Campbell, California city councilmember Evan Low hasn’t been shy about his opposition to Prop 8, the statewide ballot initiative that would eliminate marriage rights for same-sex couples.  Now his outspokenness on the issue has earned him threats from some of the measure’s proponents.

Low, who is openly gay, said he’s received multiple calls from unidentified callers vowing to launch a recall effort against him unless he renounces his opposition to Prop 8.  “The calls definitely seemed coordinated.  A number of the callers used the same language and the same key phrases,” Low told GayPolitics.  “They could be empty threats at this point, but it’s unfortunate the Yes on 8 side has stooped to this level.  Intimidation seems to be a common thread in their campaign.”

Low said he’s been speaking out against the proposition in community forums, debates and in front of various ethnic groups’ gatherings.  “This is simple.  This is about eliminating rights.  One of the most important duties of serving in public office is representing everyone.  I can’t stand by and let one group try to take away the rights of another.  I felt I had a responsibility to speak out,” Low said.

Endorsed by the Victory Fund and elected at the age of 23 in 2006, Low said he plans to stand for reelection in 2010.

Residents of Campbell City, Calif. have threatened to recall openly gay city councilman Evan Low unless he reverses his decision to oppose Proposition 8, a ballot measure that would strip same-sex couples of their right to marry in the state.

Low, a former Victory Fund endorsee, told the Bay Area Reporter that about six people have told him that he’d be removed from office unless he changes his mind.

“I have received seven calls today threatening to recall me from office if I do not publicly retract my position and switch to Yes on 8,” he told supporters in an e-mail on Wednesday. “The Yes on 8 campaign is continuing their efforts of deception and coercion. Let’s have a strong showing during this final stretch.”

The paper writes:

In his e-mail Low urged his supporters to donate to the No on 8 campaign (http://www.noonprop8.com) as well as attend several rallies in Silicon Valley over the weekend. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Low said he did not know where most of the callers lived or if they were being coordinated by the Yes on 8 campaign.

“At least one person I knew was from Campbell,” he said. “Whether or not these calls or threats of recall are attributed to Yes on 8 directly, it still shows the attempts of people on that side of the issue will go to threaten. It is just ridiculous.”

He called the threat of a recall a “pathetic attempt” that would not impact his speaking out against Prop 8.

“It is bad enough they want to eliminate rights for people. It is just ugly, plain and simple,” said Low.

Gloria Nieto, political director at the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center in San Jose, labeled the tactics thuggish and said they would not work.

“You know what a bunch of thugs. They are attacking our Web sites, threatening our elected officials. It is nothing but thuggery; it is disgusting,” said Nieto. “I don’t think it will work in Campbell. I will be the first in line to support Evan so he knows people are backing him up.”

On Election Day, Arizona residents will once again be asked to add an amendment to their state constitution that would outlaw marriage between same-sex couples.

The New York Times published an article detailing the fight over the amendment, including a comment from Victory Endorsee Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. Simena, who is chairwoman of anti-amendment Arizona Together, claimed that the right’s allegations that marriage equality harms other peoples’ marriages is ridiculous.

“Their claim that we have to protect marriage from attack is ridiculous, because there’s no such attack,” she said. “It’s a fake threat.”

The NY Times reports:

Supporters of this year’s measure, Proposition 102, say a constitutional amendment is necessary to prevent “politicians or judges” from overturning the state law, an apparent reference to neighboring California. The State Legislature voted to place the measure on the ballot in June, shortly after same-sex couples gained the right to marry in California.

“The people of Arizona have their own way of doing things, but at the same time, we are also part of the United States,” said Kelly Molique, a spokeswoman for Yes for Marriage, the main backer of the measure. “So we see what’s going on in other areas.”

When Arizona voters turned down the 2006 ballot measure, they became first in the nation to do so. Until then, backers of such statewide constitutional bans had a 27-for-27 winning streak.

Since then, opponents of same-sex marriage have had further cause for concern: courts in California and Connecticut said laws in those states barring such unions were unconstitutional, bringing to three — along with Massachusetts — the number of states where same-sex couples can marry.

Backers of the Arizona measure have raised more than $7 million to promote it, with major financing coming from Focus on the Family Action, the conservative Colorado organization that is also backing a ballot measure in California that would reinstate that state’s ban on same-sex marriages.

…

The opponents have raised less than a tenth of the money raised by supporters, a gap they say may have to do with the amount of national money pouring into the fight over the California measure, which is expected to be one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns ever.

Major newspapers from across the country have endorsed Victory Fund candidates — including The Boston Globe (Sara Orozco), The Oregonian (Kate Brown) and the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Andrew Martin and David Parks).

Every candidate that receives the Victory Fund endorsement must pass several benchmarks to prove that they can run a successful campaign and be an effective leader — merely being gay won’t entitle a candidate to the Victory Fund’s support. Read what these papers had to say about the candidates below.

The Oregonian on Kate Brown:

Sen. Kate Brown, a Portland Democrat, remains the clear choice for this job. Her leadership experience in the Legislature, as well as her law career and years working on state budgets and ethics reform, give her a solid foundation to be an excellent secretary of state.

The Tampa Tribune on Kevin Beckner:

Democrat Kevin Beckner would bring vision and sensitivity to this countywide job. A financial planner and former police officer, Beckner, 37, would move away from wedge issues and focus on real challenges — creating jobs, improving the transportation system, building parks and preserving endangered land. Beckner has commonsense ideas for jump-starting the local economy, making government more efficient and using mass transit to lessen the pain of high gas prices.

As important, Beckner also would change the tone. He wants to give the neighborhoods a bigger voice at County Center and open up the decisionmaking process. Beckner is a good listener. His respectful demeanor and businesslike approach could spare this board from making rash decisions. He also would raise the commission’s ethical bar.

Inside Bay Area on Rebecca Kaplan:

It’s not often in Oakland that one can actually get excited about any of the candidates running. The city desperately needs inspired, creative new leadership to help shake up the dysfunctional city leadership.

We believe that the energetic Kaplan, who would become the first openly gay woman to serve on the council, is just that person.

Las Vegas Review-Journal on Andrew Martin:

Mr. Martin … has a record of helping taxpayers as a fraud examiner and a forensic accountant. The businessman wants to create a state Department of Accountability and use the investigative power of this office to make agencies “justify every dollar.” The Review-Journal endorses Andrew Martin in District 13.

Tulsa World on Jim Roth:

There are a number of reasons why the word “incumbent” deserves to remain in the title of Democrat Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth. The most important reason is that Roth puts the interests of his constituents, who also happen to be the utility ratepayers of Oklahoma, first in matters before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

In June 2007, Roth was appointed by Gov. Brad Henry to the post vacated by Denise Bode. If elected Roth would fill the remaining two years of the six-year term. Two corporation commission positions are on the ballot Nov. 4. Incumbent commissioner Jeff Cloud, opposed by Charles Gray, is seeking his second term.

A popular Oklahoma County commissioner, Roth has turned in an exemplary performance so far in the new post, grasping the highly technical and far-reaching duties of the three-member commission whose rules and orders affect about two-thirds of the state’s $100 billion economy.

Las Vegas Review-Journal on David Parks:

Mr. Parks is a dedicated, thoughtful lawmaker who takes a live-and-let-live approach when it comes to social issues. David Parks wins our endorsement.

The Desert Sun on Greg Rodriguez:

Rodriguez, 42, a nonprofit consultant, is extremely impressive on paper. He is also energetic, articulate and tenacious. The parent of a special-needs child, he was a member of the Washington State Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council until he moved to California in 2006. We like the fresh perspective he could bring to the job.

Hartford Courant on Beth Bye:

Beth Bye, 46, a West Hartford Democrat and former educator who is seeking a second term, is a thoughtful and effective lawmaker with a strong interest in education and the environment, but with an understanding that state programs cost money and must be effective. Her analysis of the $20 million early reading program resulted in $10 million being withdrawn pending better planning and evaluation.

On the environment, she has become one of the legislature’s leading advocates for increased recycling, and has personally eschewed the use of plastic bottles.

Rep. Barney Frank and his challenger traded terse words over the weekend during a debate at Wellesley College. Frank and Republican Earl Sholley squared off on the topic of marriage equality, with Sholley saying that the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples “diminishes the value of the institution of marriage.”

Frank called the claim “nonsense.”

Politicker MA reports:

Sholley said he strongly opposes gay marriage and that he supports letting people vote for a constitutional amendment banning it.

“I believe having gay marriage diminishes the value of the institution of marriage,” he said. “I believe it’s a sacred pact between a man and a woman and it is so ordained by God.”

Sholley, who repeatedly referred to himself as a Christian, also said that gay marriage is not a civil rights issue because being gay is a choice.

“This isn’t a civil rights issue,” Sholley said. “This I has nothing to do with environment. This has nothing to do with genes. There is no gay gene. This has to do with choice. In fact, there is a lot of evidence to indicate…I believe that it’s obsessive compulsive behavior it’s been estimated that 80 percent of homosexuals were sexually abused as children. I think we should be helping these people.”

Sholley’s response was greeted by both boos and cheers from the crowd.

Frank, however, was quick to disagree with Sholley.

“I hope it won’t be ungracious to reject Mr. Sholley’s offer to help me overcome the nonexistent child abuse,” the Newton Democrat said, gathering his own applause from the crowd.

“Same-sex marriage is of no concern to anyone who does not choose to enter into one,” Frank went on. “The notion that it weakens the institution of marriage is nonsense. We’ve had same-sex marriage in Massachusetts for four years; there has been no negative effect.”

As far as putting the issue to a vote, Frank noted that in both the 2004 and 2006 Massachusetts statewide elections, gay marriage was a central issue on which every candidate was asked to take a side. And, Frank said, Bay State voters elected a legislature “that voted by about 77 percent in favor of same-sex marriage.”

“I believe the voters do know what they are doing and I believe the voters showed their choice,” he said.