Late last week I mentioned that a complaint had been filed with the Florida Elections Commission that the group behind the measure to ban same-sex marriage in the state was using illegal means to hide the identity of its donors.
Today, word comes from the Florida Red & Blue, the bi-partisan, statewide organization running the SayNo2 campaign opposing Amendment 2, that they have filed suit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court seeking immediate disclosure of its donors and an end to illegally funded campaign advertising:
“Florida Red & Blue is filing a lawsuit naming Florida4Marriage.org, the amendment's sponsor; the organization's chairman John Stemberger; Florida Family Action, which although not registered as a politician action committee has raised and spent more than $750,000 to underwrite the pro-amendment campaign; Florida Family Action's officers and directors; and the Florida Family Policy Council. A September email from Stemberger linked these organizations together and advised prospective donors that contributions to Florida Family Action and the Florida Family Policy Council were “Confidential.” This secret scheme was intended to circumvent Florida's campaign finance laws mandating transparency and disclosure of all contributions and donors. The suit filed today seeks a court order to compel Florida Family Action Committee and Florida Family Policy Council to disclose their donors and requests an emergency injunction to stop the expenditure of illegally obtained and expended funds, as well as to disgorge those illegal contributions. The lawsuit also seeks to terminate the continued broadcast of pro-amendment advertising, funded by these secret donations, but illegally identified as being paid for by Florida4Marriage.org.”
SayNo2 [official site]
