NOMblog: The Official Blog of the National Organization for Marriage

Maggie in Providence Preview

February 9, 2011 – 3:35 pm

It’s about an hour before the hearing starts. Police have politely cleared the room to set it up and we’re standing in the hall. There are probably about 50 people here right now with many, many folks wearing blue “one man, one woman = marriage” t-shirts.

Posted in Rhode Island, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Maggie in Maryland: Final Update

February 8, 2011 – 4:11 pm

The chairman of the committee just announced that in all 146 people who signed up to testify will get to speak for 3 minutes. So—provided no senator asks a single question—the hearing will run another 6 hours. I’m heading home.

Posted in Marriage, Maryland, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Maggie in Maryland: What's in a Name?

February 8, 2011 – 3:55 pm

I just learned the woman who said she is a conservative Republican and that no republican had ever lost an election for voting for SSM is Margaret Hoover. Maybe Republicans shouldn’t take election advice from anyone named Hoover. (Yes, she’s a descendant of Herbert.)

Posted in Marriage, Maryland, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Maggie in Maryland: Mary Ellen Russell of the MD Catholic Conference Testifies

February 8, 2011 – 3:51 pm

Mary Ellen Russell is now testifying for the Maryland Catholic Conference. “It is clear why marriage has always been recognized as a man and a woman: if we leave that, it’s not clear what the parameters of relationships that should be considered marriages are.” She also said “We are also concerned about the religious liberty […]

Posted in Catholic Church, Marriage, Maryland, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (7)

ON THE SCENE: Maggie in Maryland

February 8, 2011 – 3:35 pm

I’m in the packed hearing room. At this point we have a parade of black pastors explaining their objections to SB116. “A sleeping giant” one of them said. In the first hour’s panel, many, many lawyers claimed that this bill would protect both religious freedom and civil marriage. That’s what the title claims. But Prof. […]

Posted in Marriage, Maryland, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

What A Shrinking Birth Rate Hath Wrought

February 4, 2011 – 4:17 pm

Up in Massachusetts, two incumbents, one of whom is Barney Frank, must battle for the same seat, while Sean Bielat considers his options. BTW, this is worth another look at Sean Bielat’s “Barney Shuffle” ad:

Posted in Election Watch 2012, Massachusetts | Comments (2)

Have We Separated Sex from Reproduction?

February 4, 2011 – 2:35 pm

Many advocates have said that, with the advent of contraception, gay and straight sex are just the same. (Actually a lot of orthodox Catholics make this claim too). The Ruth Institute posted an October 2010 FRC study by Dr. Patrick Fagan and Dr. Sullins that analyzed nationally representative data from the National Survey of Family […]

Posted in Culture, Divorce, Marriage, Parenting, Statistics | Comments (2)

CultureWatch: GOP Winning Language Wars

February 4, 2011 – 1:04 pm

This New York Daily News columnist notes some recent successes by political conservatives in “naming reality” such as using Obamacare rather than “Affordable Health Care Act.” He is right this is a recent development, and it is part of the process by which the new conservative-dominated media contests the culture wars. Culture wars are not […]

Posted in Culture | Comments (1)

Mitch Daniels: Mute the Social Issues

February 2, 2011 – 12:51 pm

He tells Laura Ingraham he’s sticking with the “truce” idea. I wonder how that will play in Iowa?

Posted in Election Watch 2012 | Comments Off

Are Social Conservatives Looking For Someone Like Rick Santorum?

February 2, 2011 – 10:46 am

George Will says so.

Posted in Election Watch 2012 | Comments (1)

Judge Walker Gives Up the Gavel

January 31, 2011 – 4:30 pm

“Wearing a paper lei as his formal portrait was unveiled, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker officially passed the gavel to new Chief Judge James Ware at a ceremony Thursday at San Francisco’s federal building.” – LegalPad

Posted in Same Sex Marriage | Comments (5)

Reinhardt Rebuked by Supreme Court

January 21, 2011 – 2:54 pm

Kudos to Citizen Link: In two separate appeals in capital punishment cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Reinhardt’s 9th Circuit opinions were unanimously reversed (8-0, with Kagan recused) in language that accused him (and his 2 other colleagues, to be fair) of “judicial disregard”: “[Judicial] resources are diminished and misspent, however, and […]

Posted in California, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (8)

Peter Berger: Gay Marriage and Pluralism

January 20, 2011 – 11:00 am

Peter Berger, a distinguished sociologist, ponders the question: after gay marriage, what next? The future is unclear but worthy, he says, of discussion, in this piece on “Virginity, Polyamory and the Limits of Pluralism.”

Posted in Same Sex Marriage | Comments (8)

New Study: Men and Women Are Different

January 13, 2011 – 1:56 pm

After one-night stands, most men feel good and empowered, many women feel bad.

Posted in Research/Study | Comments (54)

NLRB Tells Catholic College: "You Aren't Really Catholic."

January 13, 2011 – 10:29 am

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has at least four members of a five-man board appointed by Pres. Obama, just ruled that Manhattan College, a college run by a Catholic order, is not Catholic enough to qualify as a religious institution under national labor laws because its own documents say it pursues academic diversity […]

Posted in Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (22)