Judge rules donors supporting MN Marriage Amendment can remain anonymous

In 2011, the Minnesota Family Council raised $346,994.05 through its political fund. It quite literally spent even that last nickel promoting a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar same-sex marriage.

Family Council logoThe organization, whose mission is “to strengthen the families of Minnesota by advancing biblical principles in the public arena,” spent $121,000 directly on the ballot question. The rest it donated to Minnesota for Marriage, the political committee it belongs to that was formed specifically to promote the ballot question.

Minnesota for Marriage, like its national member-counterpart, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), is fighting hard not to disclose its donors, who it says will then be subjected to violence and harassment at the hands of gay activists. Critics contend the real motive for the secrecy is to hide the fact that the vast majority of the money comes from some half-dozen individuals.

Other states and courts have consistently ordered NOM to comply with campaign finance laws. To date, it has not. Minnesota could be the first state where it doesn’t even need to fight.

Common Cause LogoLast week, the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board rejected a complaint filed in March by Common Cause of Minnesota, which claimed that MFC was violating state law by refusing to name its donors. In arriving at its conclusion, the board relied on two different dictionary definitions — one from Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the other from the Oxford English dictionary — of the word “purpose.”

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