Litigation

New Lawsuits Challenge Campaign Finance Laws

By Peter Hardin

A conservative group, the National Organization for Marriage, is on the march with new  lawsuits challenging campaign finance disclosure requirements and restrictions on political advertising.

As part of its effort to prevent legalization of same-sex marriage in Rhode Island, the group, represented by Indiana-based lawyer James Bopp, has filed a lawsuit there, according to a Providence Journal article.

The Rhode Island lawsuit seeks a right for the group to  “spend thousands of dollars on TV and radio ads for and against candidates for governor and the General Assembly, free from the state?s contribution limits and ‘extensive reporting requirements,’” the newspaper reported.

Bopp is general counsel for the James Madison Center for Free Speech. On its website, that center displayed press releases about the Rhode Island lawsuit as well as litigation brought by the National Organization for Marriage challenging laws in New York and Florida.

Michael J. Healey, a spokesman for the Rhode Island attorney general, said about the litigation there, ?Mr. Bopp has been called a ?litigation machine? and, now, we can certainly see why, but we?re not as certain as he apparently is about how Rhode Island law is harming his organization. We?ll go to court, defend the Board of Elections and the taxpayers, and let the chips fall where they may.?

You can learn about the National Organization for Marriage in these earlier Gavel Grab posts, and you can read about Bopp’s litigation by clicking here for related Gavel Grab articles.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 29, 2010 (boomark / email).