{{Short description|United States nonprofit organization}} {{Infobox organization | name = SaveCalifornia.com | image = SaveCalifornia.com Logo.jpg | image_size = 240px | caption = | founder = Randy Thomasson | type = Public charity 501(c)(3) | tax_id = 68-0530784 (EIN) | registration_id = | founded = {{Start date|1999|09|11}}<ref name=Domain>{{cite web|title=Domain Registration|url=http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/savecalifornia.com|publisher=Network Solutions|accessdate=September 27, 2012}}</ref> | location = Sacramento, California | coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LON|display=inline,title}} --> | origins = | key_people = Randy Thomasson, President<br>Larry Bowler, Chairman | region_served = | products = | services = | focus = | mission = | method = | revenue = $195,203 (2010)<ref name="GuideStar">{{cite web | url=http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/68-0530784/campaign-children-families.aspx | title=Nonprofit Report for Campaign for Children and Families | publisher=GuideStar | accessdate=October 2, 2012}}</ref> | endowment = | num_volunteers = | num_employees = | num_members = | subsid = | owner = Campaign for Children and Families | former_name = | website = {{URL|http://SaveCalifornia.com}} | dissolved = | footnotes = }} '''SaveCalifornia.com''' is an American conservative activist group that was founded in 1999 by Randy Thomasson as part of a Campaign for Children and Families (CCF).<ref name=About>{{cite web|title=About|url=http://savecalifornia.com/about.html|publisher=SaveCalifornia|accessdate=September 26, 2012}}</ref> The organization is active in influencing public policy on various social issues and has opposed California's FAIR Education Act.<ref name=Khadaroo />
==History and issues== Save California.com is a project of Campaign for Children and Families, a California-based advocacy non-profit organization<ref name=Mcgreevy /> formed in 1999 by Randy Thomasson. The organization has a stated goal of "defending and representing the values of parents, grandparents and concerned citizens who want what's best for this generation and future generations."<ref name=About /> Thomasson has been involved in influencing social and fiscal policies in government since 1994, through various media outlets.<ref name=Bio>{{cite web|title=Randy Thomasson Bio|url=http://savecalifornia.com/randy-thomasson-bio.htmlpublisher=SaveCalifornia|accessdate=September 26, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> He also founded Campaign for California Families,<ref name=SanRamonVT010211>{{cite news|title=Lobbyist To Address Republican Group|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CCRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10649FA9CA1E9732&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46|accessdate=September 27, 2012|newspaper=San Ramon Valley Times|date=February 11, 2001|location=San Ramon Valley, CA}}</ref> a non-profit organization which sought to defend Proposition 22 and Proposition 8 against constitutional challenges in the courts.<ref name=Egelko041016>{{cite news|title=Gay-nuptials foes win right to defend state law|date=October 16, 2004|author=Bob Egelko|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Gay-nuptials-foes-win-right-to-2717013.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202031836/http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-10-16/bay-area/17447786_1_same-sex-marriage-marriage-law-state-marriage|url-status=live|archive-date=February 2, 2013|access-date=September 27, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Egelko090819>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/19/BA7T19AQ10.DTL&tsp=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821132135/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/19/BA7T19AQ10.DTL&tsp=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 21, 2009|title=Judge sets January trial for Prop. 8 lawsuit|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|author=Bob Egelko|date=August 19, 2009|accessdate=September 27, 2012}}</ref>
===Lobbying activities=== The organization supported California's Proposition 8<ref name=Ferriss>{{cite news|last=Ferriss|first=Susan|title=Same-sex marriage ban is targeted|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:SCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=12AF65A2AADB67B0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46|accessdate=September 27, 2012|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|date=September 25, 2009|author2=Van Oot, Torey|location=Sacrament, CA}}</ref><ref name=Castro>{{cite news|last=Castro|first=Tony|title=Proposition 8 Deemed Unconstitutional|accessdate=September 27, 2012|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LANB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1316D80B823BEE10&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggdocs&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46|newspaper=Daily News of Los Angeles|date=August 5, 2010|location=Los Angeles, CA}}</ref> and opposed a state bill which would allow two people, including same-sex couples, who jointly owned a home to avoid having their property tax reassessed and raised when one of them dies.<ref name=Roja>{{cite news|last=Roja|first=Aurelio|title=Proposition 8 Aftermath / Issue is before high court - Bills keep up gay rights push|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:SCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=125D584E276E6410&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46|accessdate=September 27, 2012|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|date=January 19, 2009|location=Sacrament, CA}}</ref> Following Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling overturning California's same-sex marriage ban in 2010, sending the landmark case to the US Supreme Court, SaveCalifornia.com reacted with a statement:<ref>{{cite news|title=Judge overturns Calif. gay marriage ban|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38560562|access-date=September 27, 2012|date=August 5, 2010|agency=MSNBC}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Natural marriage, voter rights, the Constitution, and our republic called the United States of America have all been dealt a terrible blow. Judge Walker has ignored the written words of the Constitution, which he swore to support and defend and be impartially faithful to, and has instead imposed his own homosexual agenda upon the voters, the parents, and the children of California. This is a blatantly unconstitutional ruling because marriage isn't in the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution guarantees that state policies be by the people, not by the judges, and also supports states' rights, thus making marriage a state jurisdiction.}}
SaveCalifornia.com also lobbied against California's FAIR Education Act, using social media to help carry its message to the public.<ref name=Mcgreevy>{{cite news|last=Mcgreevy|first=Patrick|title=California to require teaching of gay contributions|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:WMCB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1388268E66A9DF78&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46|accessdate=September 27, 2012|newspaper=The Chronicle|date=July 15, 2011|location=Willimantic, CT}}</ref> In 2011, Thomasson described the bill as "sexual brainwashing" and called for "parents to remove their children from the government school system, and get them into the safe havens of church schooling and home schooling." After the California Assembly passed the bill by a 49-to-25 vote,<ref name=Khadaroo>{{cite journal|last=Khadaroo|first=Stacy Teicher|title=Could California Lead Nation in Teaching of Gay History in Schools?|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=July 7, 2011|accessdate=September 26, 2012|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0707/Could-California-lead-nation-in-teaching-of-gay-history-in-schools}}</ref> SaveCalifornia.com urged governor Jerry Brown to veto the bill as "unneeded, unwanted and un-affordable".<ref name=Grossman>{{cite news|last=Cathy Lynn|first=Grossman|title=California gay 'role model' bill sparks battle|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2011/07/gay-rights-california-jerry-brown-education/1|accessdate=September 27, 2012|newspaper=USA Today|date=July 13, 2011}}</ref>
In 2009, after President Obama posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom to gay rights activist Harvey Milk, SaveCalifornia.com held a press conference in which Thomasson argued that Milk was unfit for the nation's highest civilian honor. Thomasson told MSNBC and CBS that the president had made "a mistake" by honoring Milk.<ref name=Sharp>{{cite journal|last=Sharp|first=Sonja|title=Harvey Milk's Medal of Freedom Sparks Protest—In San Francisco|journal=Mother Jones|date=August 12, 2009|url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/08/save-californias-harvey-milk-stunt|accessdate=September 27, 2012}}</ref> The organization also led opposition against Harvey Milk Day, referring to Milk as a "sexual predator",<ref name=Richardson>{{cite news|last=Richardson|first=Valerie|title=Schwarzenegger inks bills - promoted by gay activists - Recognizes domestic partnerships, day for Milk|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:WSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=12B531761C8EDE08&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46|accessdate=September 27, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=October 13, 2009|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> citing the Randy Shilts book, ''The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk''.<ref name=SC120522>{{cite web|title='Harvey Milk Gay Day' is driving more parents out of government schools|url=http://savecalifornia.com/5-22-12-harvey-milk-gay-day-is-driving-more-parents-out-of-government-schools.html|date=May 22, 2012|accessdate=September 27, 2012}}</ref>
===Hate group listing=== In March 2012, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) added SaveCalifornia.com to its list of anti-gay hate groups.<ref name=SPLCActive>{{cite web|title=Active Anti-Gay Groups|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/anti-gay/active_hate_groups|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|accessdate=September 26, 2012}}</ref> According to SPLC director Heidi Beirich, "In order to make the list as an anti-gay group, the group has to lie, defame or spread false propaganda about the LGBT community ... In this case, language that depicts LGBT people as predatory, attempting to convert children and as having unhealthy lifestyles—all of those things—are what got him on the list." Beirich also stated that such language about an entire group "increases the likelihood of hate crimes being directed at that group."<ref name=Munger>{{cite news|last=Munger|first=Kel|title=Real haters of Sacramento Southern Poverty Law Center calls out Save California for rhetoric|url=http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/real-haters-of-sacramento/content?oid=5449134|newspaper=Sacramento News & Review|accessdate=September 26, 2012}}</ref>
==See also==
* List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-gay hate groups
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website}} *[http://saveamerica.net/ SaveAmerica.net] Related website *[http://rescueyourchild.com/ RescueYourChild.com] Related website
Category:Political organizations based in the United States Category:Anti-abortion organizations in the United States Category:Organizations established in 1999 Category:1999 establishments in California Category:Organizations based in Sacramento, California Category:Non-profit organizations based in California Category:Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States Category:Marriage in California