NOM BLOG

The Hill: Gay Marriage Could Turn Conservatives Out on Election Day

Christian Heinze of The Hill:

In one of the most important years ever in the battle for gay rights, it would be remiss to overlook the electoral effects of the issue on the 2012 presidential race.

... a fast-food restaurant, Chick-fil-A, has become the latest cultural flashpoint in the battle after its president opposed, on biblical grounds, gay marriage earlier this month.

... For their parts, both Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney have remained silent on the Chick-fil-A fracas, but Romney’s allies and surrogates have fought back hard.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who’s said to be a front-runner for the vice-presidential nomination, unloaded over the weekend on the prospect of the restaurant being frozen out of expansion into Boston and Chicago.

... Clearly, some Republicans see political gain in using the chain as a symbol for upholding conservative values like traditional marriage.

But could the battle over gay marriage help Romney in November?

There’s a strain of working-class whites who live in the heartland and are known, affectionately, as “Reagan Democrats.” These voters tend to be more fiscally liberal but socially conservative, and theoretically, the battle over gay rights could push them into Romney’s camp.

Mainstream Media Blacks Out Chick-fil-A Story?

Michael Warren at Weekly Standard:

Wednesday was Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, and Americans flocked to the fast food restaurant in response to criticism of COO Dan Cathy's opposition to same-sex marriage (as well as threats from the mayorsof some major cities). The photos of long lines and traffic jams reveal the extent of the restaurant's support--for some it's about traditional values and for others it's about freedom of religious exercise and speech in the face of government intimidation. There are even rumors that Chick-fil-A set a new world record for sales in a single day, though the company has yet to release any sales numbers.

But you wouldn't know anything about the national phenomenon by reading the front pages of most of the country's leading newspapers. There's no mention of Chick-fil-A on the front pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and the Boston Globe. The front pages of USA Today, theDallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle have small headlines about the restaurant, while Chick-fil-A's hometown paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, fits in a story below the fold under the heading, "Chick-fil-A Controversy." And the front pages of major news websites are quiet in their coverage as well.

Illinois LGBT Group Files Multiple Human Rights Compaints Against Chick-fil-A

From their press release:

The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), Illinois’ largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights advocacy organization, working with cooperating attorneys and on behalf of claimants, filed multiple complaints against Chick-fil-A with The Illinois Department of Human Rights. Among other things, the complaints allege that Chick-fil-A’s “intolerant corporate culture” violates Illinois law, specifically Section 5-102(B) of the Human Rights Act, which prohibits a “public accommodation” from making protected classes “unwelcome, objectionable or unacceptable.”

“In our current high speed media and social media environment, Chick-fil-A has announced and caused to be published, to hundreds of millions of people, that LGBT people are unacceptable and objectionable,” said Jacob Meister, Governing Board President of The Civil Rights Agenda and the attorney who filed the complaint. “They have made it clear the lives of LGBT individuals are unacceptable to them and that same-gender families are unwelcome at Chick-fil-A.”

The names of the complainants are being kept confidential. “Given the extent of media coverage this issue has received, the current complainants have requested that their name be withheld from the media,” stated Anthony Martinez, Executive Director of The Civil Rights Agenda. “The complainants are a same-gender family with a daughter. Chick-fil-A used to be one of their favorite places to eat until Mr. Cathy’s latest statements were reported so widely. Now, they feel completely unwelcome in the establishment.”

The Chick-fil-A "Marriage Cows"

We posted this on our Facebook page but wanted to make sure our blog-only readers saw this as well!

Video: Chick-fil-A Supporter Videotapes Day

One Chick-fil-A supporter's view as she interviews people there in solidarity not just with Chick-fil-A's right to free speech but also with Dan Cathy's support for marriage!

17 Representatives Send Letter Supporting Chick-fil-A

Congressman Alan Nunnelee:

Today, Congressman Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss) sent a letter to Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy congratulating him on the dignity with which his company has conducted itself in the face of a vicious smear campaign.  The letter is cosigned by 16 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives.

“The criticism they have received has been appalling.  Elected officials that are now threatening to block new Chick-fil-A restaurants in their cities are acting in a manner that is un-American.  Demanding ideological conformity in order to be allowed to run your business is a dangerous precedent. It is like something that would happen in Soviet Russia.  Clearly, a lot of people who like to fashion themselves as open minded and tolerant are actually the most intolerant folks around if you don’t agree with them,” Nunnelee said.

Ross Douthat on Defining Religious Liberty Down

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat asks for those who oppose religious liberty to drop the facade that they support it:

"...It may seem strange that anyone could look around the pornography-saturated, fertility-challenged, family-breakdown-plagued West and see a society menaced by a repressive puritanism. But it’s clear that this perspective is widely and sincerely held.It would be refreshing, though, if it were expressed honestly, without the “of course we respect religious freedom” facade.

If you want to fine Catholic hospitals for following Catholic teaching, or prevent Jewish parents from circumcising their sons, or ban Chick-fil-A in Boston, then don’t tell religious people that you respect our freedoms. Say what you really think: that the exercise of our religion threatens all that’s good and decent, and that you’re going to use the levers of power to bend us to your will.

There, didn’t that feel better? Now we can get on with the fight."

Rush Limbaugh on Reveling in the Chick-fil-A Revolution

He says:

"... So P. J. Gladnick is who wrote this for NewsBusters, and basically Sally Quinn is recommending that gays and lesbians infiltrate Chick-fil-A restaurants to the point where they become gay hangouts, to such an extent that even gay weddings would be performed there.  This is what Sally Quinn is urging in her On Faith blog at the Washington Post. Now, if you think that recommendation's absurd beyond belief, you won't be alone.

... But this is what she's suggesting, and it's an indication of how they were thrown for loops yesterday.  You're not supposed to be reminded of numbers like this.  And you're not supposed to be reminded of energy like this.  This was, as much as anything, a huge realization of where momentum is in this country, and where it isn't, and you're just not supposed to illustrate that. It's just not supposed to happen.  But the hatred, I mean the vile, disgusting hatred that comes from people on the left.

Nobody at Chick-fil-A did anything to anybody yesterday.  Nobody hurt anybody. Nobody raised anybody's taxes. Nobody said nobody couldn't do anything yesterday, just went in there and patronized the place to show solidarity, and that's got people all upset. So, just keep a sharp eye.

NewsBusters: Kirk Cameron Protest Dwarfed by 12,000 Supporters

Taylor Hughes of NewsBusters:

If the left’s response to Chick-fil-A proves anything, it’s that the left has a clear method of attacking anyone who supports a traditional definition of marriage. Label that person a bigot and then protest everything they do.

This of course is the same plan of action applied to actor Kirk Cameron. During his 'Love Worth Fighting For' conference held in Ocean City, N.J., July 27, over 6,000 married couples showed up seeking counsel on how to better their marriages. Instead they found themselves the target of a protest launched by Ocean City's LGBT community, Ocean Grove United.

But the protesters were protesting an event that had nothing to do with same-sex marriage. In a statement emailed to The Christian Post, a spokesman from the event stated that the sole focus was on “strengthening marriage” and the event “had nothing to do with gay marriage.”

When Cameron found out the group was going to be protesting he extended an offer stating, "I think everyone who comes to the 'Love Worth Fighting For' event in Ocean Grove or anywhere else we do this event will feel nothing but welcomed”. Instead the group declined his offer and stood outside with posters reading “"Kirk! Your Words Hurt Us!”

LSN: Chick-Fil-A Confirms Record-Smashing Sales on Appreciation Day

Jean McCarthy of LifeSiteNews:

As Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day wrapped up Wednesday evening, it took a long time for the dust and feathers to settle.

Almost 700,000 people signed up for Mike Huckabee’s event on Facebook, and from all reports they made good on their promise to stand up for free speech and religious freedom by eatin’ “mo chickin.’”

The event was a record setter, according to a statement from Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s executive vice president of marketing, who said: “While we don’t release exact sale numbers, we can confirm reports that it was a record-setting day.”

“We are very grateful and humbled by the incredible turnout of loyal Chick-fil-A customers on August 1 at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country,” Robinson said. “We congratulate local Chick-fil-A Owner/Operators and their team members for striving to serve each and every customer with genuine hospitality.”

Prof. Matthew Franck on the Weakness of the Case for SSM

Prof. Matthew Franck writes in the Public Discourse on the false framing that looks past the fundamental weakness of the case to redefine marriage:

"The trouble for [Prof. John] Corvino begins with the tissue-thin brevity of the positive case he makes for “marriage equality,” as he calls it. In a mere eight pages or so—constituting just a tenth of his opening “case for same-sex marriage”—Corvino tells us that marriage, more than any other arrangement or institution in which two people can take part, “promotes mutual lifelong caregiving.” This, he would have us believe, is the core, the irreducible purpose of marriage, its true raison d’être.

Some homosexual couples really want to enter into such an arrangement, and to have it called “marriage” under the law with all the attendant rights and recognition that accompany the label. For Corvino, their desire for this recognized arrangement supplies them with a presumptive right to it, in the name of equality. And so for the remainder of his main statement, and his reply to Gallagher’s statement, Corvino devotes all his space to attempted rebuttals of the opposing view.

... The case in its favor is so undeniably weak, as Corvino’s contributions to this book demonstrate, that the progress the same-sex marriage “movement” has made is an amazing tale of the incantatory power of the word “equality.” When the incantation fades, and sense returns to those who have been bewitched by it, the idea of same-sex marriage will once again retreat to the margins of society. That will be a victory of justice over tyranny. The only question is, will we resist the disastrous error of an experiment with a lie, or will we try to live the lie and then have to recover from it? Human societies have experimented with lies before. It is better to avoid them in the first place."

Forbes Columnist: Chick-fil-A May Have Booked Over $100 Million Yesterday

Derek Broes of Forbes.com:

"...So, how was the chicken? Amazing! Now I know why people love this place. The store was run extremely well. Clean, polite and efficient. The staff brought water to those in line, they handed out umbrellas for protection from the sun and they served delicious food quickly. This has been replicated across the nation. This huge one day movement involving millions of supporters made their opinions heard and voted with their money and presence. It has been estimated that the chain will have booked almost $100 million or more just today.

When I returned home I turned on the news to see how this would be reported. NBC in Los Angeles chose to focus on the protesters. Not the ones supporting Chick-Fil-A but, the ones protesting the supporters. The protesters are a tiny fraction to the supporters yet the media focused 90% of their attention on those few. This does not represent the truth of the actual event. The meme from the anti-Chick-Fil-A groups proclaim that opposition to gay marriage is anti-gay."

Pastor Rick Warren, according to the Weekly Standard, tweeted on Wednesday: "Dan Cathy just called me. ChickfilA has already set a world record today, with 7 more hrs to go in the West."

Rush Limbaugh: "On November 6th, Obama's Gonna Get Chick-fil-A'd Himself."

Rush Limbaugh on Chick-fil-A Day:

"...Let me tell you something.  I am being bombarded with e-mail from my website account, the Rush 24/7 member e-mail, with stories just like the one you're telling from all over this country about how crowded the Chick-fil-As are, about how long the lines are.  Get this, Jay, I just got an e-mail from a guy who said where he lives, that on the sign at the neighboring Wendy's, it says, "Today go to Chick-fil-A."  I don't know where this is, but I'll bet it's not the only example of it.  A local Wendy's is telling it's customers, "Today, we think you should go to Chick-fil-A," or something like that.  You know, it's happening all over, and it's political.

... I'll tell you what's gonna happen on November 6th, Obama's gonna get Chick-fil-A'd himself.  He's gonna get Chick-fil-A'd, and, folks, pictures continue to come in, and I'm asking myself, where are the news media satellite trucks today?  Where are all the man-on-the-street news reports of this?  I wonder if your local news will cover this tonight at 5 and 11, amidst all the murders and blood and everything else they cover, government corruption.  Wait, they don't talk about -- never mind.  But I'm just wondering, I mean, this is a major, major event. "

Update -- here is the full audio:

Brian Brown on How Same-Sex Marriage Will Help Determine the Election

Our president Brian Brown talks to John Roberts of Fox News:

"..."Key Democratic constituencies do not support same-sex marriage," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.  "And I think that you are going to see a real lack of support for President Obama from them and then folks in the middle."

Romney may be angling for some of those votes. But while some conservatives are still anxious over where he actually stands, NOM's Brian Brown needs no convincing.

"If you go back to Massachusetts, people say no, no he wasn't strong on the issue", Brown told Fox News. "If you actually look at what he did, he stood up for a state constitutional amendment.  He fought so that the people could vote."

... On the campaign trail, Romney doesn't talk much about the issue, leaving statements of "support for traditional marriage" to significant speeches like his appearances at Liberty University and the NAACP convention. Brown appreciates the support, though he wishes Romney -- and his fellow Republicans -- would talk more about it.

"There are plenty of Republican strategists in this town -- inside the Beltway that want to run from this issue. They think it is too divisive. They don't want to bring it up -- they don't want to talk about it," he told Fox News.

Brown is determined to make same-sex marriage a major issue in the fall campaign.  Ironically, it may be the split in the Democratic Party that fuels the debate more than anything Republican candidates are planning.

Chicago Church Leaders Roast Rahm Emanuel Over Chick-fil-A Stance

FoxNews:

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has ticked off the flocks by criticizing Chick-fil-A.

Days after the big city boss blasted the chicken chain over its president's stance on same-sex marriage, an influential Baptist minister and Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago struck back. The religious leaders, who support the traditional view of marriage, were incensed at Emanuel's claim that "Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago's values."

"Do not disrespect us...We, too, are Chicago," the Rev. Charles Lyons of the Armitage Baptist Church thundered from the pulpit Sunday.

Cardinal Francis George also criticized Emanuel's stance, asking in the Catholic Chicago Blog if everyone who did not agree with Emanuel faced a similar fate.

"Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city," George wondered. "Is the City Council going to set up a 'Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities' and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it?"