Wednesday, July 10, 2013

BUSTED! NOM caught in a huge lie about same-sex households, children

It's almost sad how the National Organization for Marriage can't stop making things up. I caught this from NOM Exposed courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign:

Check out this latest bit of nastiness from the National Organization For Marriage's latest fundraising blast:
More and more academics and social scientists are speaking out about the good of marriage, especially for children, and the serious problems that kids experience when raised by parents in a same-sex relationship. Increasingly, members of the gay community themselves are becoming active, speaking out against same-sex parenting and the emotional trauma they say same-sex relationships can inflict on children. One prominent scholar has argued that society, egged-on by a biased media, demands that we accept and even celebrate a relationship that intentionally injures a child, depriving her of a mother or father, further victimizing the child who struggles with her emotional loss. This same scholar, who was raised by a lesbian mother and her partner, recently wrote in raw and powerful terms that he considers same-sex parenting to be akin to child abuse[NOM

Jeremy Hooper, who wrote the post, was quick to point out that NOM wasn't exactly being accurate with its claim that "more academics and social scientists" were speaking out against children in same-sex households. As a matter of fact, he points out that the two examples - including the "scholar" who was raised in a lesbian household - either work with NOM  or have serious credibility issues:

One is Mark Regnerus:

There is one man, Mark Regnerus, who has worked in tandem with the conservative movement to try to make same-sex parenting seem lacking.  The considerable flaws in Regnerus' work are very well documented; the impetus behind his work is equally well known.  And increasingly, Regnerus is becoming a semi-regular pundit on the conservative media and conference landscape.  At this point, his work convinces no one outside the conservative crowd that both spurred and fostered his misapplied research.

And the other is Robert Oscar Lopez:

This man is a conservative activist who has worked with NOM, who has testified against several marriage bills, who filed an amicus brief supporting Prop 8, and has made anti-LGBT activism the key to his public profile.  Incidentally (or not), Lopez came into public prominence at exactly the same time as Regnerus.  And while Lopez has at some points identified as bisexual (he is married to a woman), he is not a member of "the gay community."  This man—who, for added insight, has equated gay parents with "slavers buying children"—is an activist with a clear point of view and agenda.  He is also one person, not a coalition.

In other words, not only is NOM lying but the organization is lying badly.  And this is not the first time NOM has attempted to this shuck-and-jive.

 In 2011 during its unsuccessful fight to keep New York from passing a marriage equality law, then NOM leader Maggie Gallagher cited "legal scholars" who have problems with marriage equality. However, she conveniently failed to mention how none of these "legal scholars" were objective and that one, Robert George, was one of the founders of NOM.


In the case of NOM's sad attempt to astroturf, I think the words of an old man from my church will do:

I hate a liar but I can stand a dumb one!

 

3 comments:

Matthew Martin said...

I think this is an example of what Paul Krugman calls a "zombie lie." No matter how many times you kill the right-wing lies about gay parenting, they keep coming back.

BlackTsunami said...

Or a headless monster.

Unknown said...

"Or a headless monster."

Yeah, I realized the meaning of that when you first started. It's a genius way of putting it.

I like "zombie lie" too, though.