Monday, June 20, 2011

Marriage Equality Vote Nears in NY, and NOM (and NOM's Hate Group Cronies) Pull Out All the Stops



The National Organization for Marriage, which now functions as a virtual, if unofficial, arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in their attack on the civil rights and humanity of gay and lesbian citizens, is pulling out all the stops as a vote on marriage equality appears to be impending in New York.  On their website this morning, a smorgasbord of new offerings,


1. A "documentary" warning parents in the gravest terms possible that their children (think of the children, for God's sake!) will be damaged by the decision to permit same-sex couples to marry.  The video implies that children may even be forced to peep through their fingers at wedding cakes topped by two little men.

2. An announcement shilling for the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference in its  ongoing attacks on LGBT citizens, which notes that the USCCB committee on Defense of Marriage has reinvented itself as the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and has issued a new video warning us that it's about the children, for God's sake!  And the committee's chairperson Bishop Salvatore Cordileone says, Think of the children, for God's sake!  (But evidently somehow same-sex marriage will undermine procreation in some entirely unique way, since Catholics have long since permitted non-fertile heterosexual couples to marry, and since 90%+ of married Catholics practice contraception, though the bishops aren't trying to outlaw contraception.  And procreation continues apace.)

3. A new "comprehensive" and "scientific" survey finding that 62% of Americans think marriage should be defined exclusively as the union of one man and one woman.

4. And a former member of the Massachusetts legislature, Salvatore DiMasi, is being convicted of bribery--and is, NOM wants us to imagine without a scrap of evidence to support this claim in a state a strong majority of whose citizens support marriage, a leader of the movement for marriage equality in that state.

And so it goes.  All the hateful old arguments--it's about the children, for God's sake! granting rights to gays will harm children!--trotted out yet again by people claiming to speak in the name of God, who have behind them, it appears, endless though always shadowy funding sources--sources they refuse to disclose.  And who work hand in hand with the Catholic bishops of the U.S. in disseminating these toxic lies about gay people and gay lives, helping to incite prejudice and even violence against LGBT human beings throughout the U.S.  In the name of God.

Oh, by the way: the "comprehensive" "scientific" survey whose findings mysteriously contradict those of every other scientific polling group in recent months (.e.g., this recent study by Gallup which finds that 53% of American support gay marriage)?  It's funded by the Alliance Defense Fund.

And that "documentary" showing parents that marriage equality will force children to peer at two little men atop wedding cakes?  It's produced by the Family Research Council.  By a known hate group.

For people speaking in the name of God, the U.S. Catholic bishops and NOM surely do seem to have a lot of friends who belong to hate groups, don't they?  

(And even as I post this, NOM is plastering its website with a slew of new links to try to stop marriage equality in NY--they're pulling out all the stops as the vote appears to be nearing.)

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