DRIVING THE DAY: Law enforcement could be getting closer to solving one of California’s most scrutinized political mysteries. A married couple who worked at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor has been served a search warrant in connection with the audio leak last year of a conversation between the labor fed chief and three city council members, per reporting from the Los Angeles Times. The warrant for Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez cited the penal codes for eavesdropping and destroying or concealing evidence, per the Times’ source. PLUS: After nearly getting derailed by the hotel workers’ strike, dozens of state leaders are in Los Angeles today for the Democratic Governors Association’s annual summer conference. But there’s going to be one notable absence. More on that below … THE BUZZ — LOOKING FOR A LANDSLIDE: When it comes to repealing the zombie language of California's ban on same-sex marriage, LGBTQ lawmakers and advocates don’t just want a win — they want a blowout. Supporters say the rationale is twofold: The outcome in California could provide a model to other states looking to repeal vestiges of marriage bans elsewhere, and the campaign could help defeat anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country. The Legislature voted this month to put a measure on the November 2024 ballot to repeal Proposition 8, the amendment Californians approved in 2008 to outlaw gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is now legal, of course. But Assemblymember Evan Low, who carried the repeal measure, said the state needs to erase text in the state constitution because there’s a risk it could be made illegal again under a conservative U.S. Supreme Court. Low told Playbook that he’s aiming for a more than 20-point margin of victory. “I’m hopeful that we will be above the 70+ percentile to send a clear message that it is not politically expedient to throw the LGBT community under the bus,” said Low, former chair of the LGBTQ caucus. “The Supreme Court has shown us who they are, and they’re coming after us.” A 70-30 margin would be rare for a statewide ballot measure. Even last year’s most popular ballot question — Proposition 1, enshrining abortion rights — passed with less than 67 percent. Prop. 8 passed with just over 52 percent in 2008 even as President Barack Obama won the state with 61 percent. LGBTQ leaders are hopeful considering the dramatic shift in public opinion over gay marriage in the intervening years. One survey found that 73 percent of likely voters support the amendment to remove Prop. 8’s text, while 26 percent oppose it. The poll, shared exclusively with POLITICO by the advocacy group Equality California, included 1,200 voters surveyed this spring by EMC Research in Oakland. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Nationally, a majority of adults, 61 percent, support same-sex marriage while 31 percent are opposed, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey. That’s almost a 30-point shift from public sentiment in the early 2000s. Still, advocates say they aren’t taking anything for granted, with more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills having been introduced in statehouses this year. Their anxiety intensified with the shaky rollout of the Prop. 8 repeal effort, which was announced in February with little fanfare. It evoked, for some organizers, painful memories of the 2008 loss, which many blamed on a disorganized opposition campaign as well as money and volunteers from the Mormon church. Greg Burt, director of capitol engagement at the conservative California Family Council, said it’s too early to say whether religious organizations, including the Mormon and Catholic churches, would step into the fight this time in a significant way. Neither has taken a formal position. The repeal side is preparing to launch a major campaign — one that includes more conservative, rural parts of the state — in coming months, said Tom Temprano, a spokesman for Equality California. He noted that the measure to repeal Prop. 8 passed the floor of the Legislature with no opposition votes, though 16 Republicans skipped the roll call altogether. “The public has moved where we couldn’t have imagined 15 years ago,” Temprano said.
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