Anti-Gay Petitioners Call for State's Protection

[The Straight Story]

Anti-Gay Petitioners Call for State's Protection


(CN) - A group fighting gay rights in Washington renewed claims this week that its members will be targeted, harassed and threatened if the state releases petitions containing 130,000 signatures to kill a law that would grant domestic partners the same rights as married couples.

Protect Marriage Washington (PMW) filed its second motion with 9th Circuit Wednesday to enjoin the release of the names, which started getting published last month after a federal judge ruled against the group.

In an earlier phase of the case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices rejected claims that Washington's Public Record Act was facially unconstitutional. Since that 2010 defeat, Protect Marriage has argued that the law is unconstitutional as applied to R-71, the failed referendum at the heart of the case.

One critic, KnowThyNeighbor.org Director Tom Lang, told the media recently that he will create a searchable database of all the names once they are cleared for release, according to Protect Marriage. This allegedly proves that signers are likely to be harassed and punished for their belief in "traditional marriage." KnowThyNeighbor.org already posts similar databases with the names of those who have signed likeminded petitions in Florida and Arkansas, according to the brief.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/11/10/41373.htm

[meegbear]

1. These are the same people ...

who think it's OK to target, harass and threaten GLBTers.

Cry me a fucking river.

[haikugal]

2. and send abortion providers personal information out on the web

[Aerows]

3. What, they don't have the courage to stand up for their beliefs?

Members of the LGBT community do and have been targeted, harassed, bashed and killed for standing up for theirs.

If they are too chicken-shit to stand up and face the world, acknowledging that this is, in fact, what they believe, they shouldn't have signed it in the first place. No, they want to keep their bigotry secret - which means they know they are wrong and public opinion is against them.

Let them openly come out as the bigots they are, since after all, so many gay people have come out against public opinion and paid very high prices for standing up for themselves.

[xchrom]

6. +1

[Angry Dragon]

4. if they do not want their names released that is okay

then their names need to be stricken from the petitions
because there is no way the public can verify

[justiceischeap]

5. The problem with this line of thinking is they think we'll act like they do

I'm sure some people may indeed get harassed but IMO, it shouldn't be okay to hide your bigotry. If you aren't proud enough to be a known bigot, then you should change your ways.