With recent polls showing a neck-and-neck popular opinion on the proposed ban on same-sex marriage, Focus on Families, an international conservative religious group, has officially opened a referendum account with the Wisconsin state elections board.
The news is alarming to opponents of the gay marriage ban, who until now commanded a large lead in fundraising efforts. Focus on the Family has contributed over $700,000 in Colorado to support a similar proposal in that state.
Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson raised and spent money in more than half of the 13 states with marriage and civil union amendments on the ballot in 2004.
As of press time, Focus on the Family failed to return several phone calls for comment.
Though Fair Wisconsin, a group mobilizing an effort to combat the November referendum, has raised over a million dollars in Wisconsin, they haven't received substantial national contributions.
According to Fair Wisconsin, Focus on the Family, along with other affiliates, spent over $130 million on elections.
Fair Wisconsin said they expect Focus on the Family to ""dump significant resources"" into campaigning in the next two months. However, Fair Wisconsin said they are ready to combat opposition with their grassroots support and volunteers.
""I think the people of Wisconsin are going to see through some of this extremist rhetoric and money that we're going to see coming in here, trying to push this amendment along,"" said Mike Tate, campaign manager of Fair Wisconsin.
Tate also warned the public to take Focus on the Family's overall message with a grain of salt. ""These are the guys that thought the Teletubbies were gay,"" he said.
Dobson, an evangelical Christian, has publicly defined homosexuality as a curable problem. Focus on Family's website urges homosexuals to become ""new creatures in Christ"" and live a heterosexual life. The website states, ""Satan is not pleased when someone sees through the deception of homosexuality and discovers the way out.""
Despite the news, Tate was optimistic about Fair Wisconsin's chances.
""I'd actually suggest that they're more worried about how they're going to combat us,"" he said.
The question of whether Dobson's group will have an impact on November's result is up in the air.
""Dobson's money combined with the absolute lack of time necessary to teach people about the issues contributed to bans imposed in other states,"" said UW-Madison history and women's studies professor Anne Enke. ""In Wisconsin, however, [the referendum] has been on the ballot a long time, giving people a chance to understand what the issues are.""
