NOM loses the ability to Hide their Donors... Again

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court shot down NOM's appeal to hide their donors names from 2009.

And now they are in some hot ass mess:

The justices unanimously upheld a lower court’s ruling that the National Organization for Marriage and its allies cannot shield the names of donors from the state’s election oversight commission. 

In affirming an earlier an decision issued last June in Kennebec County by Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy, justices on the state supreme court rejected NOM’s arguments that subpoenas issued by the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Elections Practices violate donors’ First Amendment rights and expose them to “threats, harassment and reprisal.” 

“Our review of the extensive record, the Superior Court’s well-reasoned opinion, and the detailed analysis of related issues by our federal court colleagues leads us to conclude that, on the facts of this case, the Commission did not err,” Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley for the court wrote in the five-page opinion.

I can't wait to see those names!

The First Gay Couple Married In Maine

Steven Bridges and Michael Snell are the first couple to get married at Portland City Hall in Maine.

“We finally feel equal and happy to live in Maine,” said Steven Bridges, who married Michael Snell less than a half-hour after same sex marriages became legal in the state.

By 2 a.m. Saturday, the line had emptied out after a total of 15 gay and lesbian couples had acquired marriage licenses in Portland, with six of those couples exchanging vows on the spot. Another couple was married on the city hall’s front steps and then went back inside to return their license.

The hand-holding grooms sported purple carnation corsages, matching T-shirts printed with the phrase “love is love,” and grins so big they hardly seemed to fit on their faces.

Yes, love is love, gentlemen... Love is love. 

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Supreme Court won't hear NOM's appeal to hide Donors

NOM's faces has to be cracked. The Supreme Court has denied NOM's appeal request to hide donors' names in Maine. The state has a campaign disclosure law that requires full transparency of donors.

NOM claims that the law hinders free speech and the safety of their supporters, but the court called bullsh*t on this claim. 

So in a matter of time, we will know who gave money to this hate group.

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In Maine: The No Special Rights PAC presents the 'Sodomy Based Marriage' Pledge

Think Progress has the Maine haters' “Sodomy Based Marriage" pledge. This document is a hot ass mess and reads like it was pulled from the X-Men's God Loves, Man Kills.

Zack Ford highlights particular statements from this mess:

1. Go to the polls and vote NO on Sodomy Based Marriage in November.

3. Use the term “Sodomy Based Marriage” and avoid the deceptive terms “same sex or gay  marriage.”

4. Inform my friends and neighbors that the term “same sex marriage” contains two contradictory terms, and is therefore, illogical, false, and absurd.

5. Marriage is a Covenant that is entered into between two people and is based on a  difference in gender; and there can be no moral or legal right to a practice which defies logic, common sense, and the Natural Law itself.

9. Reaffirm the Christian Church’s teaching that a child must never be denied the right to have both a mother and a father. Oppose the hellish doctrine that parents of the same sex make better parents than parents of the opposite sex, an evil doctrine which is now being advanced by the homosexual rights movement.

11. Pray that God will deliver our State and Country from this attack by demonic force, and that marriage between man and woman will be restored to its rightful place of honor, to the glory of Almighty God.

Really? TP has the document so you can read it. But y'all, this is sad. The haters are really pulling out the religious drama in this pledge.

The Supreme Court refused NOM's appeal

One of my future Law students pointed this out to me today. The Supreme Court refused to hear a case from the grand haters, NOM. They were trying to appeal a hearing that will make them release the info on their donors.

Here is the piece from SCOTUSblog:

 Besides turning down both of those petitions, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a constitutional challenge to a Maine law that requires those seeking to raise and spend money in state election campaigns to organize as a political action committee for that activity, and make significant disclosures about their financial operations.   That was challenged in a petition, National Organization for Marriage v. McKee (11-599), after the state law was upheld by the First Circuit Court.  The NOM is an organizations set up to promote the traditional view of marriage as being reserved solely for opposite-sex couples.  It argued in challenging the PAC requirement that states do not have the constitutional authority to impose such obligations unless an organization has election campaign activity as its “major purpose.”

Ha Ha, NOM!

NOM loses Another Donors' List Battle

NOM keep losing these battles to hide their donors' list. This time, they lost in Maine, however these fools plan to take the battle to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision pertains to ballot question committees in Maine and represents a second defeat for the National Organization for Marriage, which previously lost a challenge to the state's political action committee laws and laws governing independent expenditures and advertising attribution and disclaimers.

The latest appeal focused on part of the law that says groups that raise or spend more than $5,000 to influence elections must register and disclose their donors.

The NOM, which says it was founded in 2007 in response to the "growing need for an organized opposition to same-sex marriage in state legislatures," donated $1.9 million to a political action committee that helped repeal Maine's same-sex marriage law. It said it believes that releasing the donor list would stymie free speech.

Oh please, they are afraid we will learn who their true donors are. It's only a matter of time, NOM.

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Maine wants Their Gay Marriage Back!

The gays in Maine want to get marriage back! They are going for another referendum on marriage equality.

Gay marriage supporters say many have changed their minds since state voters overturned a same-sex marriage law in 2009. They said Thursday they're filing paperwork with election officials to start the process of gathering 57,000 signatures to put the matter on the November 2012 ballot.

Matt McTighe from Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders says polls show 53 percent of Mainers now support gay marriage. In 2009, gay marriage was rejected by the same margin.

"We believe there's strong support for marriage in Maine. We believe that all families deserve the right to marry. The longer we wait, the longer we delay this right of loving and committed couples to marry," McTighe said Thursday.

Well, good luck Maine. We will be watching.


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Maine's Tea Party Leader Paul LePage tells NAACP to 'Kiss My Butt'

Sen. Olympia Snowe wants to Review the DADT survey results before voting

Sen. Olympia Snowe wants proof, not Lady Gaga. Today, she sent a official statement, laying down her stance of the DADT repeal.

Snowe Statement on Defense Authorization Bill

September 20, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) released the following statement regarding tomorrow’s procedural vote on the Defense authorization bill and the majority’s intention to limit the number of amendments considered:

“First and foremost, the Senate should have the ability to debate more than the three amendments the Majority Leader is allowing, especially as this bill is the largest discretionary authorization measure that Congress considers, that the bill describes the policies and programs that provide resources and direction to the nearly 2.4 million men and women of the military – active, reserve and civilians, including the courageous Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that two of the three amendments don’t even relate to the military. It is therefore imperative that Senate deliberations on the defense bill be conducted without limitations and in a manner that allows for the consideration of all related amendments that Senators may wish to offer.

“Moreover, as I have previously stated, given that the law implementing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been in place for nearly 17 years, I agree that it is overdue for a thorough review. The question is, whether we should be voting on this issue before we have the benefit of the comprehensive review that President Obama’s Secretary of Defense ordered in March, to secure the input of our men and women in uniform during this time of war – as the Joint Chiefs of Staff from all of the services have requested prior to any vote. We should all have the opportunity to review that report which is to be completed on December 1, as we reevaluate this policy and the implementation of any new changes.”

So she wants to see the results of the DADT survey. I hate to say this, but that could be the reason for a hold up in tomorrow's vote.

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SLDN and Lady Gaga head to Maine for DADT rally

Today, Lady Gaga and SLDN are heading up to Maine to rally for DADT. They hope to gain the support of Maine's Repub Senators in order to stop a possible filibuster on Tuesday's vote.

Here's more:

Now, after hitting the white carpet and taking to the Web, Gaga is heading to Maine to raise awareness at a large gay-rights event. The pop superstar is slated to appear at the #4the14k rally organized by the SLDN in Portland, Maine on Monday. The title references the approximately 14,000 citizens discharged under DADT, and veterans affected by the military's controversial measure will address attendees. The event will kick off at 4 p.m. ET.

"Meet me in Portland, Maine 2moro, 9/20 to help repeal #DADT. I'm holding a Rally + speaking live in Deering Oaks Park," Gaga tweeted on Sunday (September 19).

SLDN maintains that the organization seeks to draw the support of Republican Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who could significantly affect the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill which includes the repeal of DADT. The bill would benefit from bipartisan support in order to overtake Arizona Senator John McCain's filibuster.

I will post more on how everything turns out.

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NOM's stop in Maine... Look at the crowds!

Thanks to Lez Get Real for the pic

NOM, Maine don't Trust you.

NOM will be investigated over possible violations of Maine's campaign finance laws. So sad.

The state ethics commission voted this morning to deny a request from the National Organization for Marriage that an investigation into the group's finances be delayed pending the outcome of a federal court challenge.

Barry Bostrom, an attorney for the group that contributed $1.9 million to a campaign to repeal the state's gay marriage law, told the commission that NOM feels its 1st Amendment rights are being violated by requests for information about donors.

He said because the state law is being challenged in federal court, it would be better to hold off on the state-level ethics investigation until that is resolved.

But with a 4-1 vote, most of the commission members disagreed.

"I understand concerns about duplicate efforts, but that's part of the hand we are dealt," said ethics commision member Margaret Matheson. "We're charged with ensuring that voters have that information and that's the crux of this investigation."

We need to know the truth. And they need to get a hold of their tax forms too.

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Maggie Gallagher Gloats the Maine Victory

Heifer!

Michael Crawford speaking out about NOM, Maine and Maggie Gallagher

Yes, that heifer was there

Let's get Up, Dust off and Move Forward

Alright... We have a set back in Maine. The battle took another turn and marriage equality wasn't won.

It hurts, but now we need to dust ourselves off and get back to work.

For the last few days, I seen and read many things about out loss in Maine. The blame game continues and folks rant and rave about "Who shot J.R.?" and other drama.

But instead of blaming God and Smurfette, we need to gather new strategies for the next battle. In my personal opinion, we are wasting energy blaming Obama. We are going on an empty notion that his words would've change their minds just like that. Maine is a heavy Catholic area, their believe system is deeply rooted in that faith. With that in mind, I'm not sure Obama's words would've made a difference.

Folks have said Obama could've campaigned for Maine the same way he did for the candidates in Virginia and New Jersey... However, they lost. It would been nice to hear him talk about Maine, but it's a bit naive to believe that it's his fault.

We had some victories, we should relish in that. They may be considered small, but they are strong steps in the right direction.

The loss in Maine was not so huge, we can see that folks are willing to be open-minded and it's only a matter of time. I believe it will happen, I know it will. However, I'm not going to waste time blaming everybody and everything. I'm going to keep on movin' and working.

Let's be resilient and less snarky.

No Help from our National Orgs.?

The aftermath of our loss in Maine is very interesting.

Of course there's finger pointing and blame passed around like a collection plate in a Baptist church. But instead of following the trend, I will try to get to the heart of the matter.

First focus: Our national orgs. like HRC, NGLTF

Queerty claims they didn't do much, but this article says different...

The pro-gay marriage organization Human Rights Campaign, based in Washington, D.C., has contributed more than $140,000 to the No on 1 campaign plus donated more than $80,000 worth of goods, services or staff time.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has given the No on 1 campaign at least $75,000 plus donated nearly $65,000 in staff time or other materials.

So our national groups did help out in this battle. So let's stop blaming them.

I will address other parts of the blame game. The infighting must cease.

We Love You, Maine!

A Change will come!

A heart felt hug to Jesse Connolly and his superforce, Protect Maine Equality.

Y'all brought it!

Keep on Movin'!

Get Out and Vote!

Maine, Washington, Mich, New York, Ohio, D.C., New Jersey and other states need help! If you are there, Vote!


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Interesting Quote: Dallas Henry

The enemy comes in and becomes "one of us" unless we are discerning. For example, the Homosexual activists have been very clever in appearing as normal families while hiding the diabolical acts they engage in on a regular basis. They have infiltrated some churches becoming leaders and even clergy. God calls it an abomination and so should we. The message was told ten times over "they are coming to kill you while you sleep, when you least expect it."

Really, Dallas? I'm a Deity, not a murderer.


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Rachel Maddow talks about Marriage Equality in Maine

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