Update: No on 8

With exactly two weeks to go until the entire nation votes, one state's ballot initiative has drawn particular attention and anxiety for the gay community. Proposition 8, as many know, seeks to overturn the May California Supreme Court decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry.

First, a new SurveyUSA poll finds that the race is dead even with 48% supporting the ban, while 45% oppose it. That is a narrow lead for supporters, but because of the margin of error the race is considered tied. This one maybe impossible to call until the votes are actually cast, unless there is a big shift in the polling in the last two weeks.

The donations to fight Proposition 8 remain low, and many gays haven't donated. According to the Bay Area Reporter, the No on 8 campaigns only have 30,000 donors out of an estimated 1 million GLBT Californians.

Senator Dianne Feinstein has come under some heat for not speaking up against Proposition 8, especially given her relationship with Harvey Milk and as a former mayor of San Francisco. Lane Hudson penned an open letter to Dianne Feinstein, asking where she's been on the issue: "Your statement opposing Prop 8 is insufficient and borders on disrespect to our community. You announced the murder of Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone to the world from the steps of San Francisco City Hall. You have not only seen first-hand the horror that results from discrimination, but have had to deal with its aftermath. That you have not joined with the campaign to actively and vocally oppose this awful assault on civil equality is shameful."

And a Mormon scholar, has come out against Proposition 8, in a big split with his church, which has raised millions to pass the ban. "Morris A. Thurston, a professor at Brigham Young University law school, confirms what others have been saying for weeks – that the advertising claims that the measure would affect teaching or schools are “untrue” and “misleading,” and that nothing in Prop. 8 would affect California schools. The Thurston memo has been posted to www.mormonsformarriage.com, a website sponsored by Mormons who do not support their Church’s active campaign against gay marriage."