PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Tell MN Campaign Finance Board: Hold Anti-Gay Groups Accountable for Illegal Actions
  1. Signatures
    1,123 out of 1,500
    Petitioning
    1. Executive Director (+ 4 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Executive Director (Gary Goldsmith)
      • Assistant Executive Director (Jeff Sigurdson)
      • Programs Administrator (Marcia Waller)
      • Compliance Officer (Joyce Larson)
      • Programs Assistant (Elizabeth White)
  2. Created By
    Michael Jones
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

During the 2010 election, both the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) ran an advertising blitz in Minnesota attacking the freedom to marry. The ads, which were supportive of losing GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, urged Minnesotans to get behind a vehemently anti-gay initiative that would have put forward a statewide constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. In these ads, NOM and MFC directly reference a piece of legislation, SF120, that dealt with the issue of same-sex marriage.

The MFC and NOM never reported expenditures for these ads, something they are required to do under Minnesota lobbying regulations. Now a group, Common Cause, is out with a formal complaint submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, urging this Board to hold NOM and MFC accountable for violating Minnesota law.

“Minnesota’s lobbyist disclosure laws are designed to shine some sunlight on how special interests attempt to influence decisions at the capitol,” Mike Dean, Executive Director of Common Cause Minnesota, said in a statement. “Both organizations have attempted to operate in the shadows by failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars spent influencing legislators at the capitol.”

Common Cause is calling for the MN Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board to financially penalize both the MFC and NOM for violating Minnesota law. They are also calling on the Board to audit NOM's expenditures in the state, since NOM never registered as an official lobbying group.

Send the MN Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board a message, urging them to hold both the MFC and NOM accountable. NOM and the MFC should not be allowed to skirt Minnesota lobbying laws to peddle their message of extreme anti-gay discrimination.  Check out the Common Cause complaints against MFCand NOM.

(Photo credit: Alice Hoenigman and Wilson Allen, posted originally on The Bilerico Project.)

 

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Hold National Organization for Marriage and Minnesota Family Council accountable for illegal campaig

Dear Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board,

I recently became aware of a formal complaint submitted to your office, asking that you investigate both the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage for illegal campaign activities during the 2010 election. I fully support this complaint, and urge your Board to hold these organizations accountable for skirting Minnesota lobbying regulations and violating state law.

During the 2010 election, both the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads calling for a statewide constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. In these ads, the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage reference a piece of legislation - SF 120.

Under Minnesota regulations, these two groups should have reported all of their expenditures related to these ads. They did not.

I urge you to hold both the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage accountable for skirting Minnesota's lobbying regulations. Both of these organizations deserve financial penalties for violating these regulations, and an audit should be conducted to investigate all spending related to both groups.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing quick and decisive action from your Board regarding this issue.

[Your name]

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