The United States Supreme Court on
Monday declined to hear a case involving the National Organization
for Marriage (NOM), gay weekly The
Washington Blade reported.
The group was formed in response to the
California Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage in the
state, and pushed for a constitutional amendment overturning the
court's ruling. NOM is fighting against marriage equality in about a
dozen states throughout the nation.
Earlier in the month, the U.S. First
Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Maine's
disclosure laws. NOM appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
NOM, which spent more than $1.9 million
to repeal the state's gay marriage law, claimed that Maine's rules
were overly burdensome and unconstitutional. The state requires
groups that raise or spend more than $5,000 to influence elections to
register with the state and disclose donors who make contributions in
excess of $100.
The Supreme Court announced its
decision without comment.
Fred Karger's Californians Against Hate
had asked the Maine Commission on Government Ethics and Election
Practices to investigate the group. Karger, now a Republican
candidate for the White House, accused NOM of not following the law's
reporting requirements.
“They finally will be forced to
reveal their donor names,” Karger told The Washington Blade.
“That is one of my goals in life, to keep them transparent, which
is a very tough assignment because that is the opposite approach they
take.”