The Supreme Court on Monday declined to
hear an appeal from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).
The decision upholds a lower court
ruling against the anti-gay marriage group.
The case stems from NOM's involvement
in the successful 2009 referendum campaign to repeal a gay marriage
law approved by lawmakers in Maine. The group argued that the
state's disclosure law, which requires that groups disclose their
donors if they raise or spend more than $5,000 to influence
elections, is unconstitutional.
Fred Karger of Rights Equal Rights, who
filed the original complaint in Maine against NOM, said in a
statement that the group must obey the state's election laws.
“NOM was asking for contributions in
numerous emails and direct mail to its supporters and assured these
potential contributors that their names would never be disclosed,”
Karger said in an email to supporters. “That was a clear violation
of Maine's reporting laws. After closely following NOM in California
and other states, I knew that they were breaking Maine's election
law.”
The 2009 donor list has yet to be made
public.