At the end of every week, the National Organization for Marriage’s president, Brian Brown, sends out a weekly newsletter summing up the week’s events. Though many thought last week was a rough week because of the Boston Marathon bombings and West, Texas explosion, it was this week that Brown described as “a tough week” because of the many victories for marriage equality. This week’s letter remarkably crams most of NOM’s talking points all into one post, so here is a reminder of NOM’s various claims about the consequences of same-sex couples marrying:
Marriage Equality Discriminates Against Christians (Because They Want To Discriminate)
NOM is still upset that Rhode Island passed marriage equality this week. Rather than repeat his own claim that same-sex marriage is worse than divorce or death, Brown emphasized that marriage equality “redefines marriage for all people” by imposing upon Christian businesses who don’t wish to serve same-sex couples. Earlier this week, NOM admitted its desire to blatantly “refuse service” to gays and lesbians.
Marriage Equality Harms Children
As always, NOM ignores that many same-sex couples are already raising children, so Brown instead claims that “the rights of adults to marry any person they love trump a child’s right to a loving mom and dad.” He once again obsessed over a New York middle school that taught students about the diversity within the LGBT community, as if learning about the world was somehow harmful.
NOM Effectively Targets Republicans Who Support Marriage Equality
Referencing how the Republicans in the Rhode Island Senate unanimously supported marriage equality, Brown committed to challenging their re-election, boasting NOM’s success doing that in New York. The only problem is that NOM was only successful at flipping one of the four seats they challenged in New York; two of them were lost to Democrats because of NOM’s too-conservative primary challengers.
Being Gay Is A “Preference”
With the exception of Jennifer Roback Morse, NOM generally tries to avoid openly endorsing ex-gay therapy, but it finds subtle ways to condone the harmful practice. Brown used the email to champion Rhode Island Sen. Harold Metts (D), who offered a 12-minute religious condemnation of homosexuality during Wednesday’s floor debate. Among his claims, as quoted in NOM’s newsletter: “I can change my sexual preference tonight if I want to, but I can’t change my color.”
Opponents Of Same-Sex Marriage Aren’t Responsible For Violence
On Tuesday, Brown finally acknowledged that most — if not all — of the violent protesting taking place in France is being driven by opponents of same-sex marriage. Still, he used the newsletter to instead highlight a protest against anti-gay Archbishop Andre Leonard in Brussels, Belgium. Unlike the French protests that are attacking the police and destroying property, Leonard was simply squirted with water.
It’s Gay Activists Who Are Intolerance
Included in the newsletter was the short clip of video the Family Research Council released this week showing convicted shooter Floyd Corkins testifying that he learned that FRC was anti-gay from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Brown endorsed Tony Perkins’ claim that the SPLC somehow incites violence with its “hate group” list, because it’s used “to target decent, loving, law-abiding Americans who work in mainstream organizations.” FRC, of course, would be anti-gay whether it was on the SPLC list or not. In the wake of the shooting back in August, NOM was the first organization to appropriate the tragedy for fundraising purposes.
Marriage Equality Is “Still Not ‘Inevitable’”
Despite the losses this week, NOM is still convinced it’s on the winning side of the issue because of uncertainty in the ongoing fights in Illinois and Minnesota, despite encouraging polling in both states. Just as it ignored reality after the November election, Brown doubled down on resisting equality, making sure to include an allusion to the organization’s race-wedging tactics:
I promise you one thing: we here at NOM will never stop fighting for marriage, working with good people of all races, creeds and colors in every state of these wonderful United States.
In the tough times the sunshine patriots run. But you can count on us standing up to the forces seeking to undermine marriage everywhere across this great land! And now as part of a new international movement for marriage!
None of NOM’s talking points can counteract the incredible momentum marriage equality has had in public opinion, with a March poll showing nationwide support at 58 percent. Moreover, no spin NOM publishes can ever change the injustice that same-sex couples and their families experience when they are denied equal treatment under the law. If it’s been a “tough week” for NOM, that must mean it’s been a good week for equality.