Thursday, June 02, 2011

NOM is running a sugary con game on America

From Equality Matters comes something which I noticed but didn't talk about that much. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is only pretending to be an organization solely concerned about "traditional marriage."

While NOM chairwoman Maggie Gallagher talks all sweetness and light about how NOM is about the philosophies of love and proving that "children need a mother and a father," the organization is running an anti-gay chop shop which is geared at denigrating the lgbt community on levels that go beyond opposing marriage equality:

In reality, NOM is a run of the mill anti-gay hate group, intent on spreading fear and misinformation to prevent LGBT equality.

This May, Equality Matters decided to examine just how far away from its only-marriage message NOM has strayed.

The results might (not at all) surprise you.

Roughly 20% of the entries on NOM’s blog in the month of May were unrelated to the organization’s stated goal of “protecting marriage.” Instead, these posts dealt with a number of more traditional anti-gay topics.

According to Equality Matters, these topics include:

Opposing Civil Unions

NOM’s opposition to marriage equality is just part of the organization’s broader opposition to any legal recognition of same-sex couples. Using the argument that civil unions create a “backdoor” into same-sex marriage, the group has aggressively opposed efforts to provide same-sex couples with even fraction of the rights and protections currently afforded to heterosexual couples.


Opposing Pro-LGBT Curriculum

In recent weeks, NOM has become increasingly involved in the fight against anti-bullying efforts that attempt to teach kids to respect and appreciate their LGBT peers. These lessons have nothing to do with marriage, but NOM opposes them anyways. In May, NOM pushed polls opposing Harvey Milk Day, fear-mongered about a “gender diversity” lesson in California, and freaked out about a Queerty post that supported teaching students about “queer sexuality.”


Opposing Same-Sex Parenting

NOM relies heavily on the myth that same-sex parents aren’t fit to raise children in order to promote their agenda against marriage equality. NOM’s chairwoman Maggie Gallagher advanced this assertion under oath during a House hearing on the Defense Of Marriage Act, so it’s not surprise that NOM’s blog is following in lock-step.


Opposing Non-Discrimination Laws

NOM is also in the business of opposing non-discrimination laws that protect LGBT Americans. The group routinely downplays the existence of oppression of the LGBT community and supports clearly discriminatory laws and policies on the grounds of religious liberty. This past month, NOM focused on protecting religious adoption agencies that choose to discriminate against (non-married) same-sex parents. The organization also criticized an ABC show for exposing the impact that NOM’s talking points can have on LGBT families. 


There are a multitude of other topics, but I think these will suffice to prove the basic point that NOM is not concerned with "traditional marriage." It, like so many other anti-gay groups, busies itself with demonizing the lgbt community and reducing our dignity and worth.

At least with the Family Research Council and the American Family Association, the lgbt community knows where it stands - even if it is in quicksand.

NOM should take off the mask of sweetness and light  and bare its fangs because no one is fooled any longer.




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