(Calif.) Prop. 8 donor IDs remain public, appeals court rules
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Backers of California's former ban on same-sex marriage suffered another court setback Tuesday when a federal appeals panel refused to exempt them from the state's campaign disclosure laws, which publicly identify all contributors of $100 or more.
Sponsors of Proposition 8, the now-overturned initiative allowing only opposite-sex couples to marry in the state, complied with the disclosure law during the 2008 campaign and said some of their donors were targeted for threats and harassment. After unsuccessfully challenging the disclosure requirements, they sought to require the state to remove the names from its website and exempt them from the law in any future campaigns on related issues.
But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the disclosure law has long been established as a constitutional measure to inform the public about campaign financing, and the current suit is pointless because the donors' names are publicly known.
... John Eastman, lawyer for Prop. 8's sponsors and chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, said he was disappointed by the ruling but would consider it an invitation to sue for an exemption from disclosure requirements in future campaigns in any of the nine Western states covered by the court.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Prop-8-donor-IDs-remain-public-appeals-court-5493400.php
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