A series of explosive documents recently unsealed as part of a federal lawsuit in Maine shed light on a Minnesota controversy involving the organizations campaigning to put a ban on same-sex marriages into the Minnesota Constitution.

The documents, exhibits in a lawsuit filed by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), outline a broad political strategy to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks,” “expose [Barack] Obama as a social radical” and even to ensure that the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo stays open.

“Gay marriage is the tip of the spear, the weapon that will be and is being used to marginalize and repress Christianity and the church,” one of the internal memos states. “What does the gay marriage idea mean once government adopts it? It means faith communities that promote traditional families should be treated in law and culture like racists.”

“One key advantage we now have is the capacity to protect the identity of our donors,” another states.

Fighting for secrecy

NOM filed the lawsuit in question in an effort to overturn the Maine law compelling it to disclose many of its financial backers, who underwrote a successful 2009 ballot initiative that overturned the legalization of gay marriage in that state.

The group also has refused to disclose its donors in Minnesota, despite a number of orders from the state Board of Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure. The state agency is currently investigating a complaint against NOM and its state-level sister organization, Minnesotans for Marriage, subsequently filed by Common Cause of Minnesota.

The group claims that secrecy is needed because its donors are subject to harassment. Critics counter that it is probably really trying to hide the fact that the vast majority of its funding comes from just a handful of wealthy backers, a contention that is supported by the reports NOM, as a nonprofit, is required to file with the Internal Revenue Service.

“The

This article originally appeared on: http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2012/04/memos-nom-suit-reveal-anti-gay-marriage-strategies