By MICHAEL SCHAFFER
OSKALOOSA — Iowa House District 75 Rep. Eric Palmer, D-Oskaloosa, faced local criticism Thursday as 10 of his constituents and the president of the Iowa Family Policy Center questioned his acceptance of out-of-state campaign contributions from well-known gay rights activists.
Palmer in 2007 voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. In March 2008, he voted to keep a resolution that would have amended the Iowa constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman off the House floor for debate and in committee.
Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, during an impromptu meeting at Smokey Row Coffee House Thursday morning, said one-third of Palmer’s campaign contributions this cycle are from individuals trying to prevent the passage of a marriage amendment in Iowa.
“All of these people are tied, in their own words and their own associations; they’re all tied to an activist agenda to promote homosexuality and to redefine marriage,” Hurley said. “They are the leading edge of the movement to redefine marriage.”
Palmer, when confronted by Hurley and his constituents Thursday afternoon, repeated what he has said before — he will only accept legal donations.
“I’m not aware of any illegal donations to my campaign. I do not want illegal donations. I think they’re all legal,” Palmer said. “If you know of any illegal donations to my campaign, please bring them to my attention.”
One woman from Oskaloosa who was in the group pointed out a lot of money was coming from homosexual activists and individuals.
Hurley added all they wanted was a chance for the people to vote on a marriage amendment.
A second woman from Oskaloosa brought up an Eggs and Issues Forum in March where it was her impression Palmer did not want anything to do with the marriage amendment.
“And I got the impression, I was there and I got the impression that you really didn’t care what we believed,” she said. “And now we’re hearing about you taking out-of-state funds to support a position that many of us there at Smokey Row and all of us here, or most of us here, do not support.”
Palmer told her he would listen to her opinion, the opinion of people who donate to his campaign and the opinion of all of his constituents.
“It’s my belief that they believe I will be fair and listen to them,” Palmer said. “And I think that’s why people donate to my campaign.”
Palmer said he was trying to govern from the middle.
“Because you get a donation to your campaign, it doesn’t mean you buy into everything,” Palmer said.
In August, September and October of 2008, Palmer’s campaign accepted $9,370 from 23 different people living in states like California, Florida, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts. One man, William Resnick, of West Hollywood, Calif., a founding member of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists and a donor to the Gay and Lesbian Center and a member of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund “Victory Club” felt compelled to donate at least four times for a total of $2,100.
And Palmer’s campaign disclosure reports show where several well-known gay rights activists took interest in his 2006 campaign and repeatedly since then.
Henry Van Ameringen, of New York, N.Y., a frequent contributor to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and to Barney Frank’s campaign, donated at least $2,500 to Palmer’s campaign since 2006. Weston F. Milliken, of Los Angeles, Calif., a frequent giver to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, donated at least $1,500 to Palmer’s campaign since 2006. Esmond V. Harmsworth, of Boston Mass., a contributor to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, donated at least $1,000 to Palmer’s campaign since 2006.
Hurley said the goal is to deny Iowans an opportunity to vote on a marriage amendment.
“We’ll, the reality is that all of (Palmer’s) votes have been completely, perfectly 100 percent consistent with those individuals,” Hurley said. “And their goal and their money. And that is to prevent a vote on the Iowa Marriage Amendment and to set up special civil rights classes, or groups, giving those who practice homosexual behavior a special right to sue.”
Hurley said Palmer’s campaign has accepted more than $25,000 since 2006 from out-of-state individuals trying to redefine marriage.
Then in March 2008, Palmer had a chance to bring House Joint Resolution 8 to the floor for debate. The resolution to amend the Iowa Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman was stuck in the Judiciary Committee and the vote to invoke Rule 60 to bring it out of committee for debate on the floor was 50 nays and 46 ayes, with Palmer being one of the nays.
The Iowa Supreme Court is expected sometime in early 2009 to rule on the constitutionality of Iowa’s marriage law, or DOMA, following Judge Richard Hanson’s ruling it was unconstitutional, which Hanson a day later stayed.
Hurley predicted Iowans would be in an uproar if the Court rules against DOMA, citing a poll where 70 percent of Iowans believe marriage should stay between a man and a woman.
“The need for an amendment is more urgent now than it was in 2005,” Hurley said. “The only way to stop a judge or the Supreme Court from redefining marriage is through a constitutional amendment.”
Palmer said the judiciary should be allowed to rule on Iowa’s marriage law. He said it is the job of judges to follow the Iowa Constitution.
“I’ve got a job as a legislator. The executive has a job. And the court system has a job,” Palmer said. “And hopefully, we’ll all do our job well.”
Palmer said he would have to wait until the Supreme Court decides before he can determine what the next step would be.
Palmer is not the only person running for a seat in the Iowa House receiving money from out-of-state gay rights activists and groups.
Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, has received at least $8,000 for her campaign in House District 13. Steckman’s campaign contribution forms since June 2008 show 12 individuals living out-of-state who donated to Palmer’s campaign donated $4,700 to her campaign as well.
According to Hurley, the mastermind behind the push in Iowa is openly gay millionaire software developer Tim Gill, who in a 2006 Atlantic magazine story takes credit for Palmer’s victory over Republican Danny Carroll in 2006. Hurley said Gill, who lives in Denver, Colo., and his “nationwide network of homosexual activists,” have pumped $500,000 into Iowa since 2006. Palmer’s campaign records show Gill donated $1,000 to his campaign in October 2006.
Hurley said Gill targeted Carroll because of a marriage amendment he introduced in 2005, called House Joint Resolution 1, a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, which passed in the House, 54-44. The same day the Senate read House Joint Resolution 1 and it was referred to the State Government Committee.
If House Joint Resolution 1 had been adopted, it would have been referred to the next general assembly for adoption a second time before being submitted to the electorate for ratification.
For candidates’ campaign disclosure forms, go to www.iowa.gov/ethics/ and click View Filed Reports, State/Local Reports, Contribution and/or Expenditure Search, click bleu here at the end of the sentence and type in candidate’s last name in box.
Go to www.legis.state.ia.us and click on Track Legislation, Find a Bill by Subject, then select Marriage in the drop down list in Subject Index for all Introduced Bills, click on HJR 8, Current Bill History and Motion to Invoke Rule 60/HJ487 and go to pages six and seven.
Herald City Editor Michael Schaffer can be reached by email at mschaffer@oskyherald.com
More on Tim Gill and his activities
Denver philanthropist and entrepreneur, Tim Gill, established Gill Action Fund, an IRS 501(c) (4) issue advocacy organization dedicated to securing equal opportunity for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression, in the fall of 2005. The fund collaborates with and provides resources to donors and organizations working to advance equality through the political, legislative and electoral process.
Gill Action’s Political OutGiving program works to engage and cultivate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied philanthropists to help secure large-scale and long-term financial support to build a robust network of organizations working to advance full civil rights for LGBT people.
