Google Steps Up to Oppose Prop 8

Google has taken the unusual step of publicly opposing Proposition 8, an upcoming ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in California.
The initiative has quickly become a bitter and divisive political fight, with California becoming a battleground as donations pour in from around the nation.
Same-sex marriage became legal in California in June after the state Supreme Court ruled a ban was unconstitutional, setting the stage for the ballot proposal that would make same-sex marriage illegal.
Google routinely and robustly exerts political influence in Washington in the realm of technology and energy. But it rarely ventures into social issues that can be a lightning rod for criticism.
Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, noted in a blog post that Google is "an active participant" in policy debates that relate to its core businesses. He also points out that Google lays claim to a "diversity of people and opinions," Democrats and Republicans, convseratives and liberals, straight and gay. He acknowledged that it was an "unlikely question" for Google to take a stand on this initiative. But for Google, he says, it became an "issue of equality."