Campaign this past year, and one part looking forward to the next round of work for marriage equality advocates, the Equality Summit left open the debate over whether there would be efforts to repeal Proposition 8 on the ballot in 2010, 2012 or even later down the road.  LGBT rights activists, as it stands, are mixed on the subject.

Check out this article by Lisa Leff from the Associated Press, who quotes a few organizers attending the Equality Summit, including Chad Griffin, John Henning, and Rick Jacobs, all of whom were in attendance at the event.  "There is one thing worse than losing Prop. 8, and that would be losing again," said Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles political consultant who organized Hollywood's opposition to the ban.  What Griffin seems to be getting at, and which a number of people reportedly mentioned over the weekend, is that putting a repeal of Prop 8 back on the ballot in 2010 might not allow enough time to do the proper fundraising, organizing and networking that the 2008 effort to defeat Proposition 8 lacked.

"The deadline for us to be gathering signatures for a November ballot initiative would actually be this fall," said John Henning from the group Love Honor Cherish, according to Leff's article.  "We have to raise money, we have to train people how to gather these signatures and we have to get 10,000 people out doing something they may not be comfortable doing."

Coupled with the millions of dollars that will need to be raised (spending for the campaign topped $70 million this year, cumulatively), is that too steep a hill to climb for 2010 or 2012?

Not according to Rick Jacobs of The Courage Campaign.  And we tend to agree with him.

"I don't think anybody knows when is the best time to go back," Jacobs is quoted in Leff's article. "My philosophy is having it go every time, and eventually we will win."

Californians will be going to the polls in 2010 to elect a new Governor, so turnout will likely be high.  There's also perhaps never been a more energized core of activists wanting to enact marriage equality.  Just look at the people who poured into the streets during the wake of Prop 8's victory, and the way that Prop 8 thrust same-sex marriage into the national dialogue like no other statewide initiative this year.

Are there risks of putting it on the ballot again in 2010, or 2012?  Yes.  As critics point out, that may not be enough time to change the hearts and minds of those that voted to pass Prop 8.  But remember that Prop 8 only won by a little more than 2 percent.  That's not insurmountable in eighteen months.  It wouldn't be insurmountable in eight months -- as long as it's accompanied by a statewide campaign with a clear vision as to how to win.