Prop. 8 database: more than you want to know?

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Prop. 8 database: more than you want to know?
C.W. Nevius

Saturday, November 1, 2008


Last week, supporters of the proposition to outlaw same-sex marriage in California issued an ominous threat. Via certified letter, members of ProtectMarriage.com warned some businesses to withdraw financial support for the No on Proposition 8 forces or they would be publicly identified as among those who are "in opposition to traditional marriage."

It turns out that wasn't much of a threat. Information about financial donors is not only public, it is readily available to everyone right now.

The Chronicle is among news organizations - the Los Angeles Times is another - that has made available a searchable database of donors on both sides of the Prop. 8 campaign. Anyone can type in the name of their neighbor, friend or co-worker and see if they contributed. The site not only allows you to search residents of California, but other states, too.

Placed on SFGate.com late Tuesday afternoon, the site has been wildly popular. By Friday afternoon, it had already recorded about 500,000 hits.

But there is a downside. Everybody knows that good old Bob in your office is a bit of a curmudgeon, but you've always managed to get along with him as long as you avoid discussing politics and religion. Now that you've looked him up, and see that he's donated a large sum of money to a cause you adamantly oppose, it may be hard to go in Monday morning and chat about the Raiders game.

At least that was my experience. Against my better judgment, I checked some of my neighbors. I had a feeling they disagreed with me on Prop. 8, but seeing their names and surprisingly large donations gave me a little chill. It will be hard to forget that.

"I'm worried about getting information I don't really want to have," Chronicle reader Julie King said in an e-mail. "To find out that someone I know, like or respect (or even someone I hate) went past supporting the measure with their vote, to actually giving money to that cause? As shocking as it may sound, I can't imagine how that could NOT be a deal breaker."

Needless to say, in liberal San Francisco, the majority of voters are expected to support the No on 8 cause. But this is also a city of commuters, and it is not unlikely that your co-workers might be quietly supporting "traditional marriage."

Gino VanGundy, a gay man who is an analyst at UCSF, offers a cautionary tale about a rift with an "old friend ... who is Mormon and devout at that." The Prop. 8 argument and VanGundy's marriage to his partner drove such a wedge between them that VanGundy thinks the damage is irreparable.

"I finally realized that it really was, at the end of the day, about her fundamental belief," VanGundy said. "You may think that the information won't change your relationships or opinions of the people in question, but ... I assure you that it WILL."

That's not true in every case, of course. Elizabeth Murray has been practicing acceptance since she learned her friend, who has strong religious convictions, is supporting Prop. 8.

"It really rattled me for a few days," she said. "But then I starting thinking more about religious tolerance and realized that if I want him to respect me, I have to respect his religious convictions."

It all sounds very Zen-like until she adds, "Of course, it will be a lot easier to respect him if Prop. 8 loses. "

Isn't that true of us all? In our hearts we know that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but let's face it, when the votes are counted next week, one of the two sides on Prop. 8 is going to be extremely disappointed, if not bitter.

That's why someone like Jay Wiener wonders if you really want to find out the truth. His suggestion is: Don't ask, don't tell and don't search the database.

"It was once considered less than comme il faut (proper) to ask someone's age or how he or she voted," Wiener wrote. "Contemporary life has me believing that greater propriety and restraint would be commendable."

There's also the chance of getting something wrong. Paul Page wrote that once he started searching the Prop. 8 donors, he quickly went from acquaintances to local celebrities. He checked supervisors Bevan Dufty and Tom Ammiano - who donated $500 and $1,000, respectively, to the opposition campaign - but could find no entry for Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"Does this mean the mayor is not interested in civil rights for all?" Page asked. "Of course not. Gavin put his political neck in a noose for LGBT marriage." (His gubernatorial committee also donated $15,000.)

Still, there's another example of how checking the donors could spread ill will. In theory, nearly everyone seemed to say, it is a better idea not to check on your friends, neighbors and co-workers.

That's the theory. But in reality?

Ask reader King if she will check the database.

"Yes," she said. "And feel ugly while doing it."

C.W. Nevius' column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle