$39,046,062
$44,123,811
Supporting gay
marriage ban
Opposing gay
marriage ban
In November 2008 — five months after gay couples began marrying in the state — Californians went to the polls and voted 52% to 48% to ban same-sex marriage.
Proposition 8 amended California’s Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman and is the state’s costliest social initiative to date, with more than $83 million raised.
The initiative fight got underway after the California Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a 2000 vote that limited marriage to heterosexual couples. In their May 2008 decision, the justices said gay couples had the same fundamental right to marry.
Supporters of Proposition 8 wanted to end gay marriage in California; opponents wanted to maintain the right of same-sex couples to wed.
- 1. California $30,907,615
- 2. New York $2,885,815
- 3. Ohio $1,411,456
- 4. Illinois $1,292,992
- 5. District of Columbia $1,217,876
- 6. Michigan $1,123,852
- 7. Utah $1,086,845
- 8. Massachusetts $984,663
- 9. Colorado $716,004
- 10. Texas $330,078
- 11. Washington $255,491
- 12. Florida $236,794
- 13. Maryland $205,560
- 14. Pennsylvania $148,564
- 15. Virginia $148,493
- 16. New Jersey $124,685
- 17. Oregon $108,680
- 18. Georgia $77,690
- 19. Minnesota $74,065
- 20. Connecticut $59,552
- 21. Hawaii $57,030
- 22. Nevada $54,695
- 23. Arizona $52,562
- 24. North Carolina $47,388
- 25. New Mexico $46,439
- 26. Missouri $45,698
- 27. Wisconsin $35,951
- 28. Indiana $34,974
- 29. Tennessee $33,548
- 30. Iowa $29,923
- 31. Maine $25,010
- 32. Oklahoma $23,395
- 33. Louisiana $20,220
- 34. Kansas $18,835
- 35. New Hampshire $14,170
- 36. Rhode Island $12,465
- 37. South Carolina $12,450
- 38. Nebraska $12,118
- 39. Alaska $11,690
- 40. Delaware $11,300
- 41. Vermont $9,875
- 42. Kentucky $9,595
- 43. South Dakota $7,375
- 44. Alabama $6,885
- 45. Puerto Rico $6,700
- 46. Idaho $5,949
- 47. Arkansas $4,973
- 48. West Virginia $4,005
- 49. Montana $3,835
- 50. Mississippi $3,275
- 51. Wyoming $2,633
- 52. North Dakota $1,325
- 53. Virgin Islands $250
- 1. California $27,702,491
- 2. Utah $2,774,809
- 3. Connecticut $1,422,854
- 4. Pennsylvania $1,206,877
- 5. Texas $1,122,925
- 6. Colorado $721,440
- 7. District of Columbia $614,935
- 8. Michigan $542,477
- 9. Mississippi $501,701
- 10. Idaho $453,444
- 11. Hawaii $327,168
- 12. Arizona $271,589
- 13. Illinois $222,319
- 14. Washington $206,667
- 15. New Mexico $206,382
- 16. Nevada $114,781
- 17. Missouri $72,088
- 18. Florida $61,273
- 19. Maryland $56,428
- 20. Wyoming $55,450
- 21. Rhode Island $51,250
- 22. Iowa $50,820
- 23. Virginia $45,531
- 24. Oregon $22,912
- 25. Arkansas $22,200
- 26. Georgia $15,685
- 27. Montana $14,350
- 28. New York $13,711
- 29. Nebraska $12,650
- 30. Alaska $12,591
- 31. Minnesota $12,555
- 32. South Carolina $12,071
- 33. Ohio $11,844
- 34. Tennessee $10,991
- 35. Massachusetts $10,497
- 36. New Jersey $9,805
- 37. Indiana $6,763
- 38. Kansas $6,590
- 39. Wisconsin $5,516
- 40. North Carolina $5,250
- 41. Kentucky $4,295
- 42. Oklahoma $4,073
- 43. Louisiana $3,650
- 44. Alabama $3,228
- 45. Maine $1,518
- 46. North Dakota $950
- 47. Delaware $885
- 48. New Hampshire $725
- 49. South Dakota $633
- 50. Virgin Islands $500
- 51. West Virginia $398
- 52. Vermont $100
- 53. Puerto Rico No records
Credits: Michelle Minkoff, Maloy Moore, Sandra Poindexter and Ben Welsh
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