Antigay groups in
Ohio charged with concealing campaign contributions

Two Cincinnati attorneys claim that several antigay organizations active in election issues concealed more than $2 million in campaign contributions. They said they would file a complaint Thursday with the Ohio Elections Commission. The complaint cites last year's campaign for a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and the battle in Cincinnati over repeal of an ordinance that prohibited passage of a gay rights law. Filing the complaint are former Cincinnati mayor Bobbie Sterne and Gary Wright, chairman of Equality Cincinnati, the successor to the group that led the successful repeal effort. Named in the complaint are Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values and its president, Phil Burress; officers of Equal Rights, No Special Rights; and Focus on the Family, of Colorado Springs, Colo. The complaint claims that only $13,000 of $2.4 million spent by the groups was disclosed on campaign finance reports as required by state law. "This is a witch hunt," Burress said Wednesday. "This is pure politics at its dirtiest moment and nothing short of harassment. We have complied with every law." (AP)