Man pushing divorce ban says he's playing it straight

Man pushing divorce ban says he's playing it straight
By Loretta Kalb
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
December 4, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-divorce-ban-1203-1204dec04,0,7047934.story


SACRAMENTO, Calif. - -- "Till death do us part" is no idle promise to John Marcotte, a Sacramento man bent on banning divorce in California.

The Web designer and occasional prankster in 2008 voted against Proposition 8, the California Marriage Protection Act that outlawed gay marriage.

Now the gay-rights supporter, who calls himself an "accidental activist," figures those same protectors of traditional marriage should flip over his initiative: the 2010 California Marriage Protection Act.

Prohibiting divorce in California, after all, would take marriage protection to a new level.

And since the anti-gay-marriage movement migrated to Maine, where voters narrowly repealed that state's new law allowing same-sex marriage, Marcotte figures his anti-divorce campaign could be exported there, too.

"We're going to enforce morality in California and then we'll spread from state to state, the same way the Prop 8 backers moved to Maine," Marcotte said.

"If you want to protect traditional marriage, don't stop gay people from getting married," he said. "Stop straight people from getting divorced."

Is he serious or being seriously funny? Probably both.

The California secretary of state already has certified the divorce ban initiative for statewide circulation. And Marcotte, who is married with two children, figures there's a growing chance his measure could pick up the nearly 700,000 registered voters to qualify it for next year's ballot.

Since word of his effort began circulating in recent weeks, Marcotte said the volume of supporters has soared. Many come from the gay and lesbian communities. And some come from the ultraconservative religious right that opposes divorce.

Andy Pugno, the protectmarriage.com campaign's general counsel who propelled Proposition 8 to victory, is not impressed.

"We are very busy defending Proposition 8 against legal challenges," Pugno said. "And we see no need to dignify this stunt by drawing attention to it."

But stunt or not, Marcotte so far has appeared on news broadcasts from a local Sacramento station to CNN. He also has been interviewed on morning radio shows, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and a station in Barcelona, Spain. The Associated Press has carried his story.

Marcotte says followers on his Facebook page, which grew to 7,000 soon after the initiative was certified, have more than doubled in recent days.

The initiative's Web site, rescuemarriage.org, offers Marcotte's commentary.

But Marcotte turns serious when a reporter calls his effort tongue-in-cheek.

"It does hurt my feelings when people doubt my sincerity," he said. "If you're saying what I'm doing is ridiculous, then you're also saying Proposition 8 is ridiculous.

"I have more faith in the California voters," he said. "To not vote (for the divorce ban) would be a little hypocritical."