How do you say, “Front Group?” I went again to the NOM National Office at 2029 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 to see their 2009 Tax Returns. Notice the UPS delivery slip on the doorknob. Neighbors said they never see anyone there, yet they are leading the fight against gay marriage in 14 states.

I recently visited their new National Office in Washington, DC twice during regular office hours to view the returns. No one was there. They must make them available to anyone during regular business hours. We also have checked online repeatedly for their 2009 returns, and again, nothing. What is NOM trying to hide? Why do they not file their tax returns every year?

Déjà Vu


I went through the identical exercise in 2009 when I attempted to view NOM’s 2007 and 2008 990’s, but they never filed those either. We visited their then National Office in Princeton, NJ many times and no one was ever there either.

One set of 990’s was 5 months late. The other set was 17 months late, when finally, the night before NOM President Brian Brown was to testify in front of the Maine Ethics Commission last year, all of their delinquent tax returns magically appeared on the NOM web site.

It was too late to stave off a State of Maine investigation of NOM, because in spite of threatening to sue the State of Maine (which NOM eventually did), the Maine Ethics Commission voted to investigate the National Organization for Marriage for election “Money Laundering.”

NOM is not above the law. They need to file their Income Tax Returns like everyone else and every other organization. We are entitled to see just how much money they raised and spent in 2009. Whom are they trying to protect?

NOM President Brian Brown getting questioned by reporters right after Maine Ethics Commission voted to investigate his organization for alleged money laundering.

NOM has sued 14 states to invalidate those state’s campaign finance laws. 12 of those lawsuits were in 2010 alone. NOM hopes to invalidate those state’s election laws, so when they spend their millions in those 14 states, it would not have to be reported.

NOM goes into these states and attacks anyone and everyone viciously that dares to support marriage equality in this country, and they do it without obeying election laws. They even subpoenaed me last year as soon as I filed the complaint against them in Maine. They are relentless.

Congressional Investigation of NOM — Now a “Hate Group”

We have tried repeatedly to get the Congress to investigate the National Organization for Marriage. There are numerous active complaints filed against NOM with the IRS. We need to get to the bottom of this highly questionable organization, now officially designated a “Hate Group,” by the prestigious Southern Poverty Law Center. CLICK HERE

Where’s Doug Manchester? He’s Not on Bust the Blacklist!

NOM now has a new web site up to defend its multi-millionaire and billionaire contributors. Their most famous donor of all is missing, hotel owner Doug Manchester. Manchester’s own people have admitted that they are losing $1 million per month from the boycott that Californians Against Hate (now Rights Equal Rights) launched on July 17, 2008, because of Doug Manchester’s $125,000 early donation to qualify and pass California’s Proposition 8. Here’s NOM’s new site, Bust the Blacklist: CLICK HERE

Manchester’s close friend, fellow San Diegan Terry Caster, who gave $693,000 to qualify and pass Proposition 8, is on NOM’s list. Guess the last thing Doug Manchester wants is any more publicity. He got a lousy return on his $125,000 contribution to take away marriage equality in California – at least $30 million in lost business to the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel alone!

To link to the announcement about Fred Karger’s appearance on the Fallon Forum, click here.

Fred Karger will be on Ed Fallon’s radio program tonight. Karger is originally from Chicago, who worked for over 20 years with leading national Republicans, including Reagan, Bush, and Dole. In recent years he’s been an outspoken activist for LGBT equality, leading efforts to expose questionable campaign finance activities on the part of anti-gay organizations. Make plans to tune in tonight from 7:00- 8:00 p.m. on 98.3 WOW-FM or online. Please consider including your voice in the conversation by calling 515.312.0983 or 866.908.8255 (TALK). If you miss the show, podcasts are available.

To link to the podcast, Click Here. Or, click the arrow to listen now.

GOProud, Tammy Bruce Break the Manchester Hyatt Boycott Saturday – A Closer Look

GOProud, the Washington D.C.-based conservative gay Republican group, is holding a private reception Saturday at the Manchester Hyatt hotel, which has been the target of a boycott by the LGBT community and the UNITE HERE! Labor union since July 2008.

The LGBT/labor coalition Sleep With The Right People plans to protest the event starting at 4:30 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place in San Diego. The GOProud event runs from 5pm to 7pm.

Cleve Jones, friend of Harvey Milk and founder of the NAMES PROJECT AIDS Memorial Quilt, is a UNITE HERE organizer trying to remedy the drastic conditions for workers and lack of job security at the hotel. Cleve says:

“The solidarity between the labor movement and the LGBT movement is a powerful coalition. In San Diego, the owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt—the second largest Hyatt in North America—gave $125,000 to put Proposition 8 on the ballot. Our union and the LGBT community are boycotting the Manchester Grand Hyatt, because there is power in the union and there is power in coalition.”

Pause for a second and consider this: Manchester’s $125,000 came in February 2008 at a time when the antigay campaigners did not have enough money to put the measure on the ballot. That money not only paid for the signature-gathering campaign but also gave the then-lackluster Gail Knight-led ProtectMarriage fiscal viability that brought in new money and support. Equality for All countered with a Decline to Sign effort.

Equality for All was non-partisan and reached out to gay Republicans and independents, as well as progressives to fight Prop 8. Political consultant Scott Schmidt of the Los Angeles chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, later created Republicans Against Prop 8 to specifically target Republicans after the measure qualified. Log Cabin has also honored the boycott.

So why is GOProud holding their Tea Party-sounding “Don’t Tread on Us” reception at the Manchester Hyatt hotel? I don’t think it’s because they need the (CORRECTION) $16,000 ($6,000 was cash from Manchester Financial Group and $10,000 was hotel credit from Manchester Grand Hyatt) to break the boycott and fund their 527.

I think this is a PR move aimed at a larger, conservative audience – not the LGBT community. Indeed, this is the gay version of the fight within the Republican Party itself between the ultra-conservatives, exemplified by Dick Armey, Karl Rove, and Mike Pence – and more moderate conservatives such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Shays, Allan Simpson and Christie Todd Whitman. In Whitman’s wrote a book “It’s My Party Too,” she explains: “The trend we’re seeing in my party, in particular, is the growing influence of people who want to define what it means to be a good Republican in an ever-narrowing way.”

Bottom line: Log Cabin Republicans are Republicans in the traditional sense – focus on the individual, lower taxes, limited government, national security, keep the government out of the bedroom. But LCR is also focused on LGBT equality – the best example of which is their go-alone, six-year federal lawsuit to have Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell declared unconstitutional.

GOProud, on the other hand, is a more currently conservative GOP group with an agenda that strongly mirrors the ultra-conservative Congressional Republican agenda – though GOProud supports repeal of DADT and opposes a federal constitutional marriage amendment.

Reporting on the split among gay Republicans after executive director Patrick Sammon left in January, Politico’s Ben Smith on April 10, 2009 quoted Christopher Barron, a former Log Cabin political director who broke with LCR:

“Essentially, there’s no voice for gay Republicans or gay conservatives in particular in D.C. right now. Log Cabin has been completely and totally absent here in D.C. for months and months,” Barron said.
”It has simply moved way too far to the left and is basically indistinguishable from any other gay left organization.”
[cut]
“If your main issue is hate crimes or [federal anti-discrimination legislation] or marriage, you’re probably not a Republican,” Barron said, saying that while he backs gay groups on those other issues, they shouldn’t be federal priorities.”

Ironically, as Kerry Eleveld noted in her reporting for The Advocate for May 19, the accusation about LCR being weak in DC came around the same time as their national convention at which Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s daughter Meghan and his campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, came out in support of marriage equality. Although the revelations, Eleveld wrote, “may fall short of a conservative revolution, I dare say it’s the first salvo in a battle for the soul of the party.”

But, Eleveld wrote:

“even with the advent of this new conservative gay group, the state legislatures will be the sole domain of Log Cabin. GOProud will focus on federal issues, Chris Barron said at their Wednesday press conference. Their 10-point legislative agenda did not, however, include hate crimes, employment nondiscrimination, or relationship recognition. Barron — who was a political director for Log Cabin and worked on hate crimes and ENDA legislation — called those “laudable goals” but, added his counterpart Jimmy LaSalvia, “there are two dozen groups downtown already working on ENDA and hate crimes.”

But employment nondiscrimination? What a loss — for a Republican who knows the issue inside and out — not to be lobbying GOP members of Congress on behalf of LGBT people who work in 30 states across the country with no legal protections.”

I asked LaSalvia about the 14-month old organization and the boycott. He said GOProud is starting to hold events around the country to “raise awareness” about the group.

“We wanted to hold an event this summer in Southern California, and we chose to do our first event in California in San Diego because of its large population of conservatives. You probably know that that there are very few properties in the world of the stature of the Manchester Hyatt, so it would be an obvious place to consider for an event in San Diego.

As far as the boycott goes, Mr. Manchester has apologized for his support of Proposition 8, and has generously offered financial support to the LGBT community.”

Well, let’s look at that for a moment. Even the San Diego Union Tribune suspected that Manchester’s throwing of a “serious chunk of change at gay and lesbian causes” was nothing “but an attempt to derail that pesky boycott…. The $125,000 total matches what he gave to Proposition 8. So it would be even-steven.

“He’s trying to clarify his views,” Kelly Commerford, director of marketing for the Grand Hyatt, one of the largest hotels on the West Coast, told the paper. “He’s not discriminatory. He’s supportive of this community. He realizes he offended people.”

Commerford confirmed the money to me, though he would not discuss whether Manchester is trying to sell the Hyatt. He wrote via email:

Doug Manchester offered a $125,000 donation ($25,000 in cash and $100,000 in in-kind services) to LGBT organizations as tangible proof of his regret for his original donation and as a re-commitment to the LGBT community in San Diego and beyond. An application and selection process was put in place, to which several organizations applied. This pledge has been fulfilled.”

Indeed, a website was set up especially to present the apology, the application and other PR overtures from Manchester. Some thought the apology was “hollow.”

But in talking about the boycott, LaSalvia moves into what language more closely associated with Dick Armey, who called openly gay Rep. Barney Frank “Barney Fag:”

“We lost the Prop 8 battle in California, and if we ever want to win then our community needs to be in the business of making new friends not enemies. The reason the boycott is still in effect is because of unrelated issues raised by labor unions. Unlike other gay organizations, GOProud does not take its marching orders from union thugs. (Emphasis LaSalvia’s)

Mr. Manchester has generously offered financial support to a variety of LGBT organizations, including GOProud. I couldn’t care less if others accept the support or reject the support.”

LaSilvia also said:

“Our mission is to represent gay conservatives and our allies. The traditional “gay agenda” has been defined by the left and treated as if it’s the top priority for all gay people. We work on a much broader agenda and that conservative policies are good for all Americans, but especially gay and lesbian Americans.”

Potential gay GOP presential contender Fred Karger, who founded Californians Against Hate – which just changed its name to Rights Equal Rights – thinks that’s just spin:

“GOProud should not even be considered a gay Republican group, and should not be called so. They are a Republican ultra conservative group, apparently made up of only a handful of members. They don’t even support pro gay Republicans. In California last month they endorsed the same candidate in the U. S. Senate race as the most anti-gay organization in the country, the dreaded National Organization for Marriage, against former Republican Congressman Tom Campbell, who supports full LGBT equality.

They instead should be called GOEmbarrassment.”

Karger notes that while the California Republican Party is holding its semi-annual convention at the Hyatt the end of August, “California Log Cabin is for the first time not holding their reception at the host hotel, but has moved it to another property in San Diego, and thus honoring the boycott. They of course endorsed [pro-gay US Senate candidate]Tom Campbell and gave him money, I believe.”

Karger helped organize the boycott:

“The Boycott Manchester Hotels, organized 2 years ago by numerous LGBT groups and our labor allies, has been so successful, that Manchester’s own estimates are that it is costing his Manchester Grand Hyatt property alone $1 million per month in lost business. All real LGBT organizations including HRC and Equality California have turned down any money from Manchester, and many other LGBT and allied organizations have endorsed the boycott including the Courage Campaign and the Equality Federation.”

So why break the boycott? While everyone is focusing on the rivalry between GOProud and LCR, I started thinking about openly gay radio talk show host and author Tammy Bruce, who chairs GOProud’s Advisory Council. My hunch is that this stunt is a way for GOProud to prove to the Tea Party and other ultra-conservatives that they are more Republican than gay.

Tammy Bruce is something of a star on the conservative right wing C-List, introducing herself as a gay, gun-owning former liberal Democrat who bucked the oppressive liberal political correctness and now makes money talking about it. Judging from her website, she’s also a big Sarah Palin fan.

Tammy used to be the head of the NOW chapter in Los Angeles in 1989/early 1990s, when she worked in coalition with progressive LGBT groups. I covered her at that time and watched as she used her celebrity status as a local radio show host to help raise money for HIV/AIDS organizations and other causes.

But by the mid-90s, she had become a controversial lightening rod. In 1995, NOW President Patricia Ireland condemned Tammy at a news conference for making insensitive remarks during the OJ Simpson trial. Tammy said she was trying to keep domestic violence instead of race in the spotlight. Marc Lacey reported in the LA Times Dec. 7, 1995:

“Bruce was quoted in an Associated Press report as saying she did not want to discuss the O.J. Simpson case on a TV program because she did not want “to argue with a bunch of black women.” Bruce later said she had been misquoted on the matter.

Ireland said the comments caused grave concerns among many black women in the organization and raised the false impression that NOW does not regard racism as a problem.

As a sign of how the comments were received, Ireland said leading national civil rights leaders contacted her to complain about Bruce’s outspoken views, while white supremacist groups praised the comments in calls to NOW leaders in one rural state.”

Tammy fought back:

“There is nothing to retract. I have made it clear that this issue affects all women, including women of color. Of course, this issue is colorblind.”

Tammy’s biggest contretemps with the liberal and African American communities came in 1998 when she was fired from her radio gig at KFI for making racially insensitive remarks about Bill and Camille Cosby. On July 8, the day after a 19 year old Ukrainian immigrant had been found guilty of murdering Ennis Cosby, USA Today published an op-ed by Camille Cosby entitled “Camille Cosby: America Taught My Son’s Killer To Hate Blacks.” In it she wrote: “After Mikail Markhasev killed Ennis William Cosby on Jan. 16, 1997, he said to his friends, `I shot a nigger. It’s all over the news.’”

Though many of us missed what Tammy actually said, some of the offensive remarks came to light during KFI program director David G. Hall’s profuse apology (using the royal “we”) for what the usually very smart Tammy said in response to the op-ed. This is from the LA Times:

“Noting that Bruce’s opinions began to “overtake the facts,” Hall called various comments by the KFI host “unfounded, mean-spirited and simply inappropriate.”
[cut]
“Specifically,” Hall said, “Mrs. Cosby was characterized as ‘incredibly unstable, crazy, paranoid, delusional, just nuts’ and the like. It was suggested that Mrs. Cosby seek therapy. We had no information about Mrs. Cosby’s mental health. . . . We wish to apologize.
[cut]
“Similarly, in challenging Mrs. Cosby’s assertion that her son’s killing was racially motivated, we suggested that Mrs. Cosby caused her son’s death by giving him access to an expensive car. Those comments were remarkably insensitive. . . . Ours were cruel statements to make to parents whose son had recently been murdered.”

Hall said Tammy’s statements about Bill Cosby were “false, offensive and unnecessarily hurtful. And they too need to be retracted.” Hall cited “our statements” that Cosby had “multiple illegitimate children as a result of multiple extramarital affairs with white women,” and another that he “secretly funded the criminal defense of O.J. Simpson.”

(In 1997, Cosby admitted to one extra-martial affair after a woman tried to extort him for money.)

But as the Daily Howler reported in late 2003, Tammy was out. She re-emerge in 2001 The New Thought Police in which she wrote that Rosa Parks had “pushed us into the maze of Thought Police totalitarianism that we face today.”

In The Death of Right and Wrong, Tammy writes that Bill Cosby and Kweisi Mfume are Black Elitists —people who are “motivated, whether consciously or unconsciously, by a deep-rooted hatred for their country and themselves, which leads them to attempt to destroy the future of their own people and, indeed, everyone else.”

You get the gist. After her run-ins with Patricia Ireland and being called a racist by the Cosbys (a charge with which I publically disagreed-thinking Tammy insensitive but not a racist) – Tammy launched a new lucrative career as a conservative darling.

I asked LaSalvia to put me in touch with Tammy to ask why she was breaking the boycott – but she never contacted me.

So standing back to look at the two organizations – GOProud made headlines at the recent CPAC convention, may make headlines breaking the boycott and is now associated with the policy leadership of Tammy Bruce. LCR, on the other hand, has a new executive director, former diplomat and soldier R. Clarke Cooper, who expressly wants to reconnect with the National Republican Committee. Along those lines, LCR announced that conservative Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn is attending the LCR PAC reception prior to their big dinner in September. Cooper himself outlined the distinctions last June:

“LCR has a political action committee (PAC) to support Republican candidates. GoProud does not have a PAC. LCR has member-run chapters throughout the United States. GoProud does not have a membership base. LCR has an office with full time staff. GoProud does not have a fixed address. LCR has in-house registered lobbyists with Hill experience. GoProud does not have any presence on Capitol Hill. Finally, LCR has active litigation challenging the Obama Administration to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. GoProud does not have a presence in the courts.
[cut]
“By virtue of our lobbying activity, growing relationship with the RNC, and regular contributions from our PAC, LCR is the influential entity on the Hill.”

Charles Moran, Vice-Chairman, Log Cabin California, was less diplomatic:

Log Cabin Republicans was asked to apply for some of the food & beverage credit being offered by Mr. Manchester’s hotel. Log Cabin Republicans declined the invitation to apply. Log Cabin Republicans understands the profound impact that Mr. Manchester’s financial contribution made to the Prop 8 campaign. Mr. Manchester’s right to make that contribution is just as valid as our decision to not patronize his hotel and encourage our members to make the similar decision. As good Republicans, we financially support those who support us.

GOProud is its own organization with its own set of goals and values.

Given that they openly support and endorse candidates who support criminalization of sodomy and believe banning gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools, their decision to take Mr. Manchester’s money
comes as no surprise.”

We’ll see what happens. Just as with the Democratic political and lobbying groups – the proof is in what is accomplished. Which raises the question: what, exactly, does breaking the boycott accomplish?

California-based, pro-marriage group goes national

If marriage equality activist and potential presidential candidate Fred Karger has his way, Lieutenant Dan Choi will be the country’s first out gay chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Karger, who’s set to explore a 2012 presidential bid, quipped that’s what he told Choi he’d like to see when he ran into him at New York City’s recent Pride parade.

Choi has become the public face of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. Karger didn’t say what Choi’s response was.

Before he makes any move toward the White House, though, Karger has plenty to do.

The man behind the anti-Prop 8 group Californians Against Hate, announced recently that the group’s name is changing to Rights Equal Rights.

Some, including Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, have suggested using the word “hate” to fight for same-sex marriage could be counterproductive.

Karger, 60, said including the word in the original name of his group had “served its purpose very well.”

“When I started this effort, I wanted to let people know I was going to be aggressive, and unfortunately there’s still many people who don’t like the LGBT community,” he said. “But I wanted to take a more positive tone. That’s kind of the direction I’m heading, personally, and I think Californians Against Hate has been hugely successful in slowing down our opponents.”

Karger spoke with the Bay Area Reporter on Friday, July 16, which was the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the boycott he helped launch against hotelier Doug Manchester in San Diego.

Fred Karger has changed the name of his Californians Against Hate to Rights Equal Rights as a nod to the broader work he has been doing. Photo: Courtesy Fred Karger

The Californians Against Hate site featured a “dishonor roll” of Prop 8 contributors, and was launched around the same time that Karger called for the Manchester boycott.

Manchester, whose properties include the Grand Hyatt in San Diego, gave $125,000 to support what eventually became Prop 8, which California voters passed in November 2008 to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. The boycott reportedly resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The mission of Rights Equal Rights will include “keeping an eye on the major opponents of equality,” with the National Organization for Marriage and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being at the top of the list, said Karger. Members of both groups were among Prop 8′s biggest backers.

Karger prompted the state of Maine to investigate NOM when he filed a complaint on its reporting practices. The anti-gay organization worked to support the same-sex marriage ban in that state, which ultimately passed in November 2009.

Most recently, California’s Fair Political Practices Commission fined the Mormon Church $5,339 after Karger complained about the church’s late reporting of contributions that were supportive of Prop 8.

“We’ll continue to speak out when I see questionable activities on their behalf,” said Karger of anti-marriage equality organizations.

He said, “I realized the name of my organization had grown beyond Californians Against Hate and it was time to adjust that” when he filed the complaint in Maine.

Karger said when the Manchester boycott started two years ago, he had originally thought it would last just four and a half months.

“I had no idea this would go on, so I have to make a few adjustments to change,” said Karger.

He said the Manchester and similar boycotts have sent “a clear message to the big donors that if they want to contribute six-figure sums in these elections when it’s public, we might not want to patronize their businesses.”

When a ballot measure to repeal Prop 8 comes, said Karger, “It will be a very different situation” than what occurred in 2008, when Prop 8′s backers raised more than $40 million to push their measure. Prop 8 opponents raised similar amounts.

“The other side will have to do major money laundering if they’re going to try to keep marriage away from us,” he said.

Karger, a Republican, is in the process of establishing an exploratory committee for a 2012 presidential bid. He said couldn’t yet affirmatively announce a bid because that would mean he’d have to start filing campaign finance reports.

However, Karger said he is developing a commercial called “Good Morning, New Hampshire.”

“It’s going to be a fun biographical piece to introduce New Hampshire to Fred Karger,” he said. Karger, who said he hasn’t yet raised any money for a presidential bid, plans to rent a house and get a car in the state. New Hampshire is the first state where presidential primaries are held.

Karger said he’d pattern himself after another GOP member – the late former President Ronald Regan.

Karger said that like himself, Reagan was “always upbeat.” He expressed confidence.

“I’m not going to be raising hundreds of millions of dollars, unlike some of my potential opponents,” he said, but added that he’d be participating in many of the presidential debates that will come.

He said if he does make an announcement to run for president, it would probably be sometime next year.

For more information on Karger’s work to support marriage equality, visit www.rightsequalrights.com.

It’s been just two years since a small group of friends and I started Californians Against Hate to draw attention to the mega-donors to California’s Proposition 8 campaign. It’s been a busy 23 months.

We began on July 18, 2008 by helping to assemble a coalition of LGBT organizations and labor in San Diego to boycott Doug Manchester’s three hotels. Doug Manchester had contributed $125,000 in very early money to quality and pass Proposition 8, which took marriage rights away from millions of Californians. Why should we support his three hotels, only to have that money used against us?

The Manchester Hotels boycott exceeded our wildest expectations. According to their own admission, the boycott is costing the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel alone approximately $1 million per month. This is due to dozens of canceled large meetings and conventions at Manchester’s flagship property, and thousands of individuals and businesses who refuse to cross our picket line.

Manchester also sold his Idaho hotel, and now rumors abound that his brand new $400 million Grand del Mar Resort in San Diego is in receivership. It has recently been reported that Global Hyatt Corporation may be buying a majority interest in his Manchester Grand Hyatt. The sale was just approved by the San Diego Port Commission.

We have led three other boycotts against the biggest donors to Proposition 8. We have settled two; one against Bolthouse Farms and another against Garff Automotive Group. Both had family members who contributed $100,000 to pass Prop 8. Now both companies are generous supporters of a variety of LGBT organizations.

Our one remaining boycott is against Terry Caster’s A-1 Self Storage Company. Terry Caster and his family gave a whopping $693,000 to Prop 8. Caster was even quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune saying that gay marriage “would create a sick society.”

During the summer of 2008, we discovered the active involvement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) in Prop 8. The Mormon Church had taken over virtually every aspect of the Yes on 8 campaign.

Mormon families contributed approximately $30 million of the $40 million raised, the Church produced 27 slick commercials, put up an expensive web site, bussed in thousands of volunteers from Utah, had massive phone banks yet only reported a mere $2078 in non-monetary contributions three days before the election. Two weeks later I filed a sworn complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) against the Mormon Church for not reporting its vast financial involvement in the campaign.

The Commission prosecuted the case, and conducted an unprecedented 19 month investigation of the Salt Lake City based Church’s finances. Three weeks ago the FPPC found the Mormon Church guilty of 13 counts of late reporting and they were fined $5539. That was the first time a religion was found guilty of election irregularities in the 36 year history of the FPPC.

I also have done battle with the Mormon Church’s front group, the infamous National Organization for Marriage (NOM). I have challenged all of their false and misleading actions for the last two years. It was all of their arrogant and illegal campaign activities last fall in Maine that was the final straw.

NOM contributed over $1.9 million to take away that state’s recently passed right to marry for all, and completely disregarded Maine’s long-standing election law in the process. NOM was required to report all its contributor names of $100 and more to election officials. NOM refused, and continues to refuse to turn over their records, even after being ordered to do so by three federal judges and the Attorney General of Maine. I have attended three separate Commission meetings in Maine to make sure they comply with the Maine election law.

As a result of all my efforts, I was subpoenaed by the National Organization for Marriage last September as part of their federal law suit, ProtectMarriage.com v. Bowen. That law suit was filed in California by the official Yes on Prop 8 committee and NOM to invalidate all campaign reporting laws in California. They subpoenaed me strictly to harass me and make me spend a lot of money. Thanks to the generous support of so many of you who contributed to my legal defense fund, Five for Fred, most all of the legal costs have been covered.

Now as we take on new challenges and go in new directions, we have passed a Board resolution to officially change our name. From this day forward, Californians Against Hate will be known as Rights Equal Rights.

Our new name reflects our new direction and makes us more national in scope.

Rest assured, that I have never been more determined and motivated to help lead the LGBTQ community in our fight for full equal rights in this country.

Younger people who begin to realize that they might be lesbian, gay, bi-sexual transgender or queer will soon be afforded all the same rights as their brothers, sisters friends and neighbors.

That is what our founding fathers had in mind when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

We will settle for nothing less.

Best regards,

Fred Karger
www.RightsEqualRights.com

Metropolitan News-Enterprise:

State Bar Moves Its 2011 Annual Meeting to Long Beach

By SHERRI M. OKAMOTO, Staff Writer

The State Bar of California has reported that it is moving its 2011 Annual Meeting from San Diego to a location in Long Beach.

“This action is being taken on the basis of the bar’s business and convention needs and to make the convention as successful as possible,” a spokesperson for the State Bar said Thursday.

The State Bar was originally scheduled to return to the 1,625-room waterfront Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego where the convention was held this year, but the spokesperson said “there was no availability at facilities throughout the state for a September or October date, which are the preferred months for our meeting because more people are able to come after summer vacations.”

2009 Boycott

Several individual attorneys and legal organizations had objected to the 2009 venue, which was the target of a boycott organized by Californians Against Hate, a non-profit organization devoted to drawing attention to the major donors to the Yes on 8 campaign, and UNITE HERE, the hotel workers’ union.

The hotel is owned by the Manchester Financial Group LLC, whose chairman contributed $125,000 towards overturning the rights of same-sex couples to marry, and is operated under lease by the Global Hyatt Corporation.

About 30 protesters with signs chanted slogans and circled the drive of the hotel as the 82nd annual State Bar conference kicked off this past September, followed by a larger protest involving the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers of Los Angeles, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, Barristers Club, California Employment Lawyers Association, National Lawyer’s Guild and Santa Clara County Bar Association.

LACBA Action

The Los Angeles County Bar Association also declined to host an exhibit at the hotel or participate in any activity at the Hyatt, instead setting up a booth at the nearby Hilton San Diego Bayfront where the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations convened.

Various organizations, including the American Association of Law Schools and the American Association for Justice—formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America—also relocated events that had been scheduled to be held at the Hyatt over the past year.

The State Bar, which had contracted with the hotel to host its 2009 and 2011 annual meetings before the divisive Proposition 8 campaign began, acknowledged strong opposition to the venue from members of the legal community but took the position that it could not breach its contractual commitments because the cost of doing so, if borne by the members, could violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits public entities from using mandatory dues money for political actions.

Contract Renegotiation

A spokesperson from the State Bar said that the organization is renegotiating its contract with the Hyatt to return to the hotel in 2014 and insisted that the 2011 move had nothing to do with the controversy.

“It was all about what’s best for the convention,” which was obtaining a date in September for the event, she explained.

“As a result of the current economy and the bottoming out of the convention market, we were able to obtain September dates in Long Beach,” the spokesperson said, adding that the exact date and location have not yet been determined since the State Bar is in negotiations with multiple facilities.

The 2010 conference is scheduled to take place Sept. 23-26 in Monterey.

Californians Against Hate Opens San Diego Office

Californians Against Hate Opens
San Diego Office

SAN DIEGO, CA – Fred Karger cut the ribbon earlier this week, or rather the caution tape, to officially open their first real office in the 301 University Building. The 301 Building is very unique. It houses a dozen different LGBTQ organizations in San Diego for very low cost in the old No on Prop 8 headquarters.

“We are excited to have an official office, and we’re thrilled to be in the 301 Building” stated Californians Against Hate founder, Fred Karger. “There are lots of new young activists working out of here, and it’s a wonderful place to be. Lots of future leaders all under one roof. It’s very encouraging to see, and we’re glad to be a part of.”

“Having an office in San Diego will enable us do more on our two remaining boycotts, Doug Manchester’s Hotels and Terry Caster’s A-1 Self Storage Company. Manchester gave $125,000 of very early money to qualify and pass Proposition 8, and Caster gave a whopping $693,000. We have led successful boycotts of both companies for over a year. Now we can ramp them up and utilize more volunteers in San Diego,” concluded Karger.

If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by. If you would like to volunteer, let us know: info@californiansagainsthate.com

Thank you!

Manchester Hotels Bleeding $1 Million
per Month = $16 Million

Recent estimates have determined that Manchester’s two remaining hotels are losing a combined total of well over $1 million per month. This loss is a direct result of the 16 month old boycott started by Californians Against Hate and Unite Here, Local 30. The downtown Manchester Grand Hyatt and the new resort property, the Grand del Mar are “bleeding money in canceled and lost bookings.” Sales at the properties are reportedly way down.

Swedish model, modeling a Boycott Manchester Hotels T-shirt at Stockholm Gay Pride Festival Last Summer. Over 1 million people turned out for the 5 day celebration. This is part of the Manchester Hotels Global Boycott.

Last April, hotel officials admitted to having lost $7 million in the first 9 months of the boycott, and the longer it goes on the worse it gets.

Five for Fred Gets off to Great Start

A BIG thank you goes out to so many people who pulled out their MasterCards, Visas and American Express cards and donated to Fred’s Legal Defense Fund, Five for Fred

It’s actually very easy to help Fred. You just need to go to the www.fiveforfred.com web site and click on the bright red DONATE button in the upper right part of your screen. It directs you to the ever so easy to fill out donation sheet. It only takes 42 seconds to make a difference. If you haven’t donated to help defray Fred’s mounting legal bills, please do it right now: Five for Fred

Contributions of $5.00 (the price of a latte + tip) and up have come in from generous donors in 25 states – from Arizona to Wyoming. It has been incredible, and is really helping to make a dent in the bills. Please help if you can.

Thank you one and all!!!!

Standoff: Manchester Boycott Leadership vs American Historical Association

Both Sides Pushing for Most Fruitful Solution

Morgan M. Hurley, CopyEditor Fri, 11/27/2009

Photo credit: Fred Karger Advertising the Manchester Hyatt Boycott at Stockholm Pride

Cleve Jones is furious.

This coming January, the American Historical Association (AHA) is holding their 124th Annual Meeting at the Manchester Grand Hyatt here in San Diego, despite their knowledge of the ongoing boycott against that property and repeated appeals for them to move venues.

The Grand Hyatt’s owner not only contributed $125,000 to Proposition 8, he helped get it on the ballot. Prop 8 ended marriage equality for millions of Californians when it was narrowly passed in November 2008.

The AHA, founded in 1884, is a Washington D.C. based organization made up of 15,000 scholars and educators across the country, a large number of which are also in the LGBT community. It is the oldest and largest professional organization in the United States.

“I am profoundly disappointed that gay historians will be the first LGBT people to violate this boycott,” said Jones. “It is a slap in the face of the hard work of the LGBT community in San Diego.

“San Diego’s gay community has come so far after decades of struggle in this conservative city, and to have these out-of-towners come in and thumb their nose up – it’s unconscionable.”

Jones, a long-time gay activist and co-founder of the NAMES Project and AIDS Memorial Quilt, is currently the International Director of LGBT Community Programs for the labor union, UNITE HERE (which includes Hotel and Restaurant Employees). SDGLN.com spoke with Cleve at the union’s Local 30 offices in San Diego.

Although the Manchester property is not unionized, UNITE HERE has taken an official stance behind the boycott for several reasons. Most importantly, Jones pointed out, are the large numbers of gays and lesbians within the hospitality industry. Secondly, the LGBT community is also an important target market for the industry.

“UNITE HERE supports full equality for LGBT rights and fights for protections, ENDA inclusive language and health care benefits for employee partners in all contracts, which we just succeeded with in Hawaii,“ explained Jones. “We also look for any opportunity to further relationships with progressives by getting involved in things such as Proposition 8, local elections, and other contracts to support LGBT workers.”

Doug Manchester, a resident of La Jolla, says he contributed $125,000 to Prop 8 on behalf of ProtectMarriage.com because of his Roman Catholic beliefs, but also said that despite this, gays and lesbians are welcome at his hotel.

Said Jones, “He was the second largest individual contributor to get Proposition 8 on the ballot and he has a history of providing financial support to extreme right-wing, anti-gay, anti-worker organizations. He’s a bad guy.”

The boycott was launched in the spring of 2008 as a result of GLAAD pulling major events that corresponded with San Diego Pride out of the Hyatt. The action came after word got out of Manchester’s contribution. Since then, over $7 million dollars in contracts with the Manchester Grand Hyatt have been thwarted as a result of the boycott. Taking into account figures on individual cancellations and other potential lost revenue not tracked or included- it could be millions more.

Several different organizations are providing leadership for the boycott: Californians Against Hate, Courage Campaign, Equality California, and UNITE HERE. Leaders of the boycott have worked closely with dozens of organizations – many of which had been booked years in advance – encouraging their participation and helping them find loopholes in their contracts, if necessary. These same people have offered their services to the AHA but they have not been responsive.

Citing a contract that they finalized six years ago, the AHA states that if they could get out of their contract without facing bankruptcy or extreme hardship, they would. Their cancellation fee is $750,000.

“We looked at the contract very closely,” said Arnita Jones, Executive Director. “There is an anti-strike clause, and if the workers at the Hyatt were participating, we could have opted out, but there are no workers from the hotel on the picket line, and there is no official strike.”

Cleve feels their explanation for moving forward with the contract falls a dollar short.

“This is a labor sanctioned boycott. An official labor boycott,” he said. “I don’t want to lecture historians, but the AHA is being used by Manchester to violate the boycott.”

After the passing of Proposition 8, LGBT members of the AHA brought forth the issue at a smaller annual conference of the AHA last January. As a result, the AHA adopted a resolution, full of ways they could step into the conversation. Much to the chagrin of the boycott leadership, moving their annual meeting from the grounds of the Manchester Grand Hyatt was not one of them.

One of the first things the resolution did put forth was the creation of a LGBTQ Task Force “to take a careful look at all professional concerns of the community – at Grad school, in employment – what can be done to make it more welcoming, more equal, with less discrimination,” explained Arnita.

In addition, a Working Group was launched to advertise, request a call for papers and structure a series of special sessions on same-sex marriage to take place at the Hyatt during their Annual Meeting. In a press release announcing the resolution, the 2010 annual meeting was identified as “an opportunity to seize a significant teaching moment.”

“The AHA has a rich body of research on (the institution of) marriage throughout history, and it’s always been evolving,” she continued. “We think it is very important to take these sessions into the Hyatt and have a scholarly conference, with no specific point of view in mind.” On the AHA website, the Executive Committee refers to the sessions as “scholarly findings that should increase public understanding of the complexity and fluidity of marriage practices.”

The 15 special sessions, according to the AHA website, fall under a special event titled, “Events of the AHA Working Group for Historical Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage.” The sessions span each day of the four day conference, with Paper and Panel Topics on a wide range of related subjects, such as: Gay Marriage and Proposition 8, Reflections; Access Denied: Comparative Biopolitics of Marriage Restriction; Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Marry; and, Male Couples and the Meanings of Same-Sex Love in Turn-of-the-Century Europe and America.

Arnita said the focus of these sessions will be on marriage over time and place, equality in other countries, and changes to marriage in the US. “Just in the last half century, things such as social security and health benefits have been added to marriage. In the early 19th century, women even didn’t have the same rights in a marriage. Marriage has never been static.”

Cleve Jones and others behind the boycott, including Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger, already upset that the AHA will continue with their conference at the Hyatt, are offended that the AHA would consider holding any session with a LGBT focus inside the hotel that is in the midst of a boycott for LGBT reasons.

“This adds insult to injury – it is outrageous,” said Jones. “It is arrogant of the AHA and not helpful in any way. I recognize it is inconvenient, but standing up for one’s principles is often inconvenient.”

Karger agrees. “If they really want to make a statement, they’d take those sessions outside of the hotel.”

Both men stated they’d be happy to help the AHA find alternative spaces to conduct the special sessions, so people involved do not have to cross the picket line or violate the boycott.

Although the location of the conference remains a touchy subject- the AHA isn’t backing down.
Said Arnita Jones, “It has never been our intention to offend any member of the LGBTQ community. On the contrary, this mini-conference on historical perspectives of same-sex marriage is designed to make a serious and lasting contribution to the conversation on marriage equality. The 15-session event is a major focus of our annual meeting.

“The mini-conference will address the diversity of approaches to marriage and family over time and place,” she continued. “It is a direct response to arguments used by proponents of Proposition 8, that marriage has been the same through the ages and is now changing for the first time. By voting to hold these sessions in the Hyatt, the AHA members wanted to take this information to where we felt it was needed most.”

The AHA also states they are not paying for the meeting spaces, meaning Doug Manchester will not make any money from the meetings specifically. In keeping with their desire to make the sessions as public and as accessible as possible, they’ve even extended an invitation to Manchester, himself.

In addition, alternative hotels in the area have been offered up to the 5,000-6,000 expected attendees, and many are taking advantage of those alternatives. The AHA leadership is also encouraging membership dialogue and debate regarding their decisions, and promises to keep attendees informed of developments.

None of these concessions matter one bit to Cleve Jones, who feels the boycott still needs to be honored.

“Boycotts are a very important weapon and an effective tool,” said Jones. “They give people of conscience who are not directly affected by an issue or struggle the opportunity to support that struggle.”

Now a union employee himself, Jones referenced Cesar Chavez’ 1965 nation-wide boycott of grapes in support of the farm workers union, which lasted five years and ended in agreements suitable to both parties. The whole nation participated in the boycott while the previously unsuitable conditions the boycott was bringing attention to, affected only a specific group of individuals.

“Manchester did real damage to our community. One would think that historians of all people…..” his voice trailed off. Jones has started SleepWithTheRightPeople.com which focuses on gay friendly hotel properties so travelers can plan accordingly. The website also highlights individual LGBT hospitality employees.

Karger, who has been directly involved in assisting organizations out of their contracts; is a little more sympathetic, he understands the predicament of rigid contracts, how binding they can be, and the difficult situation they can put organizations in.

“I appreciate their position, but I hope they will never go back to the Manchester Hyatt again.”

The leaders of the boycott repeatedly stated throughout each interview that the AHA is not considered the enemy to the LGBT community; they just don’t want the AHA supporting the enemy by following through with their conference at the property in question. The AHA, on the other hand, truly wants to educate the masses, including Manchester, with their focus on topics related to the challenges that have always surrounded marriage, as well as the LGBT community.

Both the boycott leadership and the AHA have such strong opinions, and both sides feel they are pushing for the right outcomes. In the end, it appears they will need to agree to disagree, but there may be bruised egos left behind on both sides.

Only one thing is for sure, Cleve Jones will be on the picket line come January, to personally welcome the gay and straight historians of the AHA upon their arrival to Doug Manchester’s Grand Hyatt hotel.

Source: For more information about the boycott click HERE »

SAN DIEGO, CA — Five prominent leaders who have been boycotting San Diego developer and hotel owner Doug Manchester for one full year, held a news conference on Friday to announce plans to take the boycott of the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego global for Year II of their highly successful boycott.

They unveiled three large posters in English, Spanish and Japanese representing the expansion of the Manchester Hotels Boycott to the world. Pointing to the enormous success of Year I, which by Manchester’s own estimates has cost his Hyatt property $7 million alone; the group explained their plans to expand the boycott.

Photo by Mike Tidmus

“We will be asking the public to please not cross the line,” stated Boycott organizer Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, while holding up the yellow caution tape (photo above) representing the theme of Year II. “We want everyone to really think long and hard before going in to Mr. Manchester’s hotels. Don’t support bigotry and discrimination by spending money at either Manchester Hotel only to have it used against us. Doug Manchester gave a whopping $125,000 early contribution to California’s Proposition 8. Prop 8 ended marriage equality for millions of Californians when the voters narrowly passed the Constitutional Amendment last November.

Also speaking at the news conference was longtime LGBT activist and San Diego Gay Pride Grand Marshall, Cleve Jones, who discussed how the organizers were going to reach out to all international tour operators, travel planners and meeting planners. Brigette Browning, President of UNITE HERE Local 30, whose union has been so successful in encouraging over a dozen major conventions to cancel their meetings at the Manchester Hyatt, spoke about all the lost business due to the boycott. She explained that number represents over 100,000 room nights. Rick Jacobs, Founder and Chair of the Courage Campaign, representing over 700,000 members, asked Governor Schwarzenegger to “Fire Doug Manchester” from the board of the prestigious California Travel and Tourism Commission, because the passage of Prop 8 will cost the State of California $1 billion in lost revenue. Also speaking at the news conference was well known San Diego City Commissioner Nicole Murray- Ramirez, who discussed the Human Relations Commission’s, which he chairs, unanimous support of the boycott.

Here are the three posters: