Michael Foust reports for Baptist Press:When opponents of a proposed constitutional marriage amendment in Florida run ads next year encouraging a "no" vote, there's a good chance one man -- Colorado homosexual activist Tim Gill [pictured at left] will have helped bankroll them.
Gill's name may not be widely recognized by the general public, but it is well-known by leaders on both sides of the "gay marriage" debate. Last year alone, he gave $3.8 million to help finance opposition to marriage amendments in eight states, the National Institute on Money in State Politics reported. And while seven of the amendments nevertheless passed, leaders in Gill's organization -- the Gill Action Fund -- say they have no regrets.
"We'd absolutely do it again," Patrick Guerriero, director of the Gill Action Fund, told The Denver Post. "We are making investments. We know this is part of a longer conversation."...
Gill, 53, gained his wealth from his successful Quark Inc. company, which he founded in 1981 and which produces layout software used by many newspaper and magazine companies. He sold his interest seven years ago, The Post said.
Eight states passed marriage amendments last year, bringing the number of states that have them to 27 -- a majority of the country. The only state that defeated an amendment was Arizona, where the focus was less on "gay marriage" and more on the way the amendment supposedly would have impacted unmarried heterosexuals.
But Guerriero said he was encouraged that four of the states -- Colorado, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin -- approved the amendments by less than what states in 2004 and 2005 did. The percentages ranged from 52 percent in South Dakota to 59 percent in Wisconsin. Of course, states like South Carolina approved the amendments with 78 percent of the vote.
"We didn't expect to win in South Carolina," Guerriero said. "There isn't going to be an epiphany on gay rights. It's an incremental conversation."
