The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take a Michigan-based nonprofit’s case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the organization — and all other nonprofits who solicit donations in California — must disclose the names and addresses of major donors to the California attorney general on an annual basis.
The 9th Circuit’s ruling reversed a district court’s decision, which found following a trial that the California attorney general’s office has no compelling need for the information. In addition, the office publicly disclosed donors on the internet when such information should not have been disclosed and created a perfect target for hackers by uploading thousands of confidential documents to the cloud, where they were easily discovered. In one instance, the attorney general’s office disclosed the confidential information of hundreds of Planned Parenthood donors.
“Every American should be free to support causes they believe in without fear of harassment or intimidation,” said ADF senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy John Bursch. “The fact that California leaks confidential records like a sieve makes mandatory disclosure of sensitive information especially dangerous for donors and employees of nonprofits like Thomas More Law Center, who have faced intimidation, death threats, hate mail, boycotts, and even assassination attempts from ideological opponents. Given that the California attorney general’s office hardly ever uses supporter information for any purpose, there’s simply no justification for forcing charities to disclose their supporters’ names and addresses and making freedom of association a pipe dream.”
Thomas More Law Center, a nonprofit organization based in Michigan, defends and promotes religious freedom, moral and family values, and the sanctity of human life. Roughly 5% of its donors are California residents, and it has operated as a charity in good standing with California’s attorney general for many years. However, in March 2012, the attorney general’s office began to harass the law center and demand the names and addresses of its major donors.
As the petition to the Supreme Court argued, the high court’s decision in NAACP v. Alabama — which protected NAACP supporters from being targeted by white supremacists — applies to this case, Thomas More Law Center v. Becerra. NAACP v. Alabama has protected freedom of association for 60 years, and today’s environment is no time to remove that key safeguard. Further, the California attorney general’s office offers no protection against employees, contractors, or summer interns downloading, e-mailing, or printing donors’ names and addresses and then disclosing them publicly….
The above comes from a Jan. 8 release from Alliance Defending Freedom.
Yes, one should be able to give without fear of violence, harrassment, etc. The flip side of that coin is that the public should know major donors to organizations, not hidden via corporate names, trusts, and other ‘blinders’.
Any practical suggestions?
MIght we continue to give to charitable organizations without names, amounts and other personal information being publicly disclosed, while donations for political purposes continue to involve public disclosure?
This seems to respect the difference between trying to affect public policy and trying to serve and help those in need.
Why does the public need to know who gives to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, your parish, your favorite religious order or Catholic Charities?