NOM continues to fight Maine campaign finance laws

I would like to thank everyone who helped me pass along the petition today. We got over 300 signatures. Now 2200 more to go. And until we reach that point, the petition will be posted on my blog for anyone wishing to add their signature.

Don't be fooled by the National Organization for Marriage's constant hype that its winning. Behind the scenes, the noose of truth is slowly but surely tightening around its neck.

According to the Washington Independent, NOM is continuing to fight a disclosure lawsuit it lost in Maine in 2009:

Anti-marriage-equality advocates have a spotless record when it comes to helping prevent voter approval of state laws allowing same-sex marriage: 31 out of 31. Two years ago, Maine had the opportunity to become the first state to break this trend, but voters repealed the Legislature’s May 2009 law in a People’s Veto by a small margin (53 percent vs. 47 percent).

Fast-forward to today, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is still involved in an ongoing-but-stalled investigation and lawsuit with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices over whether or not the group broke state law when it contributed money to the 2009 “Yes on 1” campaign run largely by the Stand for Marriage Maine Political Action Committee (SMM).

Thanks to 2012 GOP presidential contender Fred Karger, NOM found itself embroiled in a battle with the state with possible violations of Maine campaign laws.   The Washington Independent article is highly thorough as to the hoops NOM has jumped through in order to skirt these laws. It is an excellent read.

One thing is clear - NOM can run as long as it wants, but it can't hide. If there is any evidence of lawbreaking on behalf of the organization, it will be discovered.

And you can count on this blog - as well as countless others - to trumpet the discovery on hilltops

Should gays be banned from teaching? and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Editor's note - Please sign the petition asking Congress to question/scrutinize anti-gay testimony at its hearings.

Now on to news briefs:

PHOTOS: Anti-LGBT Literature Widely Distributed At Right-Wing ALEC Conference - A perfect reason why religious right groups are liars and why it is so hard to refute them. They push the refutation aside. What it will take is a huge public embarrassment to get them to reform - something that I am very much for.

Related post - And wouldn't you know it, one of the pieces of literature is filled with errors.

Harvey: Gays And Lesbians Should Be Banned From Teaching - As nauseating as she is, Linda Harvey is actually an accidental ally of our community. She is naked homophobia defined. None of that "love the sinner but hate the sin" jazz for her. She HATES gay people.

Photo: First glimpse of 'Values Bus', crude views that are driving it - The motley cast of characters from NOM's 'Values Bus' tour.

First Openly Gay Black Major League Baseball Player’s Story Premieres Nationwide - Glenn Burke's story needs to be told.

Sign the Petition and get Congress to call out false anti-gay testimony

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

In June of this year during a Congressional hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act, Sen. Al Franken exposed Focus on the Family’s Tom Minnery's attempt to inaccurately cite a study to defame same-sex households.

Earlier this year during another Congressional hearing on DOMA, National Organization for Marriage’s Maggie Gallagher committed the same distortion – i.e. inaccurately citing a study to defame same-sex households. Gallagher’s group (NOM) has also been called out twice by the Pulitzer Prize winning site Politifact for inaccurate negative statements it has made about the gay community.

The Family Research Council was declared as an official anti-gay hate group last year by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its tendency to spread propaganda about the gay community such as gays molest children at a high level and same-sex households harm children.

However, the head of the Family Research Council - Tony Perkins - is frequently called as a Congressional witness on many occasions from discussing issues of gay equality to the selection of Supreme Court judges.

In addition, there are at least 11 incidents of legitimate researchers and physicians complaining that morality groups such as Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council have specifically and intentionally distorted their work to demonize the gay community.

While there is a need for levity and  a desire for all sides of issues involving the gay community to be heard, the constant calling upon of these “morality groups” for Congressional testimony in spite of their irregularities mentioned does present a problem in terms resolving the issues of the gay community in a fair manner.

Therefore we, the undersigned, ask that if ever these groups are called before Congress again, their testimony be given the highest level of scrutiny because said testimony could fraudulent.

I decided to forgo a press release and let what I've written speak for itself. But allow me to elucidate further. Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center broke down the lies of the religious right and how they demonize the gay community. Before SPLC's expose, the last time there was a thorough article about the religious right was in 1999 by Rolling Stone magazine. Both exposes (Rolling Stone's and SPLC's) featured almost the same cast of characters and the same accusations of lies. That means that in over 10 years time, the religious right has not altered the lies it tells about the gay community. And this is simply because the gay community has not confronted these so-called morality groups on the level that we should. The purpose of this petition is to garner attention and start a much needed confrontation with religious right groups. Their lies permeate so many aspects of our lives, from our right to marry, to our right to raise families, to our right to freely live with dignity and self-esteem.