Church fined for paperwork issue in anti-gay fight
Thu. June 10, 2010 12:00 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
Chicago, IL -
The Mormon Church has agreed to pay a $5,539 fine to the state of California for failing to file the proper paperwork during an anti-gay fight two years ago.
The Utah-based Church of Latter Day Saints poured the money into the "Yes on Proposition 8" campaign during the two weeks leading up to election day.
Prop. 8, which restricted the definition of marriage couples to straight couples, effectively overturned the California Supreme Court's ruling that gay couples should be allowed to marry.
The fine represents just 15 percent of the 37,000 the California Fair Political Practices Commission says the LDS donated. Church leaders say they "mistakenly overlooked" the paperwork,
"It's just not credible that a multibillion-dollar, sophisticated organization like the LDS Church didn't know or understand the election-law requirements," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission was alerted to the issue by Fred Karger, a gay rights activist who filed a complaint.
"The Mormon church has been leading the charge to create constitutional amendments to take away marriage equality from gay and lesbian people all over this country and they've been doing it dishonestly and in the dark of night," Karger told the New York Times.
Karger is thinking of running for the GOP nomination for President in 2012.
The Utah-based Church of Latter Day Saints poured the money into the "Yes on Proposition 8" campaign during the two weeks leading up to election day.
Prop. 8, which restricted the definition of marriage couples to straight couples, effectively overturned the California Supreme Court's ruling that gay couples should be allowed to marry.
The fine represents just 15 percent of the 37,000 the California Fair Political Practices Commission says the LDS donated. Church leaders say they "mistakenly overlooked" the paperwork,
"It's just not credible that a multibillion-dollar, sophisticated organization like the LDS Church didn't know or understand the election-law requirements," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission was alerted to the issue by Fred Karger, a gay rights activist who filed a complaint.
"The Mormon church has been leading the charge to create constitutional amendments to take away marriage equality from gay and lesbian people all over this country and they've been doing it dishonestly and in the dark of night," Karger told the New York Times.
Karger is thinking of running for the GOP nomination for President in 2012.