California Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Fuels a Battle, Rather Than Ending It

By JESSE McKINLEY
May 18, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO — Just hours after the California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, Mathew D. Staver was already raising money to overturn the decision.

Mr. Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Florida group that defends traditional marriage, flew to Dallas on Thursday night for a late dinner meeting with a fund-raiser. The topic was how to finance a campaign for the California Marriage Protection Act, a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution and effectively undo the court’s decision.

“I flew to Dallas to discuss this specific issue,” said Mr. Staver, who had several trips on similar business planned in the coming week. “And we talked until the early morning hours.” the rest