Union Donations in California Same-Sex-Marriage Debate Criticized

The California Teachers Association has ignited a fierce debate among its members by donating $1 million to oppose a ballot initiative that would end same-sex marriage in the state.

The donation on Oct. 14 was one of four made by the union’s political action committee in opposition to the Nov. 4 ballot measure, known as Proposition 8. The 340,000-member union, an affiliate of the National Education Association, had donated $250,000 on July 30. On Oct. 16, the union made two donations, of $12,096 and $50,000, to fight the measure.

“Our phone has been ringing off the hook,” said Finn Laursen, the executive director of the Christian Education Association International, who said about half his Westlake, Ohio-based group’s 900 California members...