ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8, a Project of California Renewal et al v. Bowen et al

Filing 120

DECLARATION of John Doe #17 in SUPPORT OF #110 MOTION for SUMMARY JUDGMENT. (Bieniek, Scott)

ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8, a Project of California Renewal et al v. Bowen et al

Doc. 120

John Doe #17
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Declaration of REDACTED in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment

James Bopp, Jr. (Ind. State Bar No. 2838-84)* Richard E. Coleson (Ind. State Bar No. 11527-70)* Barry A. Bostrom (Ind. State Bar No.11912-84)* Sarah E. Troupis (Wis. State Bar No. 1061515)* Scott F. Bieniek (Ill. State Bar No. 6295901)* BOPP, COLESON & BOSTROM 1 South Sixth Street Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Counsel for All Plaintiffs Benjamin W. Bull (Ariz. State Bar No. 009940)* ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND 15100 North 90th Street Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Counsel for All Plaintiffs Timothy D. Chandler (Cal. State Bar No. 234325)** ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND 101 Parkshore Drive, Suite 100 Folsom, CA 95630 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Counsel for All Plaintiffs * Admitted Pro Hac Vice ** Designated Counsel for Service United States District Court Eastern District of California Sacramento Division

ProtectMarriage.com, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Debra Bowen, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 2:09-CV-00058-MCE-DAD DECLARATION OF REDACTED IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Date: TBD Time: TBD. Judge England

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Dockets.Justia.com

John Doe #17
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Declaration of REDACTED in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment

I,

REDACTED

, make the following declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746:

1. I am a resident of the state of California over 18 years of age, and my statements herein are based on personal knowledge. 2. I supported the passage of Proposition 8. 3. In support of Proposition 8, I made a donation in August 2008 of $X,XXX to ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8, a Project of California Renewal. My wife also donated $X,XXX to ProtectMarriage.com in late October. 4. Because of my donation in support of Proposition 8, my name was listed on the "List of Shame" at the Californians Against Hate website. 5. After my name appeared on the Californians Against Hate website, I was contacted by our local
REDACTED

television affiliate to do a television interview on the "List of Shame." On
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September

REDAC

,

, this interview appeared on television here in REDACTED . The interview

appeared as part of a larger piece on Proposition 8 on the evening news. 6. On the evening of September
REDAC

,

REDACTED

, after the interview appeared, I received a hate

call. My family was not home at the time, and a female caller left a message on our answering machine. Using sarcasm, , she told us we must be proud of our decision to donate to Proposition 8. 7. Prior to doing the interview, I had let two other partners in my accounting business know about my decision to participate in the interview; both of them were supportive of my decision to appear on television as a supporter of Proposition 8. 8. Someone at my workplace saw my name and donation posted online, and told the human resources department where I work about my donation to Proposition 8. 9. Several days after the November 2008 election, the partner who oversees the human resources department and the human resources director let me know that someone had pointed out that my name appeared online as part of the blacklists of people who had supported Proposition 8 circulating on the internet. I do not believe that we received any complaints from

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John Doe #17
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Declaration of REDACTED in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment

clients about my donation. 10. I also received a postcard, at work, from an anonymous gay couple opposed to our donation. I still have the postcard, which states: I'm a bank executive and my partner is an IT manager. We are gay, and we both served in the military during the Vietnam War. We got married recently, after being together for 30 years, but that's in limbo now thanks to the Great Religious War of 2008 in which the sanctity of marriage was preserved. What is important, in addition to marriage being saved, is that folks like us are relegated to permanent second class citizenship, so that we don't have the same hospital visitation rights as you, or the ability to file a joint tax return, or the pleasure and security that comes with knowing your committed relationship is recognized by the state. We deserve to be adrift without rights for the rest of our lives. Meanwhile, we will continue to pay our taxes to support your school systems for your children. We just hope you are proud of your participation in this Great Crusade. Just think of how you have contributed to the economy with the money you donated! It doesn't matter that there are thousands of worthwhile charities that could have used those funds to feed starving people, clothe the homeless, and find cures for cancer and other life-threatening diseases. You must be so proud! 11. My name and address are listed on the eightmaps.com website. 12. Although I would donate to a cause similar to Proposition 8 in the future, I believe that there are people who would be afraid to donate because of the harassment of supporters of Proposition 8.. 13. Personally, I am most upset about the desecration of locations that we deem sacred, and the vilifying of our church online and in the press. It seems shameful that the hateful and personal nature of these actions have been justified in any measure in a country with a long history of freedom of religion. I DECLARE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY THAT THE FOREGOING IS TRUE AND CORR Executed on:

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Scott F. Bieniek, am over the age of 18 years and not a party to the within action. My business address is 1 South Sixth Street, Terre Haute, Indiana 47807. On June 3, 2009, I electronically filed the foregoing document described as Declaration of John Doe #17 in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to: Zackery P. Morazzini [e-mail] Attorney for Defendants Debra Bowen and Edmund G. Brown, Jr. Judy W. Whitehurst [e-mail] Attorney for Defendant Dean C. Logan Terence J. Cassidy [e-mail] Attorney for Defendant Jan Scully Mollie M. Lee [e-mail] Attorney for Defendants Dennis J. Herrera and Department of Elections - City and Count of San Francisco Lawrence T. Woodlock [e-mail] Attorney for Defendant Members of the Fair Political Practices Commission I declare under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Indiana that the above is true and correct. Executed this 3rd day of June, 2009.

/s/ Scott F. Bieniek Scott F. Bieniek (Ill. State Bar No. 6295901) Counsel for All Plaintiffs

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Declaration of John Doe #17 in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment