Controversial Site Outs Homophobes

There’s this website called Prop 8 Maps. It uses Google Maps and public campaign finance records to expose the people who donated money in support of Proposition 8 in California. All you have to do is type in the name of any US city, and the names and workplaces of the people who donated to support Prop 8 and the amount donated they pop up. For example, I just typed in “New York City” and found out that an attorney at Lehman Brothers donated $250 in support of Prop 8 on September 23, 2008. Really? Lehman Brothers is in the toilet, and someone there had an extra 250 bucks to ban gay marriage on the other side of the country? Whatevs.

Anyway, I still don’t know what to think about this site. Part of me believes that it’s a good thing to know who the bigots are and to stay as far away from them as possible. For example, if you need an accountant in San Francisco, don’t go to Clare & Storey, LLP. Or, you can go to Clare & Storey and tell them that you won’t do business with them because one of them is a heterosexist (I won’t tell you which one). You can hold the bigots accountable and make them defend their discriminatory position.

But part of me thinks this site and similar sites that may come out in the future can be used to hurt people. Some people feel so strongly about their beliefs that they’ll commit crimes against those that disagree with them. Imagine if there was a site like Prop 8 Maps that, instead of show the people who donated to support Prop 8, showed people who donated to NARAL or Planned Parenthood. I wouldn’t mind if some wingnut came to my work to wag their finger at me, but I would care if they showed up with a gun. I definitely see the value in knowing where campaigns get their donations for legal reasons, but I don’t know if it’s right to make people’s political opinions public. Some people like to keep their politics a secret.

What does everyone else think?