Contact: Fred Karger 619-592-2008
Extra, Extra, Read All About It - Extensive Coverage of Mormon Church 13 Count Guilty Finding and Fine!
Below are just some of the many news reports on the unprecedented 13 guilty counts against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) by the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) which was approved yesterday in Sacramento.
I filed the original complaint against the Mormon Church on November 13, 2008 which led to this investigation. Special thanks go out to everyone at the FPPC for all the hard work that this investigation entailed.
The worldwide coverage is still pouring in, so keep checking our web site Californians Against Hate: click here
Here’s the New York Times story by Malia Wollan in its entirety, and links to just some of the other coverage of this happy ending to the FPPC’s 19 month investigation into the Mormon Church’s financial support for California's Proposition 8.
Thank you to Joe Solmonese and the Human Rights Campaign for breaking the story and all their support (release below)!
June 9, 2010, 5:47 pm
Mormon Church Agrees to Pay Campaign Finance Fine By MALIA WOLLAN
SAN FRANCISCO — The Mormon Church has agreed to pay a fine of slightly more than $5,000 for failing to report some campaign staff contributions it made in support of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage.
According to the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Web site, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “failed to timely report making late non-monetary contributions totaling $36,928.” The commission had requested the church pay $5,539 in fines, which it has done, and the commission will meet to vote on finalizing the penalty on Thursday in Sacramento.
In a statement, the church claimed that all the contributions it made in support of Proposition 8, “were reported to the appropriate authorities in California.” But it admitted that in the last two weeks of the highly contested campaign, it “mistakenly overlooked the daily reporting requirement for non-monetary contributions,” which would include things like staff time. The church’s statement called the reporting failure an “oversight” and thanked the commission for its “fairness and consideration” in dealing with the matter.
The commission began their investigation into the Mormon Church’s contributions after a complaint was filed by Fred Karger, founder of the group Californians Against Hate, asserting that the church failed to fully disclose the time and money it spent on Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote.
On Wednesday, Mr. Karger — who is openly gay and has expressed interest in running for the 2012 Republican nomination for president — sounded satisfied with the commission’s expected decision.
“The Mormon church has been leading the charge to create constitutional amendments to take away marriage equality from gay and lesbian people all over this country and they’ve been doing it dishonestly and in the dark of night,” said Mr. Karger, who referred to the situation as “Mormon-gate” when reached by phone. “I blew the whistle and they got caught for violating the law,” he said.
The Links:
California Progressive Report by Dan Aiello
