WASHINGTON - The Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC) today included NOM among “18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda.”
Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, reacts:
“This is an absurd distraction emanating from a once-great organization’s real mission---with all the actual hate groups out there, how can Southern Poverty Law Center stoop so low?” said Brown.
While the current report stops short of labeling NOM a “hate group” at this time, many other social conservative groups are so-designated. In a confusing move, the SLPC report lists 18 groups as “anti-gay” and suggests that at least 13 will be designated hate groups this spring.
“This report is not an attack on NOM but on the majority of Americans who believe that to make a marriage you need a husband and wife," said Brown. "It is also further proof of what NOM has been saying: today’s gay marriage movement is no longer about tolerance, live or let live—it’s about driving out dissenting voices from the public square. Gay marriage now serves as the tip of the spear to a new campaign to demonize and generate hatred against those who adhere to traditional views of sex and marriage.”
“I’m very proud of the message that NOM has carried consistently and with great love and courage: which is that marriage matters because children need a mom and dad; Our battle is not with an orientation but a political movement that seeks to use the law to embed a new moral idea: there is no difference between same-sex and opposite sex couples and you’re a hater, bigot and quasi-racist if you disagree. It’s very sad to see the deterioration of a once-great civil rights organization to this level,” said Maggie Gallagher, Chairman of the Board of NOM. “They undercut their own credibility far more than NOM’s --which is doubly sad because we need great civil rights organizations now more than ever, just as we need more voices trying to rise above the hate to create a climate where we can argue, dispute and disagree as fellow citizens, not as enemies.”
“Regular readers of NOM’s work know how we characterize gay people: those who support our vision of marriage, we welcome to join our work. For gay marriage advocates (the majority of whom are not gay) we say: we think you are wrong, and we will fight for our right to vote for marriage in the public square,” added Brown.
From the SLPC report on the blog:
18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their PropagandaEven as some well-known anti-gay groups like Focus on the Family moderate their views, a hard core of smaller groups, most of them religiously motivated, have continued to pump out demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities. These groups’ influence reaches far beyond what their size would suggest, because the “facts” they disseminate about homosexuality are often amplified by certain politicians, other groups and even news organizations. Of the 18 groups profiled below, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) will be listing 13 next year as hate groups (eight were previously listed), reflecting further research into their views; those are each marked with an asterisk. Generally, the SPLC’s listings of these groups is based on their propagation of known falsehoods — claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities — and repeated, groundless name-calling. Viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups.
To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, or Maggie Gallagher, Chairman of the Board, contact Elizabeth Ray (x.130) or Mary Beth Hutchins (x.105) at 703-683-5004.
