A Tale Of Two Victories

On both coasts, anti-gay folks got the smackdown yesterday.

First up, the haters in Washington state.

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the names of people who signed the petition--Referendum 71--in an attempt to overturn a new gay rights law in Washington could be made public. Those against the said that disclosing the names of those who signed the petition would violate their First Amendment rights, but the justices disagreed, although they did say that the plaintiffs could go back to a lower court to try to get a specific exemption on other grounds.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said: "This is a good day for transparency and accountability in elections--not just in Washington but across our country....We're pleased the Supreme Court ruled in favor of disclosure, upholding the public's right to double-check the work of signature gatherers and government--and giving them the ability to learn which voters are directing the state to hold an election on a new law. Citizen legislating is too important to be conducted in secret."

This is a good thing. Those citizens, who seek to legislate, by signing petitions will not be able to hide any more; if you want to change the laws then you best sign your name to it, and stand by it. And allow people to check that the signatures are legitimate and gathered legally.

Don't cower and hide.

And then, some three thousand or so miles away, out in Maine, the state ethics commission rejected a request from the National Organization for Marriage [NOM] to end an investigation into that group's finances.

NOM was the biggest contributor to the successful Yes on 1 campaign to repeal Maine's same-sex marriage law, argued in a letter to the commission that it did not have the legal power to conduct an investigation.
But, yesterday, by a vote of 4-0, the commission rejected that argument.
"It seems to me if this was such a compelling issue for them they would have brought it earlier," said Commission Chairman Walter McKee. "I have no doubt this will be appealed to Superior Court."
Last October, the commission voted to have staff investigate the fund-raising tactics used by NOM, and that investigation has been stalled by legal challenges in both state and federal court.

It was a win-win along both coasts for the LGBT community, and puts a little extra pride in Pride month.