Iowa State Ethics Board Votes Unanimously To Investigate NOM For Election Law Violations
The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board today voted unanimously to investigate NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, for possible violations of state election laws. The complaint, filed by Fred Karger, is related to NOM’s campaign to unseat state Supreme Court judges who, in a unanimous 7-0 ruling, found the state ban on same-sex marriage violated the Iowa constitution.
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Megan Tooker, the ethics board’s lawyer and executive director, reportedly called NOM’s defense and interpretation of Iowa state law “absolutely false” and “absolutely wrong.”
Karger and his organiztion, Rights Equal Rights, have been traveling the country, filing lawsuits and complaints related to NOM’s activities, usually in response to their brazen and often illegal attempts to hide the names of their donors.
“Karger said the D.C.-based group [NOM] spent $635,000 in 2010 and about $100,000 in 2012 to try to oust four of the justices who were part of a unanimous 2009 decision that allowed same-sex marriage in Iowa,” Jennifer Jacobs at the Des Moines Register reports:
“We caught them,†Karger told reporters after today’s meeting. “I’m so grateful to the ethics commission.â€
Karger, who is openly gay, said it’s important to send a message to the National Organization for Marriage to follow the law because it will likely be a player in Iowa again, seeking to oust Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a champion of same-sex marriage rights, and the other three justices who authored the marriage ruling four years ago.
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One piece of evidence in the complaint is an email the National Organization for Marriage sent out on Sept. 21, 2012 that asks for cash donations specifically for the fight against the Iowa justices, Tooker said.
In its written response, the marriage organization argued that the release of donors isn’t required if funds are raised through phone calls and emails.
“That’s absolutely false,†Tooker said.
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Related:
Rick Santorum And NOM Subjects Of New Federal Ethics Complaints Filings
NOM’s ‘Dirty Money’ And Dirty Tactics Revealed In Shocking New Exposé
Karger Accuses NOM Of More Federal Tax Code Violations
NOM: In 2009 We Spent $8 Million Fighting Same-Sex Marriage

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