Protect Marriage Washington, an anti-gay group seeking to repeal the new domestic partnership law in Washington State through Ref. 71, filed their latest C-3 report of donors to the PDC with only initials instead of submitting full names. The details are on The News Tribune blog.
The group asked the PDC for an emergency meeting so they could seal the names of financial donors because they allege there is a threat of violence. They specifically pointed at a comment made by one blogger up in Bellingham as evidence that should allow them complete secrecy from providing the mandatory campaign disclosure information.
The PDC rejected the request for an emergency meeting on Tuesday and scheduled it for their regular meeting on August 27, 2009.
So where are the names currently published?
There is currently a Temporary Restraining order pending a decision regarding the decision to issue an injunction blocking the names. There is the possibility that they could be considered a protected class under the WA State Constitution but it would be a very slim chance. Since they claim to not be religiously motivated but politically and people of all religions have signed it would rule out religion. Since signing a petition is a political act they would not likely be covered under the claim that it could reveal political ideology. Since they signed with full disclosure that there will be people seeking to publish their names they can't claim ignorance of the possibility as was recently done in AM and other Jane and John Does v. The City of Seattle. So the liklihood of their success is small.
Is everyone watching how these election officials are rigging the election? How many times have they looked at these same signatures and gotten different numbers every time? I copied the August 7, 2009 (rigged) election results page because I knew the secretary of state would take down the page and create new math and create new numbers. I have now copied the August 11, 2009 (rigged) election results page too.
On August 6, 2009 after five days of counting the rejected signature rate was over 14% well over the 12.4% needed to pass. The next day all of a sudden master fixers I mean “checkers” changed the numbers and the rejected signature rate moved a massive 19%. Two days ago they were looking at the SAME signatures and the numbers moved another massive 10%. Election officials have looked at the SAME signatures four times and came up with four different numbers.
Has anyone looked into the comment made by "one blogger" who's their primary excuse for witholding this information? What's the blogger's history? Are they credible enough to be taken seriously? Just because you blog doesn't mean you're the Messiah.
Well from what I have read about the R 71 people wanting to withhold their names it is fear of retaliation. As to the City group that I referenced it was a similar reason but also that there were people in the LGBT group that weren't out or weren't even LGBT but might be perceived as such and an anti gay activist that was seeking those names who has in the past published city employee information if they went against his friends at http://www.faithandfamily.us and their views.
You will find more info about the blogger's comments on the Seattle Times article I linked to in my post. He sounds like he may also be pro-gun rights and speaking more from that angle about losing all his civil rights in general. The comments were irresponsible. I have decided not to repeat them here. Even before this the group pointed towards California as reason to cover up the names. As we all know, this struggle has never been about violence or threats. Some gays in California choose not to patronize businesses that supported Prop 8 and this is being called an attack. As individuals don’t we still have the right to choose where we purchase our goods and services particularly when the owner demonstrates that they hate us for how we were born? The protect straight marriage anti-gay group is rapidly losing support every year and they are simply looking to energize sympathy by painting themselves as the victim when they are the ones seeking to destroy the status of at least 5,000 families many with children in Washington State.
Domestic Partnership Organizations call for boycott of Mormon-owned
companies because of LDS Church opposition to same-sex marriage referendum
in Washington State
AgriNorthwest to be targeted first
Seattle, Washington – Several domestic partnership and gay rights
organizations are kicking off a boycott campaign of major Mormon/LDS owned
companies in Washington State as a result of behind-the-scenes opposition
of
Referendum 71 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).
The organizations include the GLBT Coalition for Same Sex Marriages, Gay
Equality Action Alliance, Domestic Partnership Education Council, Gay
Marriage Freedom Federation, Coalition for Fair Domestic Partnership Laws,
Washington Citizens Against Civil Union Discrimination, Marriage Equality
Washington, and the Alliance for Gay Wedding Fairness.
In particular, the domestic partnership advocacy groups are upset about a
Mormon backed television advertisement that has been airing in Washington
State opposing Ref. 71 (http://protectmarriagewa.com/index.php/video).
Referendum 71 is a ballot referendum that asks Washington State voters to
re-confirm the expansion of domestic partnership rights and obligations in
Washington's domestic partnership legislation (SB 5688), which was signed
by
Governor Christine Gregoire on May 18, 2009.
In the above referenced TV advertisement opposing Ref. 71, the
introductory picture of Adam and Eve is a painting by Lowell Bruce
Bennett, and is the intellectual property of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. The second painting in the video, the Sermon on the
Mount, was painted by Carl Heinrich Bloch, which the LDS Church frequently
uses in their publications. Because the LDS/Mormon Church is vociferous
about
protecting its intellectual property, the photos in the advertisement have
been used by permission of the LDS Church.
As a result of LDS Church opposition to Ref. 71, the above mentioned
domestic partnership rights organizations announced that AgriNorthwest, a
large LDS owned farming and food production company headquartered in
Kennewick, Washington, is the first target on their boycott list.
"We decided to target 10 large LDS/Mormon church owned companies in
Washington State. As AgriNorthwest was the first one on our alphabetical
list, we are targeting them first. More importantly, AgriNorthwest sells
its potatoes, corn, apples and other crops to large restaurant and retail
chains, so we feel we can get a lot of widespread support for the
boycott," stated Mike Davis of the GLBT Coalition for Same Sex Marriages.
"Because companies such as McDonalds, Burger King, Wal-Mart, Safeway,
Kroger, Wendy's, Arby's, ConAgra Foods, Sysco, etc. buy products from
AgriNorthwest, we will demand that these companies quit doing business
with
AgriNorthwest." explained David Wilson of the Gay Equality Action
Alliance.
AgriNorthwest has had some past problems with workplace discrimination
issues. For example, in "Nielson v. AgriNorthwest", the company would not
allow a male employee who was dating a non-Mormon to attend the company
picnic because the employee and his girlfriend were not married.
AgriNorthwest reprimanded the employee for unacceptable performance and
then demoted the employee shortly thereafter after he became engaged to
the girlfriend. AgriNorthwest also gave the employee another written
warning for poor performance shortly after marrying his girlfriend.
Because of the ongoing retaliation and discrimination by AgriNorthwest,
the employee quit. The Court of Appeals rules ruled in "Nielson v.
AgriNorthwest", that AgriNorthwest's motive for taking action against
the employee was
discriminatory.
For more information about the boycott against LDS owned companies such as
AgriNorthwest, please call 1-888-843-4564.
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