A story that aired on
National Public Radio's
Morning Edition
on Thursday about the backlash over the passage of
California's Proposition 8 seems to be raising eyebrows
over its characterization of gays performing a "witch
hunt."
The report by Karen
Grigsby Bates mentioned several boycotts of businesses after it
was revealed that their owners contributed to the campaign for
a statewide ban on same-sex marriage, which voters
passed after 18,000 were marriages performed over five
months. The report went on to speak with three business owners
who were affected either negatively or positively by boycotts
and protests, each described as a "devout" or
"faithful" religious follower.
El Coyote in Los
Angeles lost customers after the owners' daughter gave $100
to the Yes on 8 campaign. Bates also spoke to the owners of
Leatherby's Family Creamery in Sacramento, who say business
actually went up because of the 15 or so protesters outside of
its doors. David Leatherby, a "Roman Catholic father of
10," said he gave $20,000 to the campaign and started to
receive nasty e-mails and phone calls.
Bates also said that
the California secretary of state "publicized" the
contributor lists, which became popular on websites and other
media, but in California elections, as with federal-level
elections, donor lists are made public in any
case.
The report, which aired
on the morning of the California supreme court's hearing of
arguments for and against Proposition 8, quoted only
two gay former patrons of El Coyote and no leaders of the No on
8 campaign to explain the purpose of the boycotts.
"Bates speaks to
no gay leaders,"
writes Dan Savage in The Slog
, "she doesn't quote anyone about the role that
boycotts have played in other civil rights struggles, from the
African American Civil Rights Movement (think of that poor bus
company!) to struggles farm workers' rights (did anyone
ever think of the poor people who owned the vineyards where
grapes were grown?)."