Equality Hawaii, channeling resources from several gay rights and civil liberties organizations, directed more than $509,900 worth of lobbying to help pass a gay marriage law in a special session of the state Legislature last fall.
State lobbying disclosure reports filed with the state Ethics Commission show that Equality Hawaii spent more than $101,600 of the money on media advertising.
The reports covering lobbying from May through December were due at the end of January. Equality Hawaii asked for an extension to complete its report, which was filed Sunday.
"We knew that if we wanted to move the public and the legislators in the right way, and change hearts and minds, it was going to take a lot of conversations with people telling their stories," said Donald Bentz, Equality Hawaii’s executive director. "And that takes a lot of coordination. You just can’t stand on the street and wave a sign."
Gay rights advocates worked together last year under the umbrella of Hawaii United for Marriage. During an emotional special session, the Legislature passed a gay marriage bill that was signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
The marriage equality campaign was financed primarily by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, which raised about $220,000, and Freedom to Marry, a New York-based gay rights advocacy group founded by attorney Evan Wolfson, which devoted more than $115,750.
The American Unity Fund, a Virginia-based advocacy group led by Margaret Hoover, a national Republican strategist, contributed about $62,500. The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group based in Washington, D.C., donated $54,800. The Gill Action Fund, a Colorado-based advocacy group founded by entrepreneur Tim Gill, gave $25,000.
Hawaii Family Advocates, a conservative group that opposes gay marriage, had also asked the Ethics Commission for an extension. The group, which is led by James Hochberg, an attorney, reported spending about $23,300 on lobbying.
The largest amount of spending by gay marriage opponents, according to the lobbying disclosure reports, was by the National Organization for Marriage, which spent more than $118,950, mainly on television advertisements.
