Freedom to Marry launches statewide gay marriage campaign in Texas

AUSTIN Freedom to Marry, one of the most prominent same-sex marriage advocacy organizations in the nation, is launching a campaign in Texas to amplify its message ahead of an important appeals court hearing next year.

The organization will announce the "Texas for Marriage" campaign and unveil its accompanying website on Tuesday. It plans to spend roughly $200,000 on the effort, and will enlist Ward Curtin, three-time deputy campaign manager to Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and former George W. Bush adviser Mark McKinnon in its efforts.

"We want to make sure that the court hears that America is ready for the freedom to marry, and that includes Texas," Freedom to Marry President and CEO Evan Wolfson, considered by many to be the father of the modern gay marriage movement, told the Chronicle on Monday. "Obviously I would love to be everywhere, but we have to look where we can have a real impact."

The campaign will feature statewide TV ads, town hall meetings and efforts to bring together young conservatives ahead of the January hearing in the 5th Circuit Court challenging Texas' gay marriage ban. In February, San Antonio-based U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled the ban unconstitutional because it violated gay couples' 14th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection.

Attorney General Greg Abbott, now the governor-elect, appealed the ruling to the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court. While the court initially indicated it would expedite a hearing, oral arguments were eventually set for the week of Jan. 5, 2015.

When asked how the enhanced effort would work in Texas, a strongly red state that just elected a full slate of new Republican leaders, Wolfson said candidates chose not to focus heavily on gay marriage this election cycle because opposition to the movement no longer sells like it used to.

"Whatever this election was about, it wasn't about the freedom to marry and it wasn't about gay people," said Wolfson. McKinnon, already the Texas chair for Freedom to Marry, said the issue was "a blip" on the election scene "because Texans from all walks of life, from big cities to small towns, believe strongly in freedom and family. Supporting gay couples marrying is squarely in line with these Texas values."

Freedom to Marry has launched similar efforts in about two dozen other states before similarly important court hearings there. Gay marriage is now legal in 33 states and the District of Columbia. While a recent circuit court decision upholding same-sex marriage bans in four states means the U.S. Supreme Court will likely review the issue, the Texas case will continue undeterred during that time.

Lauren McGaughy is a reporter in the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau. She can be reached at lauren.mcgaughy@chron.com or on Twitter @lmcgaughy.