Although it is certainly disconcerting that the ballot initiative proposing Gay Marriage ban in the state of Oregon is currently ahead in the polls (57-38 as of 9/13-16), there appears to be some good news in the fight to defeat the measure. Jeff Wright notes in today's Eugene Register-Guard that opponents of the amendment to the state constitution have been drawing significantly more financial backing than the proponents. In "Foes of gay-marriage ban outspend backers", write reports:

Opponents have raised the most money, but supporters may have the upper hand in persuading Oregon voters that marriage should be limited to unions involving a man and a woman.

With the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force accounting for nearly half the amount, opponents of Ballot Measure 36 raised more than $1.1 million through Sept. 16. That figure has since climbed to about $1.4 million toward a goal of nearly $3 million, said Shauna Shindler Ballo with the No on Constitutional Amendment 36 Committee.

Supporters, led by the Defense of Marriage Coalition, have raised nearly $660,000 through Sept. 16. Many of those supporters, both statewide and in Lane County, have been churches. South Hills Assembly of God in south Eugene was the largest Lane County contributor at $1,000.

Wright continues:

But Ballo said a poll by opponents - giving respondents the primary arguments both for and against the measure - shows a statistical dead heat. The campaign has enlisted 5,000 volunteers to take part in door-to-door outreach, Ballo said.

"Some `yes' voters can be moved to `no' with enough information on the measure," she said. "We're working to talk with both the undecideds and the persuadables."

Ballo said opponents are already airing radio spots and plan to begin airing TV ads on Oct. 11, just before ballots are mailed for the Nov. 2 general election.

Oregon is one of 11 states with proposed constitutional amendments on the November ballot to ban same-sex marriage - but the only state where opponents are given any chance of prevailing.

Again, it's quite disappointing that in a state with the great history of progressivism like Oregon, a faction of extreme conservatives has been able to convince a majority of the population that discrimination should be written into the state constitution. That having been said, anti-gay groups like Lon Mabon's Oregon Citizens Alliance have been attempting to do similar things in the state for more than a decade, and though nearly half of the electorate has voted for amendments seeking to curtail the rights of the state's homosexuals, the initiatives have always been defeated.