An Oregon gay rights group is
correcting media reports that it will launch an effort in the fall to
put the state's constitutional gay marriage ban up for a vote.
On Top Magazine was among the
outlets reporting that Basic Rights Oregon will begin collecting
signatures in October for a possible 2012 ballot campaign.
Shauna Ballo, the group's interim
communications director, contacted us to clarify that the group will
decide in the fall whether to move forward with the campaign, but no
signatures will be collected until after the decision is made.
“Due to the deadlines set by the
state to get a measure on the ballot, our timeline is to decide by
the end of October whether we feel a 2012 ballot measure is viable,”
Ballo wrote in an email. “At that point we'll make an
announcement. By mid-November we'd need to turn in the first round
of 1,000 'sponsorship' signatures to the secretary of state. She
then has a few months to validate and certify a petition and cover
letter for us to circulate. Once we get that back, we'd begin
gathering signatures in earnest and submit them by July 2012. Then,
those signatures are validated to determine if the measure gets on
the ballot.”
Ballo did not say what criteria would
be used to determine the measure's viability. Polling shows more
voters in the state support gay marriage than oppose it, but not a
majority. A Public Policy Polling survey in June found 48 percent of
voters in favor and 42 percent against the legalization of such
marriages.
Campaigners
in Maine also hope to put a similar question on the ballot next year.