WSJ op-ed: Prop 8 backlash shows need to change donor disclosure laws
by: Pam Spaulding
Mon Dec 29, 2008 at 14:30:00 PM EST
http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8835 (http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8835)
You knew this was coming -- those who donated to help pass Proposition 8 are angry that boycotts and actions were taken to publicize their decision to foment bigotry. Now there is a call to make that information about their donations secret.
We have secret balloting for obvious reasons. Politics frequently generates hot tempers. People can put up yard signs or wear political buttons if they want. But not everyone feels comfortable making his or her positions public -- many worry that their choice might offend or anger someone else. They fear losing their jobs or facing boycotts of their businesses.
And yet the mandatory public disclosure of financial donations to political campaigns in almost every state and at the federal level renders people's fears and vulnerability all too real. Proposition 8 -- California's recently passed constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage by ensuring that marriage in that state remains between a man and a woman -- is a dramatic case in point. Its passage has generated retaliation against those who supported it, once their financial support was made public and put online.