So-Called "National Organization for Marriage" Under Investigation for Violating State Law

by: Hopeful

Fri Oct 23, 2009 at 06:05:08 PM EDT

Earlier this month, the Maine Ethics Commission directed staff to determine whether NOM was skirting campaign finance laws in order to avoid disclosing the identities of contributors...

One of those critics, Fred Karger with the organization Californians Against Hate, filed a complaint with the Maine Ethics Commission earlier this year. Karger alleges that NOM was essentially "money laundering" by soliciting donations from opponents of same-sex marriage for the Maine campaign, all the while promising those donors their identities would remain confidential.

Under the state's rules governing ballot question committees, which are different from political action committees, anyone who donates more than $100 would have to be identified in campaign finance reports.

The latest is that NOM is suing Maine to get out of following the law. I'm not a lawyer so I have no opinion on the constitutionality of the Maine law, though disclosure of donors seems pretty routine, but it reflects badly on their tactics leading into an election.