Activist says his goals are common

He's an Orthodox Jew and former spokesman for the Christian Coalition in Massachusetts who waged an unsuccessful campaign to remove sex education from the Newton public schools and later led the Newton Taxpayers Association.

Brian Camenker now is leading an effort to oust the state judges who legalized gay marriage in the state. Called the Article 8 Alliance, the group has an office in Waltham and takes its name from the eighth article of the state constitution, which allows citizens to unseat elected officials if they become ''oppressors." The group also supports unseating candidates in more than 40 state races who support gay marriage.

''This is the last week [before the election] and people, they're scared," Camenker said of voters. ''They're scared of people like Carl 'Scare-tino.' "

That's Carl Sciortino, an openly gay candidate who defeated eight-term incumbent Vincent Ciampa in the 34th House District representing parts of Somerville and Medford. Article 8 slammed Sciortino in fliers mailed out to district residents and the group's website accuses him of being a ''militant homosexual activist" who promoted homosexuality as a student at Tufts University.

A photograph at the top of the alliance's home page, at www.Article8.org, shows Sciortino and his partner holding hands during a Catholic Mass to protest the church's stand against homosexuality.

''Do you want this man making your laws?" the caption asks.

In an interview, Sciortino, 26, called the effort a smear campaign by Article 8 and dismissed its efforts as those of a ''fringe right-wing group."

''They're distracting from the real issues . . . like education, health care and local aid," Sciortino said.

Some of the Republican candidates the group endorses have distanced themselves from its activities.

Republican George Peterson in the 9th Worcester District that includes Grafton, Northbridge, and Westborough said he hasn't sought Article 8's support. Although he said he opposes gay marriage, he thinks the group takes its effort too far.

''I just don't think what the judges did rises to the level of filing a bill of redress and removing them," Peterson said.

Emily Abell, a spokeswoman for state Senator Scott Brown, said the Wrentham Republican wouldn't comment on Article 8, even though he has its support. ''It's a touchy subject, " Abell said.

''Some of our people do help him," she said of Camenker. ''But it's not something [Brown] would show off about."

Camenker, 51, formed the Article 8 Alliance in January shortly after the state Supreme Judicial Court legalized gay marriage. The group employs three full-time staff members, including Camenker. He said that, as of Oct. 1, the group had $30,000 in the bank. It is nonprofit but not tax-exempt.

Camenker said 13,000 people have either donated to his group or served in a volunteer capacity. He said all but 3,000 are from Massachusetts and called the alliance the ''largest pro-family group in Massachusetts since the Christian Coalition."

When pressed for details about finances and membership, Camenker said, ''It's always us that's getting put under a microscope. It's not the gay activists."

The alliance attempts to keep close tabs on what Camenker calls a powerful ''homosexual lobby." On its website are posted fund-raising announcements by pro-gay marriage groups such as MassEquality and SupportEquality that the alliance cites as evidence that gay activists are ''rallying their troops to take over the Massachusetts legislature!"

Article 8 is not Camenker's first clash with the gay rights movement. In 2000, he took part in the secret taping of an AIDS prevention workshop for Newton teachers and teenagers. Sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Student Education Network, the workshop included graphic descriptions of gay sex acts. When made public, the tape led to the firing of an instructor and another educator was asked to resign. The fired instructor was later reinstated, and she and the network sued Camenker for violating state wiretapping laws. Camenker said the case is still pending.

Allowing gay marriage, Camenker said, is ''institutionalizing one of the most unhealthy things a person can do." He said his position against gay marriage reflects how ''most of the country feels. . . . I'd put money on it's how most people in Massachusetts feel. They're just too afraid to say it."

In assessing the alliance's chances of unseating representatives, Camenker was philosophical: ''Most people are not passionate about politics. Unfortunately, that's just the way nature is."

A poll conducted by the University of Massachusetts in April showed state residents evenly divided over a legislative compromise to ban gay marriage but to allow civil unions for same sex couples. Forty-seven percent backed the proposed amendment and 47 percent opposed it.

Harvey Cox, a professor at Harvard University's divinity school, said national polls have shown that gay marriage does not consistently rank among the top 10 concerns of voters in the current election.

Maurice Cunningham, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, agreed. He said that Article 8's website is ''so over the top, they couldn't have much influence" on voters.

''I don't think Article 8 has a prayer," Cunningham said.

But Mark Landy, a political science professor at Boston College, said the organization could tap into frustration among ''blue-collar Catholics." Already upset by the priest sex scandal and church closings, many of them view the acceptance of gay marriage as yet another assault on religious tradition, he said. ''A lot of people who may not have well-defined stands on issues are saying, 'Hold on here; enough change already,' " Landy said. ''Let's have a little stability in our world."

Camenker said he isn't homophobic ''or going around hating anyone." The father of two children first became politically involved in the early 1990s when a neighbor showed him a sixth-grade teacher's guide to teaching sexual education. Saying the curriculum dealt with homosexuality and calling it ''one of the grossest things I've ever seen," Camenker, along with other parents, took his concerns to the Newton School Committee. The group later became the Parents' Rights Coalition, and Camenker, who worked as a freelance computer consultant, became its leader.

The group was at the center of a rancorous debate that pitted the group against gay activists and Newton officials. Camenker said he was ''viciously" attacked by gay and abortion rights groups, and joined the Christian Coalition in 1995 for emotional support.

At the time, he was a member of a Conservative temple in Newton, but, in more recent years, has joined an Orthodox synagogue.

Camenker said he and others who identify themselves as part of the religious right have been demonized by the media and ''the liberal establishment." He said his cause is not radical, ''it's normal stuff."

''Fundamentally, man's ability to reason about things is deeply flawed," Camenker said. ''That's why we need to root ourselves in the Bible."