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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cogito who wrote (111975)	5/27/2009 11:40:48 AM
From: Katelew	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 541582

I, too, am appalled at the idea of publishing the names and addresses of people who supported Prop 8. Though I disagree with them, I don't believe they should be subjected to any sort of harassment. Thanks, Allen. Once again you've showed yourself to be a reasonable and equitable human being. Having core principles, regardless of the issue at hand, is a rare trait and difficult to maintain. Shortly after Prop 8 passed, I learned of these websites. There was/is one where a name can be typed in and if that person donated for the passage of Prop 8, their home address and the amount of their contribution popped up. I put in four names of Mormon friends living in CA and two came back as contributors. This was a different website from the one I posted yesterday, and I've forgotten the name of it. At the time, I was shocked and then later surprised that this amazing invasion of privacy was in fact legal.....especially considering that our individual vote, i.e. the secret ballot, is legally protected. Because of this seeming discrepancy, I kept waiting for some public discussions to surface. I read pretty widely but there was virtually no discussion of these websites in the mainstream media. I feel certain that were the names and addresses of gay people who contributed on behalf of the defeat of Prop 8 published on a website it would make the cover of Time, Newsweek, The Nation and spawn endless editorializing by our largest and most influencial newspapers. I'm left with the impression that these websites are/were viewed by the collective liberal community as a form of just retribution.

To: Cogito who wrote (111975)	5/27/2009 12:10:35 PM
From: cosmicforce	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541582

>>people who supported Prop 8<< I was against publishing the names of people arrested for crimes of solicitation. There seemed to be mean-spirited retribution and public humiliation aspects akin to a stockade or pillory behind it. These were also cases that could be eventually overturned on appeal or could involve what later turns out to be entrapment. Not many were against that. I was yet I don't go to prostitutes so it isn't like I was worried about showing up on that particular listing. Wrong is wrong. Our religious traditions in this country gave us some pretty nasty instances of hate and discrimination and fostered environments in which this could grow. Still, the idea behind the vote is that it is a secret ballot so I'm not in favor of publishing who voted for what issue (names on ballots, for instance). Funneling money through individuals to avoid "Anti-gay marriage Prop 8 brought to you by the Mormons" disclaimers seems to counter the spirit of election financing openness, though. If the Neo-Nazi party was funneling money into well-crafted ads supporting discriminatory initiatives against gays, Jews or others on their lists, would we feel differently? If so, why? Does the alleged righteousness of what someone believes affect whether we apply election laws to their actions or not?