Religious Liberty

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Category Archives: Religious Liberty

Is Obama a Bigot or Just a Liar?

July 1, 2010 – 2:54 pm

Prof. Robert George, who is a founding Chairman of NOM's board, asks a great question today on National Review Online: “Obama on Marriage: Bigot or Liar?”

Like Sherlock Holmes’s dog that didn’t bark in the night, liberals have been strangely silent about Obama’s comments on marriage.

It has become a matter of orthodoxy among progressives that those who believe that marriage is properly defined as the union of one man and one woman are guilty of bigotry.

There is a problem, however: Barack Obama has assured voters that he believes marriage to be the union of one man and one woman — not two men, two women, or some combination of more than two people. As Donald Trump rather pointedly noted after the Miss U.S.A. pageant, President Obama’s position on the definition of marriage is identical to the position stated by California beauty queen Carrie Prejean.

So what do progressives think? Has the president embraced bigotry? Or has he lied to the American people about his position on what marriage is and how it should be defined?"

Read the whole thing here.

By NOM Staff | Also posted in California, Miscellaneous, SSM | Comments (2)

Religious Liberty Watch

June 30, 2010 – 12:31 pm

Gay marriage advocate (and--like Ted Olson, the lawyer opposing Prop 8--a Federalist Society member) and law professor Dale Carpenter recently said he was advising a Minnesota gay rights group on how they could lawfully exclude a street preacher from handing out literature against homosexuality at a large gay pride even in a public park that 200,000 folks will attend.

Prof. Carpenter argues that the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which had a right to exclude pro-gay rights groups from marching, is the relevant paradigm. A federal judge just said "no go guys." If the First Amendment means anything it means you can speak, preach, and hand out literature in a public park. Nobody is going to think that the gay rights groups authorized his speech. "As a festival attendee in a public forum, Johnson is entitled to speak and hand out literature, quintessential activities protected by the First Amendment, so long as he remains undisruptive," Judge Tunheim wrote in the 19 page ruling, according to the WSJ.

A win for the First Amendment. But look how many establishment and "conservative" gay rights figures now believe the First Amendment means: we get to restrict your rights to disagree?

By NOM Staff | Also posted in Minnesota, NOM Marriage News, New York | Comments (0)

Supreme Court Rules Against Christian Legal Society in California (Sort of)

June 29, 2010 – 3:55 pm

The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Hastings College of Law could require that all student groups be open to any student, regardless of that student's views. Theoretically Christian groups under this "all comers" policy would have to accept not only gay students, but atheists and Buddhists as members and officers of their groups, and vice versa. Gay rights groups would have to accept Prop 8 supporters as full voting members, too. But the Court left open the possibility that Hastings applied the policy in a discriminatory manner, against some groups but not others, as the facts of the case strongly suggest. Bottom line: Case continues. Most media will report this as a big win for Hastings. But see: http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/230398/i-cls-v-martinez-i-my-first-quick-take/david-french

By NOM Staff | Also posted in California, DOMA, Miscellaneous | Comments (1)

WaPo's Favorite New Republican

June 28, 2010 – 4:47 pm

What does it take to get the WaPo to call you a "rising star" in the GOP and instant "Veepstakes" material in 2012? Be a pro-gay marriage, pro-choice Republican, of course.

Like Charlie Baker, running for governor of Massachusetts on the GOP ticket. WaPo, swooning, is pretending Baker is following the Scott Brown formula. But Sen. Brown was pro-marriage amendment and far more openly prolife than his opponent. (He describes himself as pro-choice but opposes partial birth abortion and federal funding; He was endorsed by the Susan B. Anthony List as well as NOM.) Baker did manage to sum up the energy to pledge to veto the so-called "bathroom bill" which adds gender identity to Massachusetts discrimination law--similar language in Maine this year lead the Maine Human Rights Campaign to propose integrating bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools and universities.

Baker is running just seven points behind an unpopular state governor in latest polls. Will be interesting to see how this plays out in Massachusetts, but don't hold your breath for anyone named Baker on the ticket in 2012.

Charlie Baker, best of luck, but to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, Scott Brown is a friend of ours, and you are no Scott Brown.

By Maggie | Also posted in Massachusetts, Miscellaneous, SSM | Comments (1)

Stand With Carrie!

June 12, 2009 – 9:10 am

You've heard the news: Miss California USA pageant official Keith Lewis fired Carrie Prejean. Hollywood is doing a tribal war dance. We're appalled. We're outraged. But we are not worried about Carrie.

Keith Lewis also admitted on national television that he didn't even pick up the phone and call Carrie to tell her before he alerted the media. What kind of boss acts like that? It tells you everything you need to know about who was acting in bad faith here.

Carrie Prejean was asked a question: Do you support gay marriage? She answered honestly—like millions of others in California and across this great country: No. Of course not.

From that day forward the attacks have been unremitting.

First they attacked her, then they tried to get her to recant, then they threw mud at her, now they fired her and continue to besmear and besmirch her. Pageant officials like Keith Lewis claim they want to move on and yet they are going on national TV to attack her, her lawyer, and even her pastor!

What kind of people act like this?

Of course Carrie isn't perfect, but she is honest, courageous and strong in standing up for the truth about marriage. She's being attacked not for anything she ever did wrong but for one great thing she did right! And she's not the only one. Thousands of decent, honorable, law-abiding, good Americans are facing attacks because they, like Carrie, have the courage to speak truth to power, to stand for God's truth about marriage.

So here's my message to Carrie: Congratulations. Free at last. Free at last. Free at last to craft your own mission and message. God has a plan for you Carrie and we look forward to watching and applauding the next stage in your journey towards Christ.

And here's my message for you: Help us get the message out!

Carrie's new website, StandWithCarrie.com, was launched today. Please take a minute to visit her site, and then send a message to five of your friends.

By now, you've probably seen our TV ad highlighting the venom that has been directed at Carrie, and that generated so much attention 6 weeks ago. (Click here to watch the ad.) This ad has already been wildly successful, reaching millions with its poignant message, and yet there's more work to be done!

Same-sex marriage isn't just about two people living as they please, but about whether a large majority of Americans are going to be marginalized as bigots by a group of elites determined to force their new vision of marriage on the entire nation.

Will you help us get this message out today? With your help, we'll expand our ad buys into new markets, increase our online outreach, and together reach our goal of "two million for marriage."

But we can't do it without your help. Please use this hyperlink to make a generous donation right now.

Thank you for standing with us. And please be thinking about two or three friends you could invite to join us as we work to save marriage.

By NOM Staff | Comments (244)

Redefining Religious Liberty: Gay marriage and the conflict between church and state.

May 28, 2009 – 11:16 am

By Maggie Gallagher

Prop 8 won yesterday. Even in California, they could find only one supreme-court justice willing to strip 7 million people of their core civil right to amend the state constitution, guaranteed by the constitution itself. Why do I feel, absurdly, that I should be grateful?

Liberals who support gay marriage may understand what their movement is willing to endorse and where it draws the line. The rest of us have to sit back and wonder:

Why stop at marriage? Many well-defined, seemingly secure words and terms can be redefined to help remake society along sexually liberal lines.

Take "religious liberty." Religious liberty is a deeply American solution to a perennial problem. It means that every individual has a right to pursue ultimate meaning without coercion from the government. Totalitarian governments repress religion because they recognize faith communities as competitors with the state's power to define - or redefine - human rights.

Read the full article on NRO>>

By Brian Brown | Comments (106)

National Organization for Marriage and Carrie Prejean Launch New Ad Showing Intolerance of Gay Marriage Activists, Illustrating Threats to Religious Liberty

April 30, 2009 – 5:20 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Elizabeth Ray (x130) or Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), at 703-683-5004
APRIL 30, 2009

National Organization for Marriage and Carrie Prejean Launch New Ad
Showing Intolerance of Gay Marriage Activists, Illustrating Threats to Religious Liberty

(Washington, DC) - A new television ad featuring footage of Carrie Prejean explaining her support for marriage between a man and a woman, and then being verbally attacked by gay marriage activists was launched today by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). The ad - a continuation of NOM's campaign in defense of marriage - also features footage of a gay marriage activist from the Human Rights Campaign referring to supporters of marriage as "outright bigots."

"Carrie only said what the majority of Americans believe: marriage means a man and a woman," said Maggie Gallagher, president of NOM. "Her example resonates, especially to many young Americans, because she chose to stand for truth rather than surrender her core values."
Gallagher added, "The behavior of Carrie's critics raises a question in a lot of folks' minds: if this is how they treat good people who disagree with them now, what will they do once they have the power of the law on their side?"

The new ad, called "No Offense," follows an earlier NOM ad ("Gathering Storm") that warned Americans that the push to legalize same-sex marriage has significant implications for religious liberty. In response to the earlier ad, a representative of the Human Rights Campaign appeared on Hardball to denounce NOM and supporters of marriage as "outright bigots" who are hanging onto the tradition of marriage through "lying and misrepresenting." The HRC spokesman challenged the notion that same-sex marriage has any implications for religious liberty.

NOM's new "No Offense" advances the religious liberty argument by informing Americans that a number of prominent legal scholars have warned that legalizing same-sex marriage in fact "will create widespread and unnecessary legal conflict" for individuals, small businesses and religious groups. At least one of these scholars supports same-sex marriage.

"Many backers of same-sex marriage simply do not want to debate the consequences on society of this profound proposed change to redefine marriage," said Brian Brown, executive director of NOM. "They want to browbeat and silence opposition. But no matter how loudly they yell, their attacks on supporters of marriage will fail because people of integrity will speak the truth -- whether they are in pulpits, law schools or even beauty pageants."

To view the ad and read the letters from legal scholars, go to www.nationformarriage.org.

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By Brian Brown | Comments (556)

WashPost Highlights Religious Liberty Threat

April 11, 2009 – 1:18 am

This article from today's Washington Post highlights the religious liberty threats (including two mentioned in our Gathering Storm ad) that religious organizations and individuals are facing in jurisdictions mandating recognition of same-sex unions.

Faith Groups Increasingly Lose Gay Rights Fights

. . . The lawsuits have resulted from states and communities that have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Those laws have created a clash between the right to be free from discrimination and the right to freedom of religion, religious groups said, with faith losing. They point to what they say are ominous recent examples:

-- A Christian photographer was forced by the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission to pay $6,637 in attorney's costs after she refused to photograph a gay couple's commitment ceremony.

-- A psychologist in Georgia was fired after she declined for religious reasons to counsel a lesbian about her relationship.

-- Christian fertility doctors in California who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian patient were barred by the state Supreme Court from invoking their religious beliefs in refusing treatment.

-- A Christian student group was not recognized at a University of California law school because it denies membership to anyone practicing sex outside of traditional marriage.

"It really is all about religious liberty for us," said Scott Hoffman, chief administrative officer of a New Jersey Methodist group, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which lost a property tax exemption after it declined to allow its beachside pavilion to be used for a same-sex union ceremony. "The protection to not be forced to do something that is against deeply held religious principles."

By Brian Brown | Comments (269)

Gathering Storm Background Facts

April 10, 2009 – 9:37 pm

I've been busy doing interviews most of the past three days, but wanted to take a minute to set the record straight here as well:

The response from the Human Rights Campaign (and others) to the release of the Gathering Storm ad this week is nothing new. It's the exact same tactic we saw last year in California: Call us liars with no substantiation on particular facts.

To HRC: People are smarter than this. Check out our background facts here.

And for those who keep asking about the actors -- It's a professionally produced ad. Of course we used actors. We say so right in the ad. Is that the best talking point HRC could come up with? If so, we struck more of a nerve than I originally thought.

I challenge the Human Rights Campaign to try to refute any of the incidents described in the ad. Please. The fact is you can't (the WashPost just verified them again today) -- so you simply cry "liar" and hope that it sticks. Sorry, we're smarter than that.

By Brian Brown | Comments (101)

New Religious Liberty Threat in Connecticut

April 7, 2009 – 12:50 pm

The Lawlor-and-McDonald-controlled Judiciary Committee in Connecticut just passed a same-sex marriage bill -- without religious liberty protections! For the second time in a month, Lawlor and McDonald have used their Judiciary Committee roles to attack religious liberty and people of faith in Connecticut.

Last month, they failed in their efforts to involve the state in matters of internal church governance -- but only after an historic uprising from the people of Connecticut. But now they're back at it again with a bill to enshrine last year's CT Supreme Court ruling into statute, without any substantive protections for churches, religious organizations or people of faith. In the process, they fought off amendments that would have given conscience protections to Justices of the Peace, limited teaching on homosexuality in the schools, and protected religious liberty rights of churches and religious organizations (like Catholic Charities!).

SB899 was approved by the Judiciary Committee this past Monday evening, and now goes to the full Senate, where there will be efforts to add a religious liberty amendment to the bill. NOM has just launched a radio ad campaign in Connecticut focused on protecting our religious liberties. (Click here to listen.)

1. If you live in Connecticut, please use this link to send an email to your state senator and representative, urging them to support a religious liberty amendment to SB899.

2. Then make plans to attend the Rally for Religious Liberty in Hartford at 10:00am next Tuesday, April 7th. The rally is being sponsored by the Family Institute of Connecticut, and will meet on the North Steps of the Capitol (overlooking Bushnell Park). Help us have a great turnout on Tuesday!

By Brian Brown | Also posted in Connecticut, SSM | Comments (27)

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