Since the California defeat, same-sex marriage opponents have gone on to take away the civil rights of same sex couples in Maine — using the very same TV commercials that persuaded some voters here that same sex marriage would somehow harm children.
Karger has been in the forefront of fighting the National Organization for Marriage — sponsor of those ads.
For his troubles, Karger has been targeted by NOM, which has subpoenaed him in a lawsuit NOM filed against the state, seeking to overturn laws requiring that political donors’ names be made public.
Karger has had to hire his own attorneys to represent him against this well-funded group, which is demanding all of Karger’s e-mails and communications involving his organization, Californians Against Hate.
Karger is convinced this is simply a tactic to silence and harass him.
NOM says they need this information to prove their contention that making known who is behind a ballot measure unfairly exposes donors to retaliation — such as the (successful) boycotts Karger led against several major businesses whose owners contributed large sums to NOM.
In other words, the future of politics is ultimately at stake here; and not just in California.
NOM has also been taken to task for refusing to reveal its major donors in the Maine campaign and is fighting that state’s laws.
This group really doesn’t want the public to know who they are — they want the right to wage political campaigns in secret. This isn’t good for anyone — on any political issue.
But back to the same-sex-marriage front: While Karger isn’t overly optimistic about the 2010 prospects, he is fully behind the effort and believes this is no time to sit back and take stock.
“We have to be more aggressive,” Karger said. “We need to undo the damage done by Proposition 8, and demystify our community.”
How to do that?
“We need to put a face on married gay couples, to show that we are just like you, all we want is to have a nice life.”
The 2010 campaign is being led by a group called Love, Honor, Cherish.
Petitions can be obtained from their sponsored website, www.signforequality.com.
CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 494-2087 or cindy.frazier@latimes.com.
