May 02, 2009   admin   activism, general  
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Homosexual activists target, expose pro-family voters

We saw this same type of reporting following the Prop 8 vote. I wanted to voice my opinion on this issue.

Signing a petition is a form of free speech. A person adds their name and address to a public document. As free speech, one loses the right to hide one’s identity surrounding that speech given that the document is a public document. Each person must be accountable for what they say.  Anyone who sees the petition, as it is handed from person to person to sign can see the other signatures/names. These names have never been private before. They have always been available for anyone to see. The petitions are, but definition, public information. The internet simply changes the ease at which the quantity of people can see the names.

Signatures captured on petitions are almost always scrutinized to make sure that the petition has enough signers, and that the signers are registered voters. This process is  another example of the way a signer’s identity is not held privately but is already (and has always been) scrutinized by others.

Signing a petition is a separate issue than the issue that is the subject of the ballot initiative itself. I sign a petition to get an issue onto a ballot for general vote. I personally may be very willing to sign a petition to put a ballot initiative on the ballot concerning an assault weapons ban. That I believe it belongs on the ballot is one thing. Will I definitely vote “yes” for it? Maybe, but maybe not. I can believe that something belongs on the ballot but not be in favor of it.

Voting is a very different process. It is a private process. We may chose to vote for or against something totally irrelevant of the fact that we may have signed or not signed a petition to get that issue on the ballot.

like most of the conservative press coverage of GLBTQ activism, the story as presented is more spin than fact and designed to evoke fear. This issue is no different. Consider the headline alone:

Homosexual activists target, expose pro-family voters

The group responsible here is a KnowThyNeighbor which was started in 2005 by 2 men, 1 gay married and 1 straight married. The petition in question deals with a ban on gay adoption. In other words, efforts to interfere with the creation of gay families. Importantly, signing a petition does not in any way communicate how a person votes. Only that they may be for or against an issue.

Now this gay group out of Massachusetts…

In reality, KnowThyNeighbor has chapters in 3 states including Arkansas. This is no more “out of state” than the way the American Family Association (AFA), National Organization of Marriage (NOM) or other national conservative groups pump money and resources into state and local initiatives. The Arkansas News story is a little better, although it’s focus is a bit different.

Homosexual activists target, expose pro-family voters (OneNewsNow.com) .

http://arkansasnews.com/2009/04/28/group-discloses-adoption-ban-petition-signers-online/

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  • http://www.unspace.net/ Rob

    “As free speech, one loses the right to hide one’s identity surrounding that speech given that the document is a public document.”

    Bzzzzz! Wrong! Now, ok, on a petition, yes–it doesn’t make any sense any other way than the name being known. But free speech itsef does not mean you lose the ability to stay anonymous. There are any number of court cases that say that–a lot of them involving bloggers. If you’d phrased it differently– signing a petition causes you to lose anonymity–then I would agree with you.

    To a point. Reading the actual article, I’m reminded of the extreme pro-lifers who put the names of doctors and nurses who perform abortions on the Internet. The point of putting the names up on the Internet smells like an invitation to any nutcase to go after these people with an assault rifle or home-improvised explosive device.

    I was on the wrong end of this once. Firefighters in the station our ambulance was based at were harassing my crew because they were female and some of them were black and some of them were lesbian and some of them may or may not have been lesbian. Unable to get the firefighters to stop the harassment, I went through the chain of command trying to get help. One guy, more interested in whether one person was a lesbian or not than in stopping the harassment informed the fire department who it was that was complaining.

    I was doing search and rescue in a house on fire and my partner disappeared. He realized the firefighters doing fire suppression were the ones who knew I was complaining about them. That’s pretty much the day I decided to get out of that line of work.

    Technically, my complaints were public. The public nature was “emphasized” as a way to try to get me to stop complaining and permit the sexual, sexual orientation and racial harassment to continue.

    I wouldn’t back down. I wanted to, believe me, but Jesus said that what I did for others was what I did–or didn’t do for Him. I was forced to quit a job I loved for my own safety, but I never backed down from testifying. Had I not been willing to testify, the case never would have gone to the Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission.

    We won. But…

    Everyone knew what it cost me for us to win. The next crew chief whose crew got harassed–what do you think he or she did?

    So maybe I’ve got some horses in this race. But ask yourself how you’d feel about Focus on the Family pulling this stunt against people who were signing petitions in favor of gay marriage and/or adoption?

  • http://thomascwaters.com admin

    Rob,
    I can tell you exactly how I would feel if Focus on the Family published a list of names of people who signed a public petition. I’d be fine with it. Part of why I can say that is that I have been the recipient of hate mail and death threats simply for being who I am. That was almost 15 years ago. But I learned a valuable lesson through that experience, and here I am today writing a public blog.

    Your story about firefighters is very strong support for why laws need to be changed to provide full protection for GLBTQ people. Why the names of people who place the security of their personal feelings and prejudices above the health, safety, and well being of others must be challenged.

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