ACLU Sides With Prop 8 Proponents Over Internal Campaign Documents

David Boies and Ted Olson want the backers of Proposition 8 to turn over their internal campaign strategy documents and emails in order to prove that the battle against same-sex marriage is rooted in bigotry. Yesterday the ACLU filed a motion opposing the demand, saying that forcing political strategists to reveal internal documents would stifle freedom of speech during campaigns.

"Political advocacy and strategizing is inherently rough and tumble," the ACLU told the court, which accepted the filing Tuesday shortly before hearing arguments in Pasadena on the disclosure issue. "The people charged with running those campaigns cannot do so effectively while fearing that every proposal they float, every crazy idea they shoot down ... will ultimately become fodder for their opponents," said Stephen Bomse, a San Francisco attorney who represented the ACLU. He also said Prop. 8's backers have demanded similar campaign documents from the ACLU, which opposed the ballot measure. The suit challenging Prop. 8 is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 11 in San Francisco.

It's interesting that the Prop 8 backers don't want their internal documents seen by the good guys, even though they have demanded to see what the opposition has.