The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) on Thursday lost another round in its fight to conceal its
donor list.
NOM is the nation's most vociferous
opponent of gay marriage. The group has had successes repealing gay
marriage laws in Maine and California. It has also taken credit for
derailing earlier this year proposed gay marriage bills in Rhode
Island and Maryland. And it is at the forefront of heated battles to
constitutionally ban such marriages in Minnesota and North Carolina.
NOM has also vowed to repeal gay marriage laws in New York and New
Hampshire.
In Maine and Rhode Island, NOM has been
fighting disclosure laws that require advocacy groups to report
details about their work, including their donors.
But in separate rulings released
yesterday by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, the court
upheld both states' disclosure laws.
In
the Rhode Island case, the court ruled that the state's
law imposed little burden on the group and served a valuable
government interest, the Providence Journal reported.
In
the Maine case, NOM argued that the state's reporting
requirements are vague and over-broad, Maine Public Broadcasting
Network reported.
Maine's laws “neither erect a barrier
to political speech nor limit its quantity,” the court wrote.
“Rather, they promote the dissemination of information about those
who deliver and finance political speech, thereby encouraging
efficient operation of the marketplace of ideas.”