NOM BLOG

Statement by the National Organization for Marriage Concerning False Characterization of US Supreme Court Ruling by Mainers United

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2012
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)


National Organization for Marriage

Washington, DC—The following statement can be attributed to John Eastman, Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, former Dean (and current professor) of Chapman University School of Law, and current Chairman of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM):

"The same-sex marriage group Mainers United is falsely implying that NOM has a legal obligation to disclose its full list of donors. This is false. The US Supreme Court denied review of NOM's case, leaving in place a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision and not addressing the merits of NOM's significant constitutional challenges one way or the other. Even the First Circuit, whose ruling was left in place, has not required that NOM disclose donors to its general treasury, any more than the Supreme Court and other courts have required disclosure of donors to the ACLU or Human Rights Campaign which are supporting Question 1. It is irresponsible for Mainers United to misrepresent a decision of the US Supreme Court. The same rules that apply to the ACLU and the HRC also apply to NOM. What Mainers United wants is for NOM to have to play by a separate set of rules that are not applicable to allies of Mainers United.

"The issue addressed by the recent court decision has nothing to do with the current campaign. NOM has not solicited donations in order to contribute to the Protect Marriage Maine campaign. Instead, we have asked our supporters to contribute directly, and have provided web links for them to do so. Additionally, NOM has made organizational contributions to the effort from our general treasury, and all those contributions have been fully disclosed by both NOM and Protect Marriage Maine.

"NOM has always been willing to fully disclose any donations it receives that are earmarked for a particular campaign. The issue in the 2009 case concerns how the state characterizes donations in this regard. We will be working with the state to discuss any remaining issues."

###

To schedule an interview with Dean John Eastman, Chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, [email protected], (x130) or Jen Campbell, [email protected] (x145) at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New ยง 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

One Comment