WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday got involved for the second time this week in a case in which opponents of gay rights fear they will be harassed if their views are made public.
The high court will consider whether Washington state officials can release more than 138,500 names on a petition seeking a vote on overturning the state’s domestic-partnership rights.
Protect Marriage Washington, which unsuccessfully opposed the law giving same-sex couples expanded rights, wants to shield from disclosure the signers of the petition for a referendum on that law. The group says it fears harassment by gay-rights supporters, some of whom have vowed to post signers’ names on the Internet.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said before the Nov. 3 vote that the names could be made public, but the Supreme Court blocked their release until it decided whether to hear the case.
Arguments will be heard later this year.
Justices earlier this week decided to block the televising of a trial on California’s ban of same-sex marriage. The trial in federal court in San Francisco concerns Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage in the state.
In Washington state, Referendum 71 asked voters to approve or reject the so-called “everything but marriage” law, which grants registered domestic partners the same legal rights as married couples.
Voters ratified the law, but the conservative Christian groups that opposed it want to keep the signed petitions that asked for the referendum out of public view because they fear harassment from gay-rights supporters.
Washington state officials say the petitions are covered by their public-record laws.
“We welcome an opportunity to go to the highest court in the land to defend Washington citizens’ strong desire for transparency, openness and accountability in government and the public’s belief that our state and local public documents must be available for public inspection,” Secretary of State Sam Reed said.
But not all state officials feel that way. A GOP state representative, Mike Armstrong of Wenatchee, is sponsoring a bill that would exempt the petitions from public records.
