The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) has reported raising more that $284,000 last year to promote a
proposed gay marriage ban in Minnesota, the American Independent
reported.
Minnesota voters in November will
decide on the constitutional amendment which would define marriage as
a heterosexual union.
According to campaign finance reports
filed on Wednesday, NOM gave $250,000 to the group Minnesota for
Marriage (MFM), the coalition of groups promoting the amendment.
NOM, which is a member of Minnesota for Marriage, claimed its
contributions came from membership dues and listed zero donors.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest gay rights advocate, accused NOM of skirting
Minnesota's public disclosure laws.
“NOM has deliberately evaded
Minnesota's public disclosure laws,” HRC President Joe Solmonese
said in a statement. “We've seen this movie before in plenty of
other states. This is part of NOM’s systematic attempt across the
country to oppose public disclosure and hide its donors. In
Minnesota, they have taken it to a whole new level. We believe that
NOM and others may be secretly telling people to contribute to them
instead of directly to the campaign so that they can avoid public
disclosure. The contrast between seven individuals opposing marriage
equality and thousands of pro-equality supporters is quite
revealing.”
Minnesota for Marriage on Tuesday
reported
raising $830,000 in 2011.
Minnesotans United for All Families,
the coalition of groups working to defeat the amendment, earlier
reported it had raised $1.2 million, mostly in the closing
quarter of 2011, from more than 5,100 people.
(Related: Anti-gay
marriage NOM loses appeal to keep donors secret.)