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Time To Own Up To It
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A court has opened up the list of people who signed the petition to repeal the gay marriage law in Washington state to the public. Want to know who signed it? Fifteen bucks gets you the list, and you can do with it whatever you want. There's a delicate balance here between the right for the public to know and opening people up to intimidation. I can see both sides of this. It certainly will get in the way of signing petitions, because if you know that your name is going to wind up in public, you might not want to sign something controversial. On the other hand, stuff like that is supposed to be public, isn't it? On the other other hand, your vote is private. Is there any difference between signing the petition and voting? Should you have a reasonable expectation that your name is going to be disclosed on one side or the other? Whatever happens, it's another reason to blow off the people sticking petitions in your face at the grocery. (Los Angeles Times)
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