Today's Supreme Court decisions, both of which heartened proponents of gay marriage, come at a time when gay donors have become formidable players in the political money game. In the 2012 election cycle, gay rights groups and individuals associated with them spent nearly $17 million on campaign contributions and other political spending at the federal and state level, according to a search on Influence Explorer. Gay rights groups also reported spending more than $3.8 million on federal lobbying over the same time period.
Most of that campaign cash--57 percent--went to state level campaigns and issues, where gay marriage ...
Continue readingWhat’s in a name? Republican- versus Democrat-speak on gay marriage
How something is described often affects how people react to it. So it's interesting, as the Supreme Court begins two days of arguments on how to and who can define marriage, to see how the lawmakers across the street have talked about the same issue.
A look through Sunlight's Capitol Words shows a clear partisan divide: Democrats tend to use the term "gay marriage" while Republicans prefer "same-sex marriage." As you can see in the chart above, the latter term occurs more frequently in congressional debate. The full Capitol Words analysis gives us the party breakdown: Democrats account ...
Continue readingPro-gay GOP super PAC has one donor
Last month, Republican billionaire Paul Singer made news with the announcement of a new, unlikely super PAC: American Unity Inc. It's mission, according to the New York Times, which ran a story about the PAC on June 9, is to "encourage Republican candidates to support same-sex marriage."
The super PAC was officially formed June 19, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Singer has a gay son and has given millions to support gay marriage in New York and elsewhere. He's also given to mainstream Republican causes, including $1 million last year to Restore our Future, the super PAC ...
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