Religious right activist James Dobson is in trouble with his flock. Apparently his organization, Focus on the Family spent so much money to kill marriage equality in California that they're laying off hundreds of workers.

The layoffs at Focus on the Family amount to more than 20 percent of their current workforce, according to an announcement made by the organization on November 17th. This, after the group invested over half a million dollars in the marriage discrimination drive to pass Proposition 8. Besieged by misleading advertising, Californians passed what GRITtv's Kate Clinton calls Proposition Hate, November 4.

The Center for Independent Media's Colorado Independent is all over the story. It turns out that this round of layoffs--some 200 workers nationwide--is merely the most recent for the Colorado Springs based mega-ministry. In 2005 and 2006, Focus laid off or reassigned hundreds of workers. In September 2007, facing $8 million in shortfalls, more workers were fired and families hurt, but the spending on hate-speech against gays and feminists and others never stopped. 

In all, the Independent reports, Focus pumped $539,000 in cash and another $83,000 worth of non-monetary support into the measure to overturn marriage equality. Elsa Prince, who sits on the Focus on the Family board, contributed another $450,000. Prince also happens to be the mother of Erik Prince, the founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater.

All that money only made Focus the seventh-largest donor to the Prop 8 effort. But the cash contributions alone could have kept 19 Coloradans in salaries -- the state average salary being just over $29,000. 

Now some in Colorado Springs are wondering whether the families who donate to Focus -- a church and media giant that enjoys non-profit status --  realize who spends their money and on what.

Focus spends hand over fist to marginalize gay people's families. But when it comes to their own--not so much. Apparently, Focus on the Family doesn't.