Laguna Beach stands divided on Prop. 8

Monday, October 27, 2008
By KELLI HART
The Orange County Register


LAGUNA BEACH - This city had one of the nation's first openly gay mayors in the 1980s and was the first city in California to officially oppose Proposition 8, the proposed ban on gay marriage on the state ballot this fall.

But it's an open question how the city's voters will go on that issue come Nov. 4.

According to donations made for and against Prop. 8 - which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman - Lagunans who favor the gay-marriage ban have donated a much larger amount than those who oppose it.

"Yes on 8" campaigners have raised more than $300,000 in Laguna Beach. Lagunans who oppose Prop. 8 have donated more than $81,000, according to the California Secretary of State's Office.

That's true even though the number of contributions against Prop. 8 outpaced the number of contributions in favor, 185 to 45.

Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College, says it is remarkable that the "Yes on 8" campaign has been doing so well in Laguna, given its longtime reputation as a gay-friendly town.

"The rule of thumb is that it's easier to beat something than pass something," he said. "It's easier to create doubts in voters' minds than to overcome those doubts."

Though the City Council unanimously supported same-sex marriage in July, some residents feel their opinion on the controversial ballot initiative was never asked.

Yes on Prop. 8

Bradford Rowley, a Laguna Beach resident and chief executive of Bradford Renaissance Portraits, has "Yes on Prop. 8" signs in his front yard but says he has to take them in at night and put them back out the following morning.

"People who have 'Yes on Prop. 8' signs are having them stolen left and right," Rowley said.

He says he is in no way homophobic but was disappointed when he heard that the City Council had opposed the gay-marriage ban for Laguna as a whole.

"I certainly wasn't asked," he said. "I think they did it without checking with their residents."

Rowley says he is also worried that if Prop. 8 doesn't pass, his church could be sued for refusing to wed same-sex couples and could lose its tax-exempt status.

The "Yes on 8" campaign sent out a mailer weeks ago claiming certain consequences if Prop. 8 failed, but many people have objected to those claims, including Mormon scholar and Brigham Young University adjunct law professor Morris Thurston, who wrote a commentary posted on the "No on 8" Web site.

Laguna resident Randall Bell says he doesn't discriminate against gay people but is concerned that if Prop. 8 doesn't pass, others will be greatly affected.

"If I were intolerant or homophobic, I certainly would not live here," Bell said. "I'm concerned that doctors, churches, synagogues and adoption agencies could be sued it they don't do what gay activists tell them to do."

Tammy Caseiro lives in Laguna and has four children. She is voting yes on Prop. 8 and wants to protect the concept of traditional family. She questions why same-sex couples feel they need to be married and can't be content with a domestic partnership.

No on Prop. 8

Ed Todeschini, a Laguna resident and Orange County Federal Club co-chair for the Human Rights Campaign, believes "marriage is an institution that should not be exclusive to heterosexuals."

Todeschini and his partner, John Ferrante, have been together for 26 years and in a domestic partnership for 10 years. They got married Oct. 8 for the same reasons heterosexual couples want to get married, Todeschini said.

"Why wouldn't you want committed couples to share the same and equal relationship confirmation that you have?" he said.

In response to the mailer the "Yes on 8" campaign sent out, Todeschini said none of the alleged consequences are true. He pointed out that California Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell appears in a TV ad to dispel a claim that schools will be forced to teach children about same-sex marriage if Prop. 8 fails.

Richard Frank, a Laguna resident and professor emeritus of history and classics at UC Irvine, has been married to his wife, Anne, since 1959 and says he is voting no on Prop. 8.

"I think this is an unreasonable intrusion into people's private rights," Frank said. "It changes the constitution and creates second-class citizens."

Frank quoted from Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which states "but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

If a religious test is not required of public officials, why should it be required of ordinary citizens, he said. "It introduces a religious quality into our political system."

Laguna Beach Councilwoman Toni Iseman brought opposition to Prop. 8 before the council with Mayor Jane Egly in July. She, along with Frank, thinks Prop. 8 is a matter of separation of church and state.

"It's so unfair to limit their (same-sex couples) rights, because there are hundreds of rights that go along with marriage," Iseman said. "We are hopefully going to recognize that, by granting privileges to two people, it will have no negative effect on anyone."

Contact the writer: khart@ocregister.com or 949-454-7391