Campaign board rejects NOM’s efforts to shield donors in gay marriage battle

http://minnesotaindependent.com ^ | 07/02/2011 | Andy Birkey

[massmike]

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ruled today that corporate donations to groups advocating for or against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage must be disclosed. The Minnesota Family Council (MFC) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) argued that supporters of marriage equality would commit violence against their donors if they were made public. On Thursday, the board disagreed.

The campaign finance board met in mid-June to vote on how to implement new independent expenditure rules and how they would apply to the 2012 ballot initiative campaign to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution. NOM and MFC argued that no disclosures should have to be made for fear of reprisal from supporters of marriage equality.

“To require groups, non profits like the Minnesota Family Council, to disclose their donors and make their donors names public would have a significant chilling effect on free speech. Even in Minnesota already it’s gotten heated in some respects,” Prichard told the board. “The concern is harassment, property damage, a chilling effect. If I know I have to disclose my name, I’m not going to get involved with the Minnesota Family Council.”

He added that he had knowledge that in California during the 2008 Prop 8 campaign same-sex marriage supporters engaged in violence.

[massmike]

-Back in 2005 over 170,000 people signed petitions to get the Marriage Amendment on the ballot in Massachusetts. Soon afterwards Tom Lang and his “husband” Alex Westerhoff set up a website called KnowThyNeighbor. There they posted the names and addresses of all the signers and invited people to contact them and confront them. (They’ve also taken it nationwide, and have led similar efforts in Arkansas, Florida, Oregon, and Washington.)

As a result, many people who signed the marriage petition were harassed at their homes and at work. People were threatened with loss of jobs. They were shunned at local gatherings. Some were attacked in newspaper articles. It was an act of intimidation on a huge scale, and was traumatic for all of us. Many people have now refuse to sign pro-family petitions at all because of this.

Since then, Lang and Westerhoff (who are “married”) have continued their reign of anti-family terror. Their activities include:

Terrorizing a pro-marriage rally in Worcester.

Terrorizing Park Street Church in downtown Boston.

Demonstrating outside Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston.

Threatening a restaurant where pro-family father David Parker was speaking.

Intimidating parents at State House public hearing on Parents Rights legislation.

http://www.massresistance.com/docs/gen/10d/brown_dadt/lang.html

Homosexuals harass marriage supporters with calls to private homes.
“Until my last breath I will fight people like you,” anonymous caller tells elderly lady.

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/events07/intimidation_call_042507.html

[Mrs. Don-o]

This is deeply disturbing, massmike. The gay activists are cruel and vindictive, relentless, punitive and personal.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

They can come to my house and try harassing the business end of a shotgun.

[biggredd1]

gays in the military...
AP: Breaking | Alerts | World | US | Politics | Business | Entertainment | Life | Science | Odd |
Marines accused of sham marriages for fiscal gain
Jul 2 02:39 PM US/Eastern

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The military says three Southern California Marine corporals are facing charges of defrauding the government for entering into sham marriages for financial gain.

1st Lt. Maureen Dooley, a Marine spokeswoman, said Saturday the scam was hatched when a lesbian couple, one a Marine and the other a civilian, decided to live together off base. The military says the female Marine found a male Marine willing to get married, allowing them to collect a housing benefit. Officials say the civilian woman also eventually married a male Marine and collected government funds.

The corporals, assigned to the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, will face fraud and larceny charges. Their names were not released.

In addition to the charges, the three Marines could have to pay back the military $75,000.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

[Fred Hayek]

Comments on the linked article are par for what I expect from Minnesotans.

Destroying property, threatening one’s employment, physical assaults are not violence if done in the name of political free expression - as long as you’re a far left Democrat.

[tal hajus]

Didn't jesus say “Blessed are you when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake”? Didn't he also say that if he was persecuted his followers would be too? Didn't he admonish his followers to rejoice when they were persecuted?

[Colonel_Flagg]

The Gaystapo, coming soon to a town near you.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Comments on the linked article are par for what I expect from Minnesotans.

Present company excepted, of course.

[newzjunkey]

I head that on local radio Friday. I wondered if the civilian can be charged in civil court with larceny and conspiracy.

[luvie]

Where is MY America!