The fallout is still coming down in a big way over California’s Proposition 8 election results. There have been largely symbolic pushbacks over the voter-approved law that strips gay couples from the right to marry each other — like last weekend’s protest in Colorado at the Century Boulder Theater. And there are larger-stakes issues at play as well — like an investigation into whether the Mormon Church, which heavily funded the measure, violated state laws by failing to report campaign expenditures.
Last weekend The New York Times was the latest to weigh in via a supportive editorial detailing the investigation, being conducted by California’s fair-elections commission.
“Based on the facts that have come out so far, the state is right to look into whether the church broke state laws by failing to report campaign-related expenditures,” the editorial read.
The investigation came after Fred Karger, the founder of the anti-Prop. 8 group Californians Against Hate, filed a complaint contending that the church, which spent millions of dollars pushing the measure, did not report “significant contributions,” in violation of state law. Church representatives have maintained they played by the rules.
Meanwhile Karger has compiled and is circulating the names of what he calls Prop. 8’s “Dishonor Roll,” a list of people and corporations that contributed $5,000 or more to support the measure.
“It’s a free country, you can give as much money to this campaign, but we are going to publicize that and people can make a decision on whether or not they want to support those businesses,” Karger told the Wall Street Journal.
Among the groups on the Dishonor Roll is Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, which contributed nearly $540,000 in cash and another $83,000 in non-monetary contributions, as well as one of its board members, Elsa Prince of Holland, Mich., who donated?$450,000 to the pro-Prop. 8 cause.
Comments are closed.