A Massachusetts gay rights group, KnowThyNeighbor.org, has replicated in Arkansas what it has done in several other states.
It has compiled a list, from public records, of all the names and addresses of the Arkansans who signed the petitions to put Act 1 on last year’s ballot. This was the anti-gay measure, approved by voters, that prohibits adoption or fostering parenting by unmarried people living together. It’s part of the anti-gay agenda of the Family Council, but as has been well reported, it first of all harmed children in need of homes. It also hurt heterosexuals in the course of promoting that agenda. The ACLU has sued over the act.
The group’s full news release is on the jump. It worked in conjunction with the Center for Artistic Revolution, headed by North Little Rock’s Randi Romo. The release says, in part:
Tom Lang, a gay, married man and Director of KnowThyNeighbor, based in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, says that he uses the strategy of exposing the signers of anti-gay initiatives in order to generate the dialogue between both sides of this issue. “We believe at KnowThyNeighbor that if you truly feel that it is necessary to change laws and state constitutions to exclude gay people from the American experience then you should be proud to tell us who you are. And in like manner, if you are an LGBT person and you see someone that you know on this list, if you are related to this person or do business with this person that it is your responsibility to stand up and speak up for yourself, “ says Lang.
The searchable database — by name, street, city, zip code, county — can be linked from the group’s webpage. (The data is a matter of public record, filed in the secretary of state’s office, where it can be reviewed by all who wish to see it.)
NOTE: I’d caution against presuming names found on the list, though the same as those of some public figures, are in fact those public figures. For example: The former senator someone thought they found, has a different middle name and address than that of the petition signer. The prosecutor mentioned is not a resident of the address listed by someone of similar name. Etc.
COINCIDENTALLY: NY Times finds signs that the GOP may be rethinking opposition to gay marriage as a foundation of the party. The tide is running against them, with the old, angry Limbaughites constituting most of the opposition. And on the front, check this trailer for a coming documentary, “Outrage,” on gay-bashing closeted Republicans.