The Supreme Court on Monday refused to
hear an appeal in a case that sought to keep private the names of
donors to California's now-repealed ban on gay marriage.
ProtectMarriage, the coalition of
mostly religious groups that sponsored Proposition 8, and the
National Organization for Marriage (NOM), who together raised more
than $40 million for their successful campaign, sued to have the
names of donors purged from state records.
ProtectMarriage and NOM filed the
lawsuit in 2009, arguing that their donors were subjected to
ridicule, protests and harassment after their names were made public
by the Secretary of State.
A federal judge and an appeals court
ruled against the groups, saying that such disclosures help deter
fraud and abuse.
The groups appealed to the Supreme
Court, which denied review without comment on Monday.