Scare tactics over Amendment 3?

Scott McCoy, head of the Don't Amend Alliance, on Wednesday countered claims that "out-of-state liberals" are pumping $1 million into his campaign opposing Amendment 3, which would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in Utah if voters approve it this November.

A report of Don't Amend's expenses, as of Oct. 6, show the campaign has raised $618,949 with 87 percent coming from in-state sources.

McCoy said accusations that "outside forces" are driving his campaign are nothing more than "thin scare tactics."

Two of the co-chairs of Utahns for a Better Tomorrow (UBT) on Tuesday said opposition to the amendment is largely driven by groups from outside Utah.

"Out-of-state liberals will dump over a million dollars into our state," said Tiani Coleman, co-chairwoman of UBT.

In a televised forum on KSL-TV, Monte Stewart, another co-chairman of UBT, made similar remarks.

Coleman said the amendment's opposition is comprised largely of national interest groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign and National Organization for Women.

The Utah chapters of those organizations are listed on Don't Amend's Web site as alliance partners, but only HRC has contributed, according to finance reports.

Coleman raised the issue of Don't Amend's funding during Tuesday's kick-off of an organized effort by four campaigns in support of the amendment — UBT, Constitutional Defense of Marriage Alliance, Yes! For Marriage and the Pennsylvania-based Traditional Marriage Crusade.

"That is a bold-faced lie and they know it," McCoy said. "They have absolutely no way of projecting how much money we have raised or where it will come from. . . . They don't have a good argument to respond to our real legal arguments. They have to resort to scaring Utah voters."

Coleman clarified her remarks Wednesday, saying it's McCoy's campaign that is trying to confuse voters.

"I'm talking about any out-of-state liberals," Coleman said. "These are the people who are supporting their cause. . . . That's where the majority of their support is coming from, it doesn't necessarily mean financial support."

McCoy's campaign has focused on the amendment's second sentence, which reads: "No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect."

At Tuesday's rally, Coleman described the amendment as a "simple" one that will protect traditional marriage in Utah. It won't affect existing legal protection for unmarried couples, such as wills or hospital visitation, as Don't Amend has suggested, she said.