Californians Against Hate

Maine Ethics Commission Hits Hard on Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage

AUGUSTA, MAINE -- Jonathan Wayne, Executive Director of State of Maine Commission of Governmental Ethics and Elections Practices, sent a strongly worded four page letter to Stand for Marriage Maine PAC (SFMMP) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), seeking more information on the charges of "money laundering" against them in their campaign to repeal Maine's same-sex marriage law.

The letter sent to Joseph Keaney, Stand for Marriage Maine PAC's Treasurer and Brian Brown, NOM's Executive Director, called upon both organizations to respond in writing by September 17, 2009 "...concerning whether the Commission should conduct an investigation."

Click on the line below to view complete letter from Mr. Wayne and other documents pertaining to the charge of money laundering:

Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices

In his letter, Mr. Wayne sites section 1004-A(3), the provision of the Maine Election Law, which states; "It is illegal for a PAC to knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person."

"That is exactly what we feel happened in the very first campaign report filed by SFMMP on July 15, 2009," said Fred Karger, who filed the formal complaint and request for investigation with the Commission last week. "The four organizational donors (National Organization for Marriage ($160,000), Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland ($100,000), Knights of Columbus -- Washington, DC ($50,000) and James Dobson's Focus on the Family ($31,000), gave 99.999% of the money raised to Stand for Marriage Maine PAC. They circumvented Maine’s campaign reporting law to avoid disclosure of the true contributors."

The Ethics Commission will consider the request for an investigation filed by Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate at its meeting on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 9:00 am in Augusta. The Commissioners will decide at that meeting whether to conduct an investigation regarding the compliance issues brought up in Karger's complaint letter.

Californians Against Hate is the new political watchdog for the LGBT community, and closely monitors all who oppose our civil rights. Individuals and organizations who give millions of dollars to deny LGBT full equality will be held accountable.