Anti-R 71 petition names are public information
|
||
|
Seattle Gay News
click here to go to the main SGN website
posted Friday, June 25, 2010 - Volume 38 Issue 26 Anti-R 71 petition names are public informationby Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 24 that the names of people who signed petitions to overturn Washington state's domestic partnership law are public information. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion in the case, called Doe v. Reed. Justice John Paul Stephens wrote a concurring opinion. Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. The petitions in question were circulated by opponents of same-sex domestic partnership rights, who sought to put the issue on the ballot for a public vote. Their efforts resulted in Referendum 71, which validated same-sex partnerships in November 2009. Some Gay rights activists had wanted to publish the names of petition-signers. Petition organizers contended that disclosing the names would violate the 1st Amendment rights of the signers. Ultimately they sued Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed to keep the names secret. Reed and State Attorney General Rob McKenna contended that under the state's Public Records Act, the signatures were public information. They were joined by Washington Families Standing Together, the organization that ran the successful Approve R 71 campaign. Chief Justice Roberts rejected plaintiffs' arguments and made a strong case for disclosure. "Public disclosure thus helps ensure that the only signatures counted are those that should be, and that the only referenda placed on the ballot are those that garner enough valid signatures," Roberts said. "Public disclosure also promotes transparency and accountability in the electoral process to an extent other measures cannot." Roberts added that the plaintiffs could return to a lower federal court and file a narrower claim to shield the names from disclosure. "Upholding the law against a broad based challenge does not foreclose a litigant's success in a narrower one," he said. In his concurring opinion, Justice Stephens dismissed allegations that disclosure would pose a threat to petition signers. "Any burden on speech that petitioners posit is speculative as well as indirect. For an as-applied challenge to a law such as the [Public Records Act] to succeed, there would have to be a significant threat of harassment directed at those who sign the petition that cannot be mitigated by law enforcement measures," he said. McKenna praised the court's decision as a victory for transparency. "This is a good day for transparency and accountability in elections - not just in Washington, but across our country," he said. Reed said that while he supported making the names public, he understood the plaintiffs' concerns. "I will continue to speak out for civility in our citizenship and will firmly insist that petition signatures not be used in a threatening or inappropriate way," Reed said. Seattle attorney Anne Levinson, chair of Washington Families Standing Together, hailed the decision as another victory for equal rights. "This 8-1 ruling by the highest court in the land is a significant defeat for those who have sought to enshrine discrimination into law at the ballot box," Levinson said in a statement. "Nowhere is the integrity and transparency of elections more important than where the ballot box is being used in an attempt to take away fundamental rights." |
next story | |
| Obama, Clinton, Holder make major Pride speeches
------------------------------
Pride flag flies over Space Needle------------------------------
Anne Levinson to serve as civilian auditor------------------------------
Resolution 31224
passed by City Council
------------------------------
Donald Albert Squires
------------------------------
Anti-R 71 petition names are public information
------------------------------
Queer and in the Peace Corps------------------------------
Three jolts from Chile------------------------------
Same-sex partners qualify for family medical leave, Obama says------------------------------
Gays, abortion not allowed, says Zimbabwe official
------------------------------
New report on bias crimes issued------------------------------
Plan to save AIDS Drug Assistance Program in county
------------------------------
New attacks on Iraqi Gays - Iraqi police implicated------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
A Stonewall Veteran, 89, Misses the ParadeBREAKING NEWS ------------------------------ ------------------------------
------------------------------
Justices Rule Against Group That Excludes Gay Students------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------
|
||