A California lobby group’s “no more taxes” e-mail campaign is under way again after an interruption that began when a state worker blocked access to lawmakers amid a flood of messages.
The state claims the e-mail problem was a technical matter, related to bad addresses and the volume of mail. However, the Campaign for California Families, or CCF, contends California hindered the right of citizens to express their views by triggering a chain of events that led to the shutdown of the nonprofit organization’s website and destruction of thousands of e-mails meant for legislators.
CCF’s website, www.savecalifornia.com, was shut down last week after an employee of the Legislative Data Center in Sacramento complained to the company that provided the grass-roots group’s Web server, Vortech, Inc.
The Orlando, Fla., firm then permanently barred CCF from using its facilities, claiming that the e-mail campaign caused a massive slowdown of its system after messages began bouncing back.
CCF director Randy Thomasson said today, however, that his group has managed to overcome the technical barriers brought about by last week’s events.
“The e-mails are going through, and we have a new Web-hosting company that won’t be intimidated by the state,” Thomasson told WND.
The campaign encourages citizens to come to CCF’s website where they can write an individual message that is forwarded to Gov. Gray Davis and more than 100 members of the state legislature.
CCF filed a cease and desist complaint in court on Thursday, charging that the state interfered with the First Amendment rights of citizens. Thomasson said that despite the resumption of the e-mail campaign, CCF is considering further legal action.
“The state could try to keep blocking us, and they could try to keep chasing us around,” Thomasson said. “There is the possibility of a federal lawsuit based on the U.S. Constitution.”
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