Proposition 8 anonymity? Grow up.
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California threw out—again—the Proposition 8 supporters’ request to keep the names of contributors to the Yes on 8 campaign a secret. U.S. District Judge Morrison England ruled that the donors have no right to anonymity.
The gist of the supporters complaint was that Prop. 8 supporters were harassed, threatened and assaulted by Prop. 8 proponents to such a degree that releasing their names and the amount of their donations would put them in danger.
For example: Some Prop. 8 supporters had their businesses boycotted or picketed; some had their homes picketed; some Yes on 8 yard signs were vandalized or stolen; and cars of some Yes on 8 supporters were keyed or vandalized as well.
Also presented as evidence:
“During the campaign, same-sex marriage advocates also allegedly produced a commercial depicting Mormon missionaries destroying the marriage license of a gay couple.”
And, “Comedian Margaret Cho wrote and performed a song called ‘Fuck You, Mormons’ directed at the Mormon Church and its support of Proposition 8.”
Really, Prop. 8ers? A comic ad—that quite rightly addresses the unusual involvement of the LDS Church in raising funds and providing workers (by strong-arming its own members, no less) and Margaret-fucking-Cho are threatening?
Get these people some smelling salts, please, because they’ve all obviously been hiding in the Victorian drawing room during every political campaign in the last—oh, I don’t know—forever.
Those things are all annoying. Some are difficult to endure, especially name-calling—just ask a gay person how it feels to be called a pedophile, which Prop. 8 supporters are on record as doing.
Some of those things are illegal (like vandalizing property and assault, and as the ruling notes, those claims were investigated by law enforcement).
But stealing campaign signs? Unless you’re a 12-year-old, that’s petty. But it’s not a threat.
Opposition flyers? Boycotts? That’s the nature of politics and issues campaigning, and Prop. 8 supporters do it, too.
There is one way to guarantee that you’ll never experience any of these terrible, terrible things: Don’t express your opinion, and don’t give money to any campaigns. Or you can grow up and take the consequences of actually having people disagree with you and oppose your actions.
But the Prop. 8 supporters have no intention of staying out of politicking, especially when it comes to politicking against equal rights for gay people. Their only concern is that they not be held publicly accountable for their actions.
Compiled from Kel’s Hot Flash.