Bill Smith, currently Founding Partner of Civitas Public Affairs Group, was Political Director for Gill Action during the multi-year fight for the freedom to marry. Smith was born and raised in Alabama and earned his undergraduate degree from Birmingham Southern College. Right out of college, Smith went to work for political campaigns, including a stint working for Karl Rove and Company. Smith political affiliations changed as a result of President Bush’s support of Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have written discrimination into the US Constitution. Smith worked with the Log Cabin Republicans and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund before joining Gill Action, where he became National Political Director. In this interview, Smith discusses the political operations of the broad campaign to win the freedom to marry from the vantage point of a 501(c)(4) political organization