During a late night session last night, the Minnesota legislature pushed a through a vote that would put the subject of gay marriage on the ballot for 2012.
And of course the National Organization for Marriage calls it a victory.
If it is, it is a costly victory.
Polls show that a majority of Minnesotans don't favor the amendment, the business community in the state doesn't favor the vote, and the only reason why the legislation voted on it in a nightly session was to keep as much attention away from it as possible.
And to top it all of, the vote barely squeaked through; 70-62 is not a big mandate.
But of course NOM isn't worried about this. Nor is the organization worried about the latest Gallup poll which says a majority of Americans favor gay marriage.
And that's because NOM has an ace in the hole. Granted Maggie Gallagher of NOM asserts that figures supporting aren't accurate because people don't tell pollsters what they "actually feel" about gay marriage. And others involved with NOM are always pointing out that when gay marriage is put up for a public vote, it usually loses.
But they always leave a crucial piece out. In fact we all do and those of us who favor gay marriage would do well to mention it:
For all the organization's talking about "marriage is the bringing together of two halves" and "marriage is a sacred institution," it all come down to the fact that NOM has to always reach down in the gutter of fear in order to persuade people to vote against gay marriage.
Equality Matters said it best:
In other words, while Maggie Gallagher - or anyone else from NOM - appear on local Minnesota talk shows and news programs talking about "protecting the sanctity of marriage" nameless, faceless subordinates of NOM will blanket Minnesota with flyers and commercials subtly claiming that gays "want to recruit children."
It's an ugly game with a dual purpose of reaching NOM's goals while exasperating the lgbt community with thoughts of "when oh when will people pick up on this game and fight it."
Not to worry, my lgbt brothers and sisters. People are starting to pick up on it and knowing about lies is the best way to fight them.
And we have seen in Maine with Marc Mutty, who with NOM led the fight to stop gay marriage in that state but voiced disappointment with the "gay recruitment lie (as seen on the following video clip), conscience is a bitch:
Related posts:
NOM exploiting children to stop gay marriage in New York
NOM knows that it lied in the New York ad and does not care
Brian Brown reveals NOM's anti-gay game of divide and conquer
NOM - Homosexuals wants to destroy children's innocence through gay marriage
And of course the National Organization for Marriage calls it a victory.
If it is, it is a costly victory.
Polls show that a majority of Minnesotans don't favor the amendment, the business community in the state doesn't favor the vote, and the only reason why the legislation voted on it in a nightly session was to keep as much attention away from it as possible.
And to top it all of, the vote barely squeaked through; 70-62 is not a big mandate.
But of course NOM isn't worried about this. Nor is the organization worried about the latest Gallup poll which says a majority of Americans favor gay marriage.
And that's because NOM has an ace in the hole. Granted Maggie Gallagher of NOM asserts that figures supporting aren't accurate because people don't tell pollsters what they "actually feel" about gay marriage. And others involved with NOM are always pointing out that when gay marriage is put up for a public vote, it usually loses.
But they always leave a crucial piece out. In fact we all do and those of us who favor gay marriage would do well to mention it:
For all the organization's talking about "marriage is the bringing together of two halves" and "marriage is a sacred institution," it all come down to the fact that NOM has to always reach down in the gutter of fear in order to persuade people to vote against gay marriage.
Equality Matters said it best:
NOM has used this “let voters decide” approach in Rhode Island, Maryland, California, Iowa, and other states, as well as in Washington, D.C. The group has also used this mantra to oppose pro-equality candidates in Minnesota’s 2010 gubernatorial race.
Much has already been said about the moral and legal problems with putting the rights of a disempowered minority group up for a public vote.
By framing the debate around the importance of direct democracy, however, NOM has been able to work toward restricting LGBT rights without having to appear explicitly anti-gay.
In reality, these referendums very rarely end up actually reflecting the will of the voters.Instead, they tend to be co-opted by well-financed special interest groups like NOM that flood voters with misleading and outright false information in order to inflate public opinion against minority groups (in this case, the LGBT community).
In other words, while Maggie Gallagher - or anyone else from NOM - appear on local Minnesota talk shows and news programs talking about "protecting the sanctity of marriage" nameless, faceless subordinates of NOM will blanket Minnesota with flyers and commercials subtly claiming that gays "want to recruit children."
It's an ugly game with a dual purpose of reaching NOM's goals while exasperating the lgbt community with thoughts of "when oh when will people pick up on this game and fight it."
Not to worry, my lgbt brothers and sisters. People are starting to pick up on it and knowing about lies is the best way to fight them.
And we have seen in Maine with Marc Mutty, who with NOM led the fight to stop gay marriage in that state but voiced disappointment with the "gay recruitment lie (as seen on the following video clip), conscience is a bitch:
Related posts:
NOM exploiting children to stop gay marriage in New York
NOM knows that it lied in the New York ad and does not care
Brian Brown reveals NOM's anti-gay game of divide and conquer
NOM - Homosexuals wants to destroy children's innocence through gay marriage
It is time for a very public campaign, much like the "It Gets Better" series to convince society at large that children and students SHOULD be taught tolerance of those who are different from the majority. The only way to diffuse this lie is to show the public that they are being played by NOM into reacting to fear.
ReplyDeleteEliminating marriage equality does not mitigate the need to teach society about who gay people are and to put to rest the gays-are-predators lie. I think that public responses to NOM's ads should shame NOM and call them out for their reprehensible tactics. If celebrities and public figures are part of the campaign the public will be easier to convince.