Oh, never mind: Rightwing group that sued state for wanting to know who its donors are drops suit

An anti-government Texas group that sued Secretary of State William Galvin after his office demanded to know who its donors were yesterday filed paperwork to drop the suit.

The Convention of States Action, which wants a constitutional convention to shrink the federal government and legalize discrimination against those it doesn't like, such as transgender people - sued Galvin in December after his office asked for a list of its donors because it had reported spending $1,624 in what the state said was possible lobbying activities here. Massachusetts law requires lobbyists to file annual forms listing donors of more than $15.

The group said the amount represented only the cost of sending out mailings to Massachusetts residents who had actually requested information from it and a few ads, not "lobbying" in the sense of directly contacting legislators or other officials in an attempt to bring them around to its side - which also includes fighting Medicare for all and Black Lives Matters.

The dismissal notification, filed in US District Court by former Boston US Attorney Michael Sullivan, now working for a law firm started by one-time US Attorney General John Ashcroft, did not give any specific reasons that the group decided to end its case.