Follow the H8te Money…to Hawaii
Nov 12th, 2008 by Capsun
Executive Summary: Breakdown of Prop 8 contributions nationally, from California, and Hawaii – including top donors and the impact of religion on donations.
Yesterday, I discovered a utility from the L.A. Times that tracks donations for or against Prop H8te, as reported by the California Secretary of State. Proposition 8 is a ballot initiative banning gay marriage in California that went into effect November 5 and that I mentioned earlier. In a moment of inspiration, I thought I’d do some investigating. Many thanks to Kenton Chang for his help in computing some of these numbers.
Let me preface my comments by saying that everyone has the right to their own opinions and to donate to any (legal) cause they choose. It is also my right to write and opine about them exercising that right.
Prop 8ers (who want marriage limited to between a man and woman)
Nationally, Prop 8ers raised $36,122,538. The largest single contribution of $1,400,000 came from the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization in Connectictut; this was the largest donation to either side. Prop 8ers got 5,784,300 votes (per CNN), enough to amend the California constitution.
Non-H8ters (who opposed second-class status for same-sex partners)
Nationally, Non-H8ters raised $38,432,873. Their largest contributions of $1,352,848 and $1,316,974 were from the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Services Center and the California Teachers’ Association Issues PAC, respectively. They got 5,302,073 votes against passage (per CNN), but not enough.
California
In California itself, 57,196 people donated to either side, with the smallest donation coming in at just $4.
Hawaii
Locally, 623 of my fellow residents donated $235,808 to advocate on this issue. 222 were Prop 8ers and 101 were Anti-H8ters. Anti-H8ters’ donations totalled $43,835 (18.6%), while the remaining $191,973 (81.4%) came from Prop 8ers. Here are some Hawaii tidbits:
- The largest Hawaii donation of $20,000 came from Board of Education member Kim Coco Iwamoto and accounted for 45.6% of all Anti-H8ter money. My hero for the week.
- Two members of the Watanabe family (of Watanabe Floral) donated $5,100 to the Prop 8er cause. Guess that’s one local business I will exempt from my “support local” efforts.
From the Prop 8er side:
- Aiea (96701): of 16 contributions, 15 (93.8%) were from Prop 8ers whose $20,600 was 99% of district donations.
- Ewa Beach (96706): all 14 contributions ($9,220 total) were from Prop 8ers.
- Laie (96762): all 18 contributions ($14,980) were from Prop 8ers.
- Pearl City (96782): of 26 contributions, 23 (88.5%) were from Prop 8ers whose $10,190 was 96.2% of district donations. State Rep. Blake Oshiro and two others were the only open minds in that district.
- Waipahu (96797): all 15 contributions ($9,850) were from Prop 8ers.
From the Anti-H8ter side:
- Honolulu (96815): all 12 contributions ($2,850) were from Anti-H8ters. Thank goodness! They are my favorite ZIP code.
- Honolulu (96816): of 16 contributions, 15 (93.8%) were from Anti-H8ters whose $1,600 was 94.1% of donations. My second favorite district.
Religion
With protests of Mormon temples mounting because Anti-H8ters blame them for helping to pass Prop 8, I thought that was an angle worth exploring. Thankfully, people in Hawaii have been more respectful. I have family members (including my sister), friends, and co-workers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), so I have nothing against them, their church, or their beliefs.
Of the 643 donations from Utah, with its 60.8% Mormon population, the largest was $1,010,000 from Bruce Bastian – interestingly enough, opposing Prop 8. The smallest donation was for $25. With the exception of that top donation, the rest of the top 25 contributors, ranging from $10,000 to $1,000,000, were in support of Prop 8.
In Hawaii, 15 donations (6.8% of all Prop 8ers) that totalled $15,080 (7.9% of all Hawaii Prop 8er money) came from Mormon-affiliated entities and areas. While these numbers aren’t small enough to be ignored, they aren’t large enough to indicate the Mormon church advocated more than any other religious organization.
Again, while I vehemently disagree with the outcome of this issue during the election, I accept it because a clear majority (52.3%) of California voters approved it. But it is interesting to see all the money that flowed in and how the side with the most money lost in the end.
Mahalo!
One of your best posts in my opinion. Although a “clear majority” of the voters in California approved Prop 8, I hope Democratic legislators in California are able to undue this clearly discriminatory restriction. I completely agree with their statement in court documents filed on Nov. 10 that “the citizens of California rely on the Legislature and the courts to safeguard against unlawful discrimination by temporary, and often short-lived, majorities.”
Aloha e Capsun,
Mahalo for the awesome statistical analysis. I wanted to write more, but just know I appreciate your post.
I remaing positive that the government will recognize this is a civil rights issue, not a religious one.
Mahalo,
Liko
Mahalo to you both for your comments and readership. It’s nice to see that we are in agreement, but honestly, I’m fine with people disagreeing with me. More importantly, I just want people, especially young people, to get educated about and involved in the political happenings of our day.
I personally think that issues like this hitting the ballot are a violation of EVERYBODY’S civil rights, gay or straight.
Great post Capsun!
There are times when the will of the majority translates more into the tyranny of the masses. I think this was the case with Prop 8. Democracy should be the will of the people but not at the expense of what should be people’s civil rights. I agree with Pomaikai and the California Courts: “the citizens of California rely on the Legislature and the courts to safeguard against unlawful discrimination by temporary, and often short-lived, majorities.” This isn’t the end for the anti-prop 8 movement. And hopefully there are some strong voices that can overturn this vote supporting discrimination, hegemony, and oppression.
quilly and Katie,
I wholeheartedly agree! As I state on my Nations app on Facebook:
There IS a difference between a republic and a democracy. It lies in the ultimate source of official power. In the case of a republic, it lies with a charter; in a democracy, with the rule of the majority. In a democracy, majority rules, and minority loses. In a republic, you have certain unalienable rights that cannot be outvoted, and the government is supposed to protect those rights.
That’s why the United States is a Federal Republic.
Mahalo,
Capsun
Very interesting stuff. Thanks.
I think equal marriage has to be ultimately resolved on the Federal/Constitutional level.
~Travis
[...] 26, 2008 by exbor It has been two weeks since my post on Prop 8 money from Hawaii and I still get comments about it in real life and through email. A lot has happened in those two [...]
[...] I can move on to the second way today is special. I have written about Prop H8te before (here and here and here). And some of those most upset about the Prop H8te results in California want to use [...]
[...] my posts on California’s Prop 8 last year, you already know that I can’t fathom why we would [...]