By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006; VA18
The yellow-and-black placards that read "Vote Yes 4 Marriage" are starting to appear in leafy suburban cul-de-sacs. So are groups of Northern Virginia activists, walking the streets every third Saturday of the month, ringing doorbells and passing out literature with "Vote No, Virginia!" emblazoned across the top.
A campaign for the hearts and minds of voters is emerging. On the November ballot is this question: Should the state amend its constitution to ban same-sex marriages?
Twenty states have made such a change to their constitution since 2004. Election Day is not quite four months away, but the door-to-door effort to educate, cajole and persuade voters on this issue will intensify in the coming weeks.
A key battleground for votes on the amendment, which would also ban civil unions, will be the Washington suburbs, said activists on both sides of the issue. The Commonwealth Coalition, the lead organization working to persuade voters to reject the question, has set up a regional office in a McLean office park. Family Foundation Action, a group advocating for the amendment, also has a full-time Northern Virginia coordinator to reach churches and other civic organizations.
With the Washington suburbs becoming a larger part of the state's electorate, activists have started to haunt church picnics and local fairs and to organize private gatherings to raise money.
The area is particularly important to opponents, who see recent Democratic victories in Northern Virginia by local and statewide candidates, including Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, as evidence that the region is becoming more politically moderate. Supporters are quick to point out, however, that they are approaching their fight in a nonpartisan way.
"Northern Virginia will be pivotal to opponents hoping to defeat the amendment," said Jamin Raskin, a professor of constitutional law at American University who has studied such amendments across the country and is a Democratic candidate for the Maryland Senate. "It will be crucial if they want to contain any damage they sustain in other parts of Virginia."
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Virginia law defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman and does not allow for same-sex civil unions, but proponents say that the amendment is needed in case courts order the state to recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions granted in other states.
Opponents say that the language, which could alter the state's 230-year-old Bill of Rights, would have unintended consequences because it says in part that the Virginia Constitution should not recognize "a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals." They said this could affect unwed heterosexual couples and people in other arrangements.
They say such language also could interfere with unmarried couples' decisions on health care and property ownership. They say it could threaten protective orders and additional safeguards for unmarried victims of domestic violence by barring legal recognition of unmarried family or household members.
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These warring ideas will be on display as both sides rely on neighborhood canvassing and attendance at as many community events as possible.
During the Fourth of July weekend, volunteers in favor of the amendment set up a booth at a picnic at First Baptist Church of Woodbridge to sign up volunteers and raise money, one in a series of outreach efforts to religious communities.
"Each part of the state is important, but we do recognize that Northern Virginia is crucial," said Victoria Cobb, executive director of the Richmond-based Family Foundation. As in other parts of the state, she said, targeting churches is a key component of the group's strategy.
"I think what we're finding is that we'll do the same types of things in each part of the state, but we'll have to intensify them a little in Northern Virginia," Cobb said.
Supporters also said they want to make sure voters are not too comfortable: Just because similar ballot questions in other states have passed, that doesn't mean that those working to ban gay marriage have won.
Meanwhile, the Fairfax chapter of Equality Virginia, the state's largest gay-rights group, has started sending volunteers monthly throughout the county to identify friendly voters and explain their interpretation of the ballot question's potential effects. For several activists, the most important work, they said, is trying to humanize the issue -- to convince people that a vote for the amendment would be a vote against their friends and neighbors.
"The most important thing for us to do is to put a face on the issue, particularly in Northern Virginia and Fairfax, where I think people would be open to sit down and really talk about the issue," said Kelly Schlageter, a volunteer.
Opponents realize they have an uphill battle. Elsewhere, the closest vote was in Oregon, where the measure passed 57 percent to 43 percent. Several other states, including Wisconsin, Colorado and South Carolina, have similar questions on the ballot this year.
But opponents maintain that the dynamics in the commonwealth are unique because of Northern Virginia.
"Virginia is not Alabama, it's not Georgia and it's not Mississippi," said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, campaign manager for the Commonwealth Coalition.
But proponents said that although Democrats have made gains in Northern Virginia, the region is a complex and varied place.
Several conservative members of the General Assembly are from the outer suburbs, including the amendment's chief legislative sponsor, Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William). He said that recent Democratic victories in traditionally Republican areas were largely because of other issues.
"Northern Virginia is not the Castro district of San Francisco," Marshall said in an interview. "Tim Kaine won Loudoun and Prince William on growth issues. It's another ballgame when you're talking about gay marriage."
He pointed out that the issue often did not break down along partisan lines and that many Democrats support such amendments at the state level.
It's certain that the debate between now and Nov. 7 will be contentious. The issue has divided candidates for the U.S. Senate: Republican Sen. George Allen supports it, and Democrat James Webb opposes it. Kaine also is against the amendment.
"We're going to be a key factor, but we'd be mistaken to think that Northern Virginia in and of itself will be enough to win the day," said Alexandria City Council member Paul Smedberg (D), one of several gay elected officials in the region. "Virginia is home to several conservative religious organizations . . . [and] they will have their grass-roots apparatus up and running."