NOM loses two fights today

The national organization for Marriage and other anti same sex marriage groups lost a fight to keep their records confidential see below. Fred Karger of Californians against Hate has been instrumental in getting the release of these records.

The Associated Press: Maine marriage campaign probe gets OKJudge: Prop 8 campaign must release campaign data
The Associated Press
Posted: 10/01/2009 06:47:19 PM PDT
Updated: 10/01/2009 06:47:19 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO—A federal judge in San Francisco says the sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban must hand over some internal campaign records to lawyers seeking to overturn the voter-enacted initiative.

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker denied a request Thursday by the Protect Marriage campaign to shield all e-mails, memos and reports dealing with its strategy, voter messages and rationale for preventing gay couples from marrying.

The group had argued that releasing the information violated the free speech rights of its supporters and potentially subjected them to harassment from gay marriage advocates.

But the judge dismissed those arguments, saying that the campaign had failed to show that providing the documents would inhibit the political activities of people who oppose same-sex marriage.


Maine marriage campaign probe gets OK

(AP) – 11 hours ago

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine's ethics commission has overruled a staff recommendation and authorized an investigation into fundraising by groups that oppose Maine's gay marriage law.

The commission voted 3-2 Thursday after some members said there was sufficient evidence to warrant a closer look at fundraising by the National Organization for Marriage, a major contributor to Stand for Marriage Maine.

Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger complained that NOM is circumventing Maine law by not reporting the names of many donors. Stand for Marriage is leading the push for a people's veto referendum of Maine's gay marriage law Nov. 3.

But NOM said it asks for donations nationally without designating them for specific campaigns, so it does not need to report contributors' names.