Supreme Court refuses to keep petitioner IDs private
By Jesse J. Holland
Associated Press
Posted: 06/24/2010 07:50:56 AM PDT
Updated: 06/24/2010 07:50:58 AM PDT
WASHINGTON— The Supreme Court says people who signed a petition to repeal Washington state's gay rights law do not have the right to keep their names secret from the public.
The high court on Thursday ruled against Protect Marriage Washington, which organized a petition drive for a public vote to repeal the state's "everything-but-marriage" gay rights law.
Petition signers wanted to hide their names because of worries of intimidation. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to keep their names secret. The Supreme Court stepped in and temporarily blocked release of the names until the high court could make a decision.
The court now says disclosing names on a petition for a public referendum does not violate the First Amendment