Opponents of Gay Marriage Ban Must Release Memos

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

Civil rights groups that campaigned against California's same-sex marriage ban must surrender some of their internal campaign memos and e-mails to lawyers for the other side, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker said sponsors of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative targeting gay marriage, were entitled to the information as evidence in their defense against a lawsuit challenging the ban.

Walker's decision upholds a previous ruling by a federal magistrate.

The ruling could delay a verdict in the trial, the first in federal court to examine if the U.S. Constitution prevents states from outlawing gay marriages.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/22/us/AP-US-Gay-Marriage-Trial.html

[msongs]

1. but the mormons and other bigots can keep theirs secret? nt

[awoke_in_2003]

2. Oh, but of course...

can't be holding religious groups accountable for their actions :sarcasm:

[SoapBox]

3. Ya...what the heck is up here?

...the last I knew, the Mormons and Haters that support Prop. 8, got to keep all their stuff secret.

Anyone clarify?

[plantwomyn]

4. click on link!

[comtec]

6. It's a start...

follow the money...
think of it this way...
air
tight
legal
cause
to take away the moron church's tax exempt status, permanently!

hopefully it'll do the same to the fucking catholic church too!

[tomm2thumbs]

5. from the article...

'Protect Marriage, the group that sponsored Proposition 8, already has been required to hand over similar campaign materials to lawyers representing two same-sex couples who sued to invalidate the ballot initiative that passed with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008.'

[No Elephants]

8. Cheater! You're not supposed to get the right answers from the OP before you post.

That just takes all the challenge and creativity out of it.

[No Elephants]

7. The ACLU and Equality California are saying there is a difference.

"The ACLU and Equality California, the state's largest gay rights group, had argued that the campaign documents being sought were irrelevant to the Proposition 8 lawsuit. They also claimed it was unfair to make them bear the expense of sifting through tens of thousands of old e-mails.

'We do believe this decision is incorrrect,' said Geoffrey Kors, Equality California's executive director. 'A core issue in the case is whether the motivation of those who put Prop. 8 on the ballot is animus (dislike for gays). Why people opposed Prop. 8 is not relevant.'

In rejecting the groups' arguments, Walker said Magistrate Joseph Spero took substantial steps to make the task easier, including listing specific search terms for culling relevant material from computer files and limiting the material to documents dealing with campaign arguments formulated to fight the gay marriage ban."