Supporters of the 2008 ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage in California have lost a lawsuit that sought to block their past and future campaign finance records from public view.
A federal judge in Sacramento on Thursday ruled against ProtectMarriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage, saying the two groups failed to prove they should be exempted from the state's campaign disclosure laws.
Mollie Lee, a lawyer in the San Francisco City Attorney's office, says U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. ruled from the bench after a brief hearing and plans to issue a written opinion later.
The two groups, which sponsored and helped finance the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8, filed the lawsuit in January 2009, claiming their donors were harassed after their names appeared on the Secretary of State's web site.
This loss come days after NOM lost a court case in Washington State. In that particular case, NOM sought not to disclose the names of 137,500 people who two years ago signed Referendum 71 petitions to bring the state’s domestic-partnership law to a vote.
NOM may try to push the idea that people who support their efforts are being harassed but according to the courts, that theory is bupkis.
Why is NOM fighting so hard not to disclose its backers?
I wish someone would put the question to Brian Brown or the rest of that bunch.
Thank you Blabbeando for the tip.
UPDATE - NOM exploited the Civil Rights Movement in California case loss
I'm guessing because a majority of those names are bogus, or culled from cemetery rosters.
ReplyDeleteI know this shouldn't make me as happy as it does....but it does!
ReplyDeleteHey Alvin, when should we expect NOM to appeal this? And, what are the court cases (loss) that they are presently appealing? It'd be nice if we had an up-to-date list with general dates as to when the appeals will go through, be heard, and accepted or dismissed by the Court, etc. I, for one, would like to know how far they've gotten and how long they can continue to defy court's orders in this way!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to keep up but I do know that NOM filed an appeal in Washington State immediately after losing.
ReplyDeleteYes, NOM has filed an emergency appeal of the Washington State ruling to the Ninth Circuit. However, inasmuch as the Washington Secretary of State has already begun releasing the images of the petitions, it would be pretty difficult for the genie to be put back in the bottle even if the Ninth Circuit agrees to hear an appeal.
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