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Category Archives: Congress

The "Non-Scandal" Keeps Getting More Scandalous

October 10, 2013 – 12:30 pm

You may remember that the mainstream media and liberal politicians began saying several weeks ago that early reports of the IRS targeting organizations and individuals based on political ideology had turned out to be a "non-scandal" - but yesterday's developments as much as anything show that this very real scandal simply cannot be so easily dismissed.

From hearings yesterday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee comes this shocking news, via a headline in the Daily Caller: "White House, IRS exchanged confidential taxpayer info." The Daily Caller reports:

[IRS Official Sarah] Ingram appeared before Rep. Darrell Issa’s House Oversight Committee Wednesday and claimed she could not recall a document that contained confidential taxpayer information.

“Well one of the areas of interest is there’s a significant redaction that quotes the statute 6103. Do you know who is underneath that blackout?” Issa asked Ingram.

“I don’t recall the document so I can’t help you with what’s underneath that redaction,” Ingram said.

“Her response has not put concerns to rest,” Oversight staffer Frederick Hill said.

You can read the rest here.

Understandably so, if the following exchange is any indication of her response:

Meanwhile, NOM is grateful to Representative Issa for his strong leadership on House Oversight and Government Reform to hold the IRS accountable for misconduct and felonious actions, and particularly for his pledge to investigate the leak which resulted in our own confidential tax information getting into the hands of the Human Rights Campaign.

We are also continually grateful to Chairman Camp of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee for his own commitment to securing justice for all those targeted by the IRS and making sure the American people get the answers they deserve about how deep this scandal runs.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, IRS, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Chairman Camp Speaks Up for NOM and All Victims of IRS Abuse

October 8, 2013 – 4:30 pm

Representative Dave Camp (R-Mi.), the Chairman of the House of Representatives powerful Committee on Ways and Means, issued the following statement in response to the filing of NOM's lawsuit against the IRS:

The unauthorized release of confidential information is a crime and those affected deserve answers, not the runaround. What makes the situation even worse is that the law, intended to protect taxpayers, is being used as a shield for those that perpetrate this wrongdoing. Just last year, the IRS released the confidential taxpayer information of the National Organization of Marriage. These organizations and the American people deserve the truth and the IRS must take serious action to stop the illegal leaking of confidential information.

Chairman Camp and all of our allies in the Congress understand that, no matter our differences, no one should be the target of harassment and abuse of power by government agencies. That is simply not how we do things in America.

NOM thanks Representative Camp for his courageous and steadfast leadership in holding the IRS accountable for abuses of power and identifying those responsible for leaking NOM's confidential donor information.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, Federal, IRS | Comments Off

House Oversight to Investigate "Apparently Politically Driven Leak"

September 30, 2013 – 12:00 pm

At NRO's The Corner, Eliana Johnson reports that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, headed by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Ca.), will be investigating the politically-motivated targeting of conservative groups by the I.R.S., and particularly the leak of NOM's confidential tax documents to Human Rights Campaign:

Issa and subcommittee chairman Jim Jordan notified Treasury Department inspector general Russell George and Internal Revenue Service acting administrator Danny Werfel in letters dated September 26 that the National Organization for Marriage, the conservative group founded in opposition to the legalization of gay marriage, and a handful of tea-party groups have signed waivers allowing senior stafff on the committee to access their tax return information. “With the authority granted by these waivers,” they write, “we request that you produce all documents and communications referring or relating” to the applications and their review within the agency.

Johnson quotes a statement from Representative Issa that explains the scope of the investigation. According to Issa, "This information will give us a better sense of why these groups faced delays, what questions they were asked, and what sort of communications were occurring within the IRS in regards to the inappropriate delays and the apparently politically driven leak."

We look forward to the Committee's findings.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, Federal, Human Rights Campaign, IRS, News, Politics | Comments Off

Important New Legislation Unveiled Today

September 19, 2013 – 11:15 am

The Washington Post reports on a new bill called the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act written by Representative Raúl Labrador (R-Id.) and already enjoying support from a bi-partisan coalition including Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), Rep. Steve Scalise(R-La.), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ind.) and scored of other co-sponsors.

According to WaPo:

The bill... is a "narrowly-tailored piece of legislation" that would protect groups "from discrimination by the federal government," [Labrador] said in an interview this week.

Labrador said he began drafting his proposal partly out of fear that the IRS and other federal agencies might unfairly target groups that oppose same-sex marriage after the Supreme Court struck down a federal law barring same-sex couples from obtaining federal benefit this summer.

According to a press release on his website, Representative Labrador's bill "will ensure tolerance for individuals and organizations that affirm traditional marriage, protecting them from adverse federal action."

Our friends at Heritage will be hosting Representative Labrador for a live-streaming event this afternoon at 1 PM. Also joining in that conference will be Representative Tim Huelskamp, who is leading the effort for a Federal Marriage Protection Amendment. Watch the event live if you can.

And contact your legislators to urge them to support these two important initiaves.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Demand Chairman Camp Subpoena IRS Perpetrators

August 26, 2013 – 8:00 am

Dear Marriage Supporter,

The IRS is back in the news this week, with liberal media pundits trying to downplay charges of political targeting based on alleged new evidence that left-leaning groups were impacted along with conservatives. This new spin might be used to try to convince federal legislators to stop digging into what went on at the IRS during the last election cycle. We can't let that happen.

We need you, no matter where you are, to contact Chairman Dave Camp of the Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Committee has held hearings on the IRS scandal but has not used all their power to resolve this issue. Please call AND email Chairman Camp urging him to make sure this powerful committee subpoenas and puts under oath critical players in this criminal investigation.

Remember, NOM's story with the IRS has always been markedly different from various other accounts of inappropriate political targeting and harassment reported by non-profit groups. NOM and its supporters were the victims of a felony at the hands of the IRS! And yet we still don't have answers as to who was involved and whether justice will be served.

That's why I need you to take this important step today: Email and call Congressman Dave Camp right now, urging him to use the full leverage of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee its subpoena powers to get to the bottom of this outrageous scandal!

No matter what the 'new evidence' touted by the mainstream media may mean for the broader IRS scandal, it certainly doesn't explain away these troubling facts:

In March 2012, someone at the IRS leaked the National Organization for Marriage's confidential tax return to the same-sex marriage lobbying group, Human Rights Campaign — and NOM has evidence to prove it.
After the leak, the HRC used this document (2008 Form 990 Schedule B) to harass NOM and the dozens of major donors named on the confidential release.
At the time of the incident, HRC President Joe Solomnese was serving as a national co-chair to reelect President Barack Obama.
To date, the IRS, the DOJ, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) have all failed to bring charges against the individual or individuals who perpetrated this crime, and NOM's frequent demands for information on the investigation have been consistently ignored.

There's no spin cycle that can remove the stain of scandal here. We need answers, and we need them now!

That's why Chairman Camp needs to hear from you right away. Insist that House Ways and Means subpoena Joe Solomnese and other HRC staff for questions about their knowledge of or role in this crime, and demand that IRS officials make a full disclosure of what their internal investigations have revealed.

And this matter is so important that, after you have taken time to email Chairman Camp's office, I'd ask you to pick up a phone and place a call as well. The number for Chairman Camp's office is 989-631-2552.

Remember, NOM's story is not simply about political targeting and inappropriate scrutiny — that would be bad enough! But we were victims of a felony disclosure of confidential documents to a political group known for its aggressive harassment of our organization and its supporters. That sort of thing simply cannot be allowed happen in an agency as far-reaching and powerful as the IRS without serious consequences.

So please email Congressman Camp today, and give his office a call at 989-631-2552. Demand that House Ways and Means get to the bottom of this matter, subpoena those involved, and bring justice to those who broke the law.

Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Congress, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

The IRS Must Be Held Accountable

August 12, 2013 – 5:20 pm

National Organization for Marriage

Tell the Ways and Means Committee to Use Its Subpoena Power to get to the bottom of the IRS Scandal

The National Organization of Marriage has been the victim of a felony in that someone within the IRS leaked NOM's confidential tax return in 2012 to our political opponents. This criminal provided our tax documents, with the names of several donors, to the Human Rights Campaign and the Huffington Post. It is a felony to have provided this information and to have revealed the confidential names of NOM's donors.
Since learning about this, NOM has filed numerous "Freedom of Information Requests" and demanded that the IRS take action against the perpetrator. To this point NOM has received no satisfactory answer from the IRS as to the status of the investigation or even if one is under way.

The scandal made national news when it was also revealed that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative organizations for particular scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status. However, what happened to NOM goes beyond targeting to a felony crime.
Here are several talking points about the scandal; followed by action items NOM has demanded the Ways and Means Committee take to resolve this issue.

Talking points:

In March, 2012, someone at the IRS leaked the National Organization for Marriage's confidential tax return — a felony — to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which posted the document on its website. HRC is NOM's principal opponent in the marriage battle and has waged a war of intimidation and harassment against NOM and those active in the effort to preserve marriage. In early 2012, HRC president, Joseph Solmonese, was appointed a national co-chair of the Obama reelection campaign. A few months later, the publication of NOM's tax return occurred.
NOM's published Form 990 Schedule B from 2008 contained the identity of dozens of major NOM donors. NOM knows the document was from internal IRS because under a mask that was applied to the document to hide the origin, which computer programs were able to remove, revealed the internal IRS stamp on the document, on every single page in the same location.
In early April 2012 after the publication of their tax returns, NOM asked both the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigations. NOM knows TIGTA conducted an investigation, but they never identified the perpetrator of this crime. If charges are brought, federal law requires that the taxpayer be advised.
Beginning last August 2012, NOM began filing a series of FOIA and Privacy Act requests with TIGTA and the IRS to try to ascertain the status of the investigation, the identity of the perpetrator, and any information relating to where the decision was made to commit this felony against NOM for obvious political purposes. Those requests have been stonewalled, with the latest non-response response, dated May 3, 2013, claiming that the very same statute that was violated by disclosing our returns shields the identity of the perpetrator as the "subject" of an IRS investigation.
The IRS, the DOJ, and TIGTA have not brought charges against the individuals who committed these felonies in over a year, and they are using a convoluted interpretation of the statute prohibiting disclosure to shield the identity of those same individuals from NOM.

Action Items to Demand of Your Congressman:

Insist that the House Ways and Means Committee subpoena Joseph Solmonese, and other HRC staff, to determine exactly by what means HRC obtained NOM's confidential donor information
Pursue full disclosure from former Acting IRS Commission Steven Miller. Mr. Miller was unable to provide satisfactory answers to the Committee on May 17th. The Committee should pursue the unresolved matters with Mr. Miller.

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Congress, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave When First We Practice to Deceive: IRS Scandal Expands to Include FEC

August 1, 2013 – 6:13 pm

Like the proverbial onion, the more layers you pull back the more you discover in the on-going investigation of the IRS and the woman at the center of the scandal: Lois Lerner.

Townhall.com reports on the exclusive news first broken by Eliana Johnson about Lerner’s collusion with an FEC attorney to unfairly target a pro-family group. It’s a formula for government abuse that sounds scarily similar to what IRS did when it illegally released NOM’s private donor information:

In the case of the American Future Fund, Lerner provided confidential information about the aspiring 501(c)(4)'s status—in violation of the law—thereby helping the FEC attorney with an (improper) investigation designed to convince the FEC commissioners to authorize the prosecution of the American Future Fund for violations of campaign finance law (namely, engaging in political activism without registering as a PAC). All this came in the wake of a complaint filed against the American Future Fund by the Minnesota Democratic Farm Labor Party. (Ultimately, the FEC elected not to pursue the case.)
The FEC attorney also sought confidential tax information about the American Issues Project, another conservative organization.

…

What is most ominous about this development? Hard to decide—but it's disturbingly clear that the lefties embedded in government had few scruples in abusing the public trust (and the public!) improperly to advance a political agenda designed to favor one group of Americans over another. Equally disturbing: They apparently had reason to believe that they could get away with it—or perhaps even be rewarded for it.

You can read more here the latest developments in this scandal here, and please take a moment sign our petition demanding Congress investigate and put an end to these Orwellian tactics.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, Ethics, IRS, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

Ed Morrissey on GOP Responding to IRS Leaking NOM's Tax Returns

July 15, 2013 – 12:15 pm

Edward Morrissey writes in The Fiscal Times:

IRS Outrage over political targeting on tax-exempt applications from conservative groups, as well as selective leaking of confidential tax information of the National Organization for Marriage to its political foes, has given the GOP a chance to express its fundamental antipathy toward taxes and the intrusive manner in which they are collected. If one is inclined to enjoy karma in the political sense, then prepare to get cheered by House Republicans in their latest response to the IRS scandals.

Their new budget proposal, released Tuesday, anticipates cutting funding to the IRS by 24 percent. The proposal also addresses another unrelated scandal at the IRS by imposing limits on conferences and bonuses after tens of millions of dollars were wasted over the last few years on both.

As Glenn Reynolds wrote on Instapundit, this is what happens when agencies stop acting objectively and start acting politically. Prior to these scandals, the IRS enjoyed a reputation as a bloodless technocracy focused on revenue collection, albeit with plenty of anecdotal evidence of apolitical abuses.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, IRS, Law | Comments Off

America Is A Blessed Nation But It's Up To Us To Keep Fighting For Independence

July 3, 2013 – 5:00 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Tomorrow as we celebrate Independence Day, we're reminded of how richly blessed America has been. We're a republic founded on the principles of religious liberty, freedom and democracy, endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. We're a nation where citizen rights come from God, not from government, and where the people are sovereign, not politicians or judges.

But those principles are under siege, by the culture, by our federal government and, increasingly, by the US Supreme Court. We need your help to fight to preserve America's founding principles such as religious liberty which is greatly at risk wherever marriage is redefined.

A majority of the US Supreme Court is perilously close to imposing same-sex marriage on the nation. For now, they've left if to the states, but for how long? They've already invalidated our federal law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. They claimed it was enacted with animus and a bare desire to harm homosexuals, denying them basic human dignity. And they let a lower court eviscerate California's Proposition 8 because state officials abandoned their duty to defend the law.

It was a sad day for America when the Supreme Court issued their decisions, and the incredibly flawed justifications for them.

Our opponents blithely claim that religious liberty and same-sex 'marriage' can peacefully coexist, but experience shows that is not the case. Anybody who doesn't abandon their faith principles and fully cooperate with the new gay marriage regime is likely to face consequences. Unless we fight back, it will only get worse.

Minnesota is one of those states that redefined marriage and citizens were promised that this could be done while protecting religious liberty. In fact, the official description of the bill imposing gay 'marriage' emphasizes, "exemptions and protections based on religious association [are] provided for." NOM and many others warned that this was not true — that when marriage is redefined, religious liberty is the first casualty.

Sadly, it did not take very long for our predictions to be borne out. This week the state of Minnesota's Department of Human Rights issued guidelines making clear that, "The law does not exempt individuals, businesses, nonprofits, or the secular business activities of religious entities from non-discrimination laws based on religious beliefs regarding same-sex marriage." They go on to warn that anyone who refuses to accommodate same-sex 'marriage' will be subject to complaints with the department.

This is not new. It's happened virtually everywhere that marriage is redefined. The legal landscape is littered with lawsuits and other legal actions against small businesses, individuals and religious groups who refuse to ignore their beliefs about the truth of marriage. For our opponents, "religious liberty" means nothing more than the freedom to hold a belief they consider to be bigoted within the four corners of the church, but never the right to act on such a belief in the public square.

If we do not fight back against these governmental attacks on our fundamental right to act in the public square in support of the truth of marriage as God created it, then none of our cherished liberties and rights are safe.

Please give generously so that we have the resources necessary to lead this incredibly important fight for religious liberty and the truth of marriage.

May God continue to bless our nation, and her families, and may you enjoy Independence Day tomorrow in peace and love.

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Congress, Featured, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (5)

What You Can Do Today to Help Save Marriage

June 28, 2013 – 8:00 am

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Yesterday the US Supreme Court ripped the legs out from under the institution of marriage. Here’s something you can do today to help save this foundational institution: SUPPORT Congressman Tim Huelskamp's Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We applaud him, Reps. Vicky Hartzler, John Fleming and others who have stood strong to champion true marriage.

It is absolutely urgent that you write to your Senators and Representative to support the Marriage Protection Amendment. It is imperative that the nation show its displeasure with what the slim majority on the Court did yesterday, attempting to equate homosexual relationships that have no capacity for creating life with marriage as God created it, bringing men and women together in the ideal environment for the raising of children.

This will be a long fight, but the Supreme Court's destructive decisions on DOMA and Prop. 8 must be corrected by WE, The People. A constitutional amendment is the clear way to reign in an out-of-control judiciary and restore marriage throughout this country.

We must also stop the attempt to repeal section 2 of DOMA which allows states to define marriage for themselves. Already, liberal members of Congress are moving forward to repeal DOMA. They must be stopped. Please email your Senators and Representative to demand that they continue to support DOMA and pass the Marriage Protection Amendment.

We can win this fight but we need you to immediately take action demanding that Congress uphold DOMA and pass this Amendment. Please also forward this message to as many of your friends as possible and ask them to do the same!

As Justice Scalia said in his prophetic dissent,

"It takes real cheek for today's majority to assure us, as it is going out the door, that a constitutional requirement to give formal recognition to same-sex marriage is not at issue here — when what has preceded that assurance is a lecture on how superior the majority's moral judgment in favor of same-sex marriage is to the Congress's hateful moral judgment against it. I promise you this: The only thing that will "confine" the Court's holding is its sense of what it can get away with."

There you have it. The bottom line is that we cannot let them get away with destroying marriage. The fate of marriage is in our hands.

Please contact your Senators and Representative right now to urge them to support the constitutional amendment preserving marriage, and vote against attempts to repeal DOMA.

Now is the time to stand and demand that our rights and the truth about marriage are protected. The other side wants us to give up, but we never will. While yesterday’s decisions were bad, marriage is still the union of one man and one woman in 38 states. Your elected representatives must hear from you today.

Please act right away to stop politicians from taking the next step towards redefining marriage throughout our country and leaving marriage exposed to activist judges.

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Congress, Featured, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (10)

National Organization for Marriage: Senator Murkowski's Betrayal of Marriage Seals Her Political Fate

June 19, 2013 – 2:59 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2013
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)

"Murkowski has betrayed marriage and the overwhelming majority of Alaskans who have voted to define marriage as the unique union of one man and one woman. She has sealed her political fate." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced her support for redefining marriage and leaked that news in advance to the Human Rights Campaign, a far-left activist organization.

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, responded: "Senator Murkowski has sealed her political fate. Alaskans voted by an overwhelming majority (68%-32%) to protect marriage in their Constitution when given the opportunity, and an even stronger majority of Republicans in Alaska supported that move; thus, her betrayal of marriage is tantamount to political suicide."

Brown continued: "This is what happens when politicians abandon their grassroots and their party and get cozy with far-left Washington, D.C. lobbyists. Senator Murkowski won a narrow write-in victory in 2010 but has erased her chances of being elected to another term through this act of political gamesmanship."

Brown concluded: "Furthermore, it is clear Senator Murkowski has fallen for the lies of same-sex 'marriage' activists. Religious freedom is deeply threatened wherever marriage is redefined, with the majority of states that have redefined marriage offering little more than fig leaf religious freedom protections to institutions and individuals who believe in marriage as the unique union of one man and one woman. NOM will be active in educating Alaskan voters about Senator Murkowski's choice to betray marriage and disrespect the convictions of a majority of her constituents."

###

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Jen Campbell (x145), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, Featured, Press Releases, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (3)

Our Chairman's Explosive IRS Testimony Before Congress

June 5, 2013 – 6:00 pm

Dear Marriage Supporter,

The audience at a congressional hearing isn't supposed to give applause, but they did when they heard what our Chairman John Eastman had to say.

Let me explain why his testimony has gained the admiration of tea party and conservative activists and the renewed attention of politicians and the media across the country.

Yesterday Eastman was invited by Congress to testify about the illegal disclosure of NOM's confidential tax documents, along with five other heads of conservative organizations that were targeted by the IRS.

What made Eastman's testimony different — and explosive — was the fact that NOM's case is far more egregious, because our private donors were exposed to intimidation and harassment when President Obama's political allies were given our confidential information.

Can you pause right now and donate to support NOM's mission, helping us expose the illegal and outrageous attacks made against us and against private citizens like you?

See how Eastman responded to the "scurrilous" attacks made against NOM, conservatives and marriage supporters by some of the members on the committee — completely shutting them down and leaving them speechless:

Here's the line of Eastman's that everyone is quoting, when he responds to an attack by Rep. Earl Blumenaur claiming marriage supporters shouldn't be allowed to participate in the public square:

"Representative Blumenauer, it's your kind of statements that have empowered IRS agents to make determinations about which organizations qualify for the public good and which do not. The notion that defending traditional marriage doesn't qualify as a defense of the public good is beyond preposterous."

Wow!

Of course it's always disappointing to see some representatives like Bluemenauer attempt to make marriage partisan when it is not. We proudly collaborate with many democrats who support marriage. In fact, during the same hearing Rep. Rangel (D-NY) proposed working together with Eastman to help make sure the mess at the IRS is cleaned up.

But back to Eastman's testimony: I'm sure now you can understand why applause erupted inside the hearing room as Eastman delivered his bold reprimand, and why his comments have received so much attention and support in the aftermath.

Neil Cavuto of Fox Business called Eastman "the man in the center of the storm who put up quite a storm" and told Eastman he was "on fire" during his testimony. NOM's story (and Eastman's explosive testimony) is now going viral across the internet.

Facebook and Twitter lit up yesterday with praise for Eastman and thanksgiving for his passionate articulation of why what the IRS did is unacceptable and how liberal politicians have emboldened bureaucrats to harass and abuse those they perceive to be their political opponents.

Please chip in right away with your generous donation of $35, $50 or $100 to join our effort to see that justice is done and that an even playing field is reestablished for marriage supporters and all Americans.

Eastman's testimony is our best chance yet to get to the bottom of what happened inside the IRS — and to find out who may have known about it outside the IRS and was an accomplice to the crime.

One of the facts that Eastman shared during his testimony is how much NOM has been forced to spend to defend and shield its donors in the aftermath of the IRS's illegal disclosure of our tax documents — hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Please contribute to NOM right away to help us recoup these losses and help us pursue a just remedy — including seeking financial damages — for what has happened. Your gift of $35, $100 or $500 will help us expose the truth and stand up for the constitutional rights of all Americans to participate in democracy without fear of harassment or retribution.

Thank you for being generous.

Together, we will find answers and see that justice is done.

By Brian Brown | Posted in Alerts, Congress, Featured, IRS, Law, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (11)

Video: Sen. Cruz Mentions the IRS Targeting NOM

May 20, 2013 – 8:00 am

Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) used NOM's example as a particularly egregious example of the IRS targeting conservative groups:

By NOM Staff | Posted in Congress, IRS, Marriage, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (6)

SSM Advocates Brazenly Jeopardize Immigration Reform

May 1, 2013 – 4:00 pm

POLITICO reports on a proposed amendment to the bi-partisan immigration reform bill so long in the making which could end up killing the bill altogether:

The most serious threat to bipartisan immigration reform doesn't involve border security or guest workers or even the path to citizenship.

It’s about gay rights.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), an outspoken defender of traditional marriage, warned that " if that issue is injected into this bill, the bill will fail and the coalition that helped put it together will fall apart."

Faith groups that have been involved in crafting the legislation are also worried about the negative impacts of this cavalier move which, if viewed unvarnished, is nothing but another attempt to surreptitiously undermine the Defense of Marriage Act:

"We strongly would oppose the provision and it could could force us to reconsider our support for the bill," said Kevin Appleby, director of the Catholic Bishops’ Office of Migration Policy and Public Affairs. "It immediately makes the bill a partisan bill and the bipartisan effort could begin to unravel."

And Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, issued a statement against the proposed amendment saying, in part: "We hope that President Obama and Democrats in Congress are not willing to sacrifice the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants for the sake of appeasing the gay lobby."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civility, Congress, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (28)

GOP Flip-Floppers Silent On Religious Freedom, Other Implicating Questions

April 5, 2013 – 1:15 pm

Breitbart News sent the questions below on non-discrimination ordinances to the four Republicans in Congress who have flip-flopped on marriage.

They have yet to receive a response from their offices.

That's because these Republicans are in the process of learning that a) their new position is hugely unpopular with their base and b) betraying marriage isn't the end of the pressure they will receive from far-left activists -- it's only the beginning:

Should business within the wedding/marriage industry be protected from lawsuits resulting from a refusal to service same-sex couples at wedding halls, photography services, catering, etc..?

Should Catholic adoption agencies be forced to include same sex couples when a baby is up for adoption?

Should Christian marriage therapists lose their jobs or licenses b/c they refuse to see same sex couples ?

Should children in public schools be mandated to learn about homosexuality, when the parents do not think it is appropriate to be taught?'

Where does the member stand on the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA)?