Michigan Equality Advocates Set Sights on 2016

From the Detroit Free-Press: 

...Gay rights activists plan a 2016 ballot drive to overturn the 2004 constitutional ban approved by voters. Democratic senators last week introduced legislation to put the gay marriage question to voters in 2014, but odds of it passing a Republican-controlled Legislature are slim. 

"We want to go to the ballot, win and make it a sustainable win that is an indication of a climate change in Michigan," said Emily Dievendorf, managing director of Equality Michigan, a statewide gay rights organization. 

She estimated needing to raise $12 million for a ballot initiative in 2016, a presidential election year when the cause could be helped by higher Democratic voter turnout, particularly among young voters. The time until then will be used to raise funds for the signature gathering, push passage of bills prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians — supported by nearly seven in 10 voters — and educate the public...