TRAILER: Question 1

In a new documentary about the battle to repeal same-sex marriage in Maine, Yes On 1 chairman Marc Mutty expresses regret for his role. The Portland Press Herald notes:

The six-minute excerpt, along with several other clips posted on the movie's Facebook page, offers front-row views of players on both sides of the hard-fought contest -- including a close-up of Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, conceding with tears in his eyes that "at the end of the day, these people deserve to get married -- and I couldn't get it done for them." But it is Mutty, sitting atop a campaign almost identical to the 2008 effort that beat back same-sex marriage in California, whose on-camera disclosures could well steal the show. "This has been a (double expletive). This has been awful. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it," a clearly exhausted Mutty says midway through the trailer. At another point, he laments, "I fear I'll be remembered for the work I did on this campaign." He even goes so far as to plead "for forgiveness for the ways in which I might have betrayed my own self in this endeavor."

Mutty also acknowledges that his campaign's claim that "same-sex marriage will be taught in schools" was untrue.

(Tipped by JMG reader Seth)

NOM Appeals Maine Disclosure Ruling

As we expected, NOM is refusing to comply with last week's ruling by a federal judge that it must disclose the names of the people who funded its successful campaign to repeal same-sex marriage in Maine. Today they kicked their appeal upstairs to the First Circuit Court, their last stop before SCOTUS.

Lawyers for the National Organization for Marriage filed their notice of appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which already is considering another constitutional challenge of Maine's campaign finance law by the Virginia-based organization. The National Organization for Marriage, or NOM, sued after the state ethics commission found that it could be required to disclose the identities of its donors. Last month, U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby granted a summary judgment upholding Maine's campaign disclosure laws as they pertain to ballot committees. Maine law says groups that raise or spend more than $5,000 to influence elections must register with the state and disclose their donors. NOM donated $1.9 million to Stand for Marriage Maine, a political action committee that helped repeal Maine's same sex marriage law.

NOM Continues To Defy Maine's Request For Campaign Donor Information

Maine is back in court again in their now years-long battle to get NOM to comply with state campaign finance law and release the names of their donors.

The National Organization for Marriage says that identifying donors would violate their First Amendment rights and deter future donors. Lawyers for each side presented arguments Wednesday in Kennebec County Superior Court to a judge who said she will provide a ruling in writing. Assistant Attorney General Phyllis Gardiner told the judge that the ethics commission wants to question donors. "What did they understand they were asked to contribute money for?" Gardiner said. The answers would help the commission determine whether the National Organization for Marriage should have registered with the state as a ballot question committee. State law says groups that raise or spend more than $5,000 to attempt to influence the outcome of any Maine election must register and disclose their donors.

NOM has offered the provide the amounts, but not the names of the donors. Why isn't Brian Brown in jail for contempt of court?

About Maine Gov. LePage's Black "Son"

Over the weekend, newly-elected Tea Party-backed Maine Gov. Paul LePage called the NAACP a "special interest group" and told them to "kiss my butt" when they requested his presence at an event honoring Martin Luther King. LePage then offered up his black adopted son as proof that he isn't a racist. Only, wait. That black "son" of his is actually the son of LePage's golf caddy and was never adopted, although he did begin living with the LePage family in 2002. A spokesman for the governor said Raymond, now 25 and living in Louisiana, is not available for interviews.

Quote Of The Day - Maine Gov. Paul LePage

"Tell 'em to kiss my butt. They are a special interest. End of story. And I'm not going to be held hostage by special interests. And if they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they'd like about it." - Tea Party-backed Maine Gov. Paul LePage, after refusing to attend an NAACP-sponsored event honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. LePage has an adopted son from Jamaica.

Family Research Council Vows Vengeance on "DADT Turncoat" Sen. Olympia Snowe

Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council say they are going to wreak vengeance on Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) come the 2012 elections after her "turncoat" announcement of support for the repeal of DADT.

Two Republicans, Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), both made stunning decisions to back a bill that could force soldiers to leave their jobs--or be hurt doing them. Despite warnings from General James Amos that overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would cost Marines lives and limbs, more Republicans are chickening out when the troops need them most. Yesterday, Rep. Flake broke away from the GOP and voted "aye" on the stand-alone repeal. For FRC, who celebrated Jeff's 100% record on our last scorecard, it's a huge disappointment. Only one other Republican that was reelected, Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), joined him. Fortunately, their weakness wasn't the deciding factor in yesterday's 250-175 vote. The House bill was helped along by 63 lame-duckers (emphasis on the lame), who took the easy way out--on their way out.

Fortunately for Maine, Sen. Olympia Snowe's election is forthcoming. In less than two years, the liberal "Republican" will have to answer for her record of extremism, which now includes jeopardizing national security in order to use the military to advance the Left's radical social agenda. Attempting to explain her turncoat maneuver, Snowe said she arrived at her decision after "careful analysis" (which, considering how her state just voted to protect marriage, probably wasn't as careful as it should have been). Still, her announcement is one of the final pieces to the repeal puzzle for liberals, who may have cracked the 60-votes they need to put this gift under the tree for the 3% of America who lobbied for it.

Sen. Olympia Snowe To Support Repeal

Activists Deliver 528,000 DADT Petitions To DC Office Of Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Via press release: "The folks who made the delivery on behalf of the 582k proponents of DADT repeal were Saif Khan, an Iraq War veteran; Colonel William Cline, a retired Army physician; and Brad Reichard, the spouse of a West Point graduate."

LIVE VIDEO: Gaga's DADT Rally In Maine

Here's the scene at Lady Gaga's DADT repeal rally in Maine. This photo was tweeted from the scene by the Advocate's Kerry Eleveld. Gaga is scheduled to go onstage at 5pm.

UPDATE: Here's Gaga's portion of the rally.

NOM Loses Again In Maine

NOM has lost yet another court battle to cloak the names of their donors in Maine.

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said Thursday his group is disappointed in the ruling, but feels its arguments will hold sway with an appeals court. NOM will pursue an expedited appeal to the U.S. First Circuit Court in Boston, he said, because of the short time before the upcoming election season. Though Thursday's decision will delay NOM's plans for political activity in Maine, Brown said, the group is reviewing the decision to gauge a potential timeline for action. NOM plans activity in Maine both on behalf of candidates that support "redefining marriage," said Brown, and on candidates that support traditional marriage.

He declined to say whether NOM would be active in the state's governor's race, as well as the legislative races. Brown also expressed frustration at the legal hurdles spurred by what he called "frivolous" lawsuits filed by their political opponents, one of which, Californians Against Hate, asked the Maine ethics commission to investigate NOM. That group, one of the primary advocates for preserving California's gay marriage law that was repealed by voters there in 2009, questioned whether NOM raised more than $5,000 to directly repeal Maine's same-sex marriage law.

It's not a complete win for the good guys, however, as the judge also ruled some parts of Maine's campaign finance disclosure laws to be "unconstitutionally vague" and struck down the requirement that donations over $250 be reported within 24 hours.

Quote Of The Day - Jesse Connoly

"I think the messaging that we put forth was very strong, I think the consulting team that did our TV spots did a great job of executing the message we were running on. I think the bigger question is around the timing of the election, wondering why our supporters didn’t go vote. Those are more burning questions versus the coulda/woulda/shouldas on messaging. We were trying to boost turnout and put messages up there that encouraged people to go voted. But as we look through our data, there was a swath of voters who didn’t go vote and we need to try to understand why they didn’t." - Maine's No On 1 manager Jesse Connoly, speaking to the Advocate's Kerry Eleveld after co-moderating the marriage equality panel at Netroots Nation.

Connoly says that while equality issues may excite some of the voter base such as the LGBT community, the No On 1 side had to spend a lot of its resources just to get voters to the poll in a non-election year. That's an important lesson to consider in the future. There was also much introspection among the activists in the room as to why it took a straight man such as Connoly to put together what is universally considered the best marriage equality campaign we've seen so far.

Hate Tour Home Movie

There's some pretty scenery but it's a little short on humans for such a hyped "national tour."

MAINE: Gay Man Wins $1M Employment Discrimination Suit Against Airline

A Portland, Maine jury has awarded $1M to a gay man who says Express Jet Airlines unfairly passed him over for promotion because he is gay.

According to court documents, the company faced a complaint in 2003-04 from three female employees who had unsuccessfully applied for an open supervisory job. At the time, Express Jet managers at the jetport were all gay men. The women complained that the general manager at the time, who was gay, would hire only gay men. The general manager lost his job, according to court documents. Over the next four years, that position became open four times. Russell filled in several times, and wanted the job, but was told by regional managers not to waste his time applying for it, the documents said. "Our theory was they decided they did not want another gay man out there," Loranger said. At one point, according to the documents, the company hired a general manager whom a regional executive described as a "real man." That general manager made disparaging comments about gay people at work, according to the complaint. Russell left the job in 2007 "because of the discriminatory treatment," court documents said.

The jury awarded $500,000 for emotional distress, $500,000 for punitive damages and $47,000 in lost wages.

MAINE: Hate Bus Makes First Stop

NOM has just tweeted the above photo as its Hate Bus arrives in Augusta, Maine for the first stop on its national Hate Tour. Don't puncture your own tires again, Miss Brown!

TAKE ACTION: Freedom To Marry is staging a counter-protest this morning at the Maine State House. Visit their site for information about all the anti-NOM stops on their Summer Of Marriage Tour.

Gay Marriage Is Worse Than The Oil Spill

So says the Maine Family Policy Council.

The shining whiteness of the bridal gown, symbolizing purity and the power that purity conveys, has been stained — or smudged, if you will — by pornography, sex before marriage, marital infidelity, divorce, abortion and, now, so-called marriages between people of the same sex. Like the dirty oil that pours uncontrollably into the waters of the Gulf, this withering tide of immorality at times seems impossible to control. No one has been successful in stopping the onslaught, since many parts of our society share a mistaken view of human freedom. When used properly, freedom is good and life-enhancing, but when misapplied, freedom works against life.

Not all free actions are moral; and not all actions that are legal are good. In the case of slavery, free and legal actions were profoundly cruel and hateful. The same is true of abortion, the worst moral evil of our time. Those who justify immoral actions in the name of freedom, while failing to discuss the ethical dimension of those actions, keep society in moral obscurity and darkness. They may appeal to free enterprise, as BP did, or they may appeal to the First Amendment, as did the people who paraded half-naked through Farmington. But the actions, viewed from the aspect of the purpose of the participants, were clearly motivated by greed in one case and perhaps confused rebellion on the other. The proper symbol for such behavior is not a sunflower, as in the case of the BP logo, but a killing tide of black oil.

(Via - Good As You)

NOM Loses Again In Maine

Today Maine's campaign finance ethics commission rejected NOM's request to suspend an investigation into their activities.

The group, which was the biggest contributor to the successful Yes on 1 campaign to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law, argued in a letter to the commission that it did not have the legal power to conduct an investigation. But on a 4-0 vote this morning, the commission rejected that argument. "It seems to me if this was such a compelling issue for them they would have brought it earlier," said Commission Chairman Walter McKee. "I have no doubt this will be appealed to Superior Court."

Sad trombone for Slaggie!

American Family Association Attacks Home Depot For Gay Pride Participation

The American Family Association has launched an email and phone campaign against Home Depot because the fix-it giant hosted a crafts workshop for kids at Southern Maine Pride.

To this end, Home Depot is basically encouraging the attendance of children at events which openly expose them to transvestites, cross-dressers, and homosexual activists. Unfortunately, Home Depot's participation in the Southern Maine Pride Festival doesn't stand alone. It has also sponsored and participated in the 2010 Boston Gay Pride parade. Homosexuals often exploit young children in their desire to 'normalize' their gay lifestyle. Gay pride events have a long track record for offensive public displays of homosexual conduct. Obviously, Home Depot is OK with the idea of exposing children to an unhealthy and risky environment. So much so, it is willing to also celebrate it by participating in its promotion. Send an email to let Home Depot know you are sickened by their support and approval of children at homosexual events. If you are a customer, please add an additional personal line to our prepared letter to Home Depot. After sending your email, make an extra effort to protect children by calling Home Depot personally. Brad Shaw is the Vice President of Public Relations. His direct number is 770-384-5350.

You can send a countering message of thanks to Home Depot at consumeraffairs@HomeDepot.com or by calling the above number.

NOM Loses Federal Appeal, Ordered To Turn Finances Over To Maine

A federal appeals court in Boston has denied NOM's latest attempt to continue shielding their list of donors from Maine as is required by state election finance law. But it's not over yet.

The group, known by its initials "NOM" contributed nearly $2 million to last year's successful campaign to overturn Maine's gay marriage law. Opponents say NOM has failed to comply with the state's financial disclosure law, a claim that is nowunder investigation by the state Ethics Commission. NOM, meanwhile, has filed its own constitutional challenge of the state law, and Kate Simmons of the Maine Attorney Generals' office says Monday's ruling will help the state defend itself. "NOM must reveal to the state how they raised the money, for what purpose and who it came from," she says. "They were the largest single contributor to Stand for Marriage Maine, and as a part of Maine's campaign finance laws, the state is working to find out how they raised that money and for what purpose." The court has ordered that any information handed over by NOM would have to remain confidential.

Yesterday NOM president Brian Brown vowed to take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court. Why does NOM hate America and democracy?

Phillip Spooner, The Chorale

Last fall 86 year old WWII veteran Phillip Spooner delivered the below stirring speech against the ultimately successful campaign to repeal marriage equality in Maine. His inspiring speech was posted on this and many other blogs.

Today Jeremy Hooper at Good As You tips us to a choral version of Spooner's testimony.

Melissa Dunphy's new composition "What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?" was selected as the winning work for the 2010 Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Composition Competition. The Philadelphia-based composer's choral work sets excerpts of public testimony given by a WWII veteran before the Maine Senate in a hearing to discuss the Marriage Equality Bill. "What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?" was performed on May 29, 2010, at Grace and Holy Trinity in Kansas City, MO and First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence, KS. This video is taken from initial footage of the recording session on May 30, 2010, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Kansas City, KS.

Federal Appeals Court Grants NOM Stay Of Financial Disclosure Demand

A federal appeals court has granted NOM a stay of last week's ruling by a Maine judge that they must abide by state financial disclosure laws. In their stay request, NOM again cited fears that violent homofascists will rain down retribution upon their donors. Via NOM's blog:

The Maine Ethics Commission had asked for the disclosure of donors to NOM for all of 2009, operating under the false theory that NOM has acted as a ballot initiative committee formed for the purpose of working exclusively in Maine. "Americans who want to organize, to vote, and to donate to protect marriage are being singled out for harassment. No other 501(c)4 is obligated to disclose the names of donors and the demand by government officials in Maine that we expose our donors was an outrageous violation of all Americans constitutional rights," said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. "We are grateful to the First Circuit for issuing this stay which recognizes that serious issues are at stake. We are confident that as these cases proceed to the federal courts we will ultimately vindicate Americans' core civil rights."

NOM has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the First Amendment allows them to shield the identities of their donors.