SCOTUS To Hear Referendum 71

This Wednesday the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from Protect Marriage Washington, who fears retribution from violent homofascists should the names on Referendum 71 become public knowledge. The Court's decision could affect the transparency of the referendum process nationwide.

Though Referendum 71 is at the heart of the legal dispute, the issues are far broader, including how open the state's initiative process will be. State officials also fear that if this challenge to the state disclosure law is successful, it will open the door to other challenges. "It's the public's right to know versus the right to privacy," said Secretary of State Sam Reed, who is named in the lawsuit. "It's exactly the type of case the Supreme Court likes." Lawyers for Protect Marriage Washington, which sponsored R71, say gay rights groups in California have harassed and intimidated those who signed petitions for an initiative barring gay marriages in that state. They fear the same thing will happen in Washington state. "The government is compelling people to identify their political beliefs and then outing them," said James Bopp Jr., who will argue the case before the Supreme Court for Protect Marriage Washington. "There couldn't be anything more chilling to free speech."

Bopp claims that the head of the R-71 petition drive so feared attacks from gays that he and his children slept in the hallway of his home. Because the gays were going to do a drive-by. Or something.