The Empowering Spirits Foundation was established by
A. Latham Staples in 2008 after the passage of
Proposition 8 in
California out of frustration as to how he thought LGBT rights organizations were approaching the gay rights issue. Staples said, "The day after the passage of Proposition 8, various gay rights organizations attacked Christians, the
LDS Church, and minority groups. In my mind, this intolerance only amplified the hate, it didn't create change". On March 4, 2013, ESF announced Staples had stepped down as president of the organization as he had accepted the position of chief executive officer at PremloCare, Inc. (later renamed EXUSMED, Inc.), a healthcare company based in San Diego. He remains the chairman of ESF. Today, ESF is headed by
Lisa Kove, current president of the foundation and Executive Director of the Department of Defense Federal Globe.
Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine In May 2009, the Empowering Spirits Foundation filed a complaint with the
Internal Revenue Service to seek revocation of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland's tax exempt status. This complaint was filed after Mark Mutty, the Diocese's public affairs director, announced plans for the church to gather 55,087 signatures needed for a state
referendum on same-sex marriage in an attempt to overturn Maine's new same-sex marriage law. Mutty is quoted as calling the church's action "one of the biggest grassroots movements in Maine history." Erik Stanley, senior counsel for the
Alliance Defense Fund, responding on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, stated in a letter to ESF that the IRS allows tax-exempt organizations to "engage in lobbying activities, including advocating a position on a public referendum, without violating their tax-exempt status so long as the activity is not a substantial activity of the organization." ==Events==