NOM BLOG

Marriage as a Social Justice Issue

If you live in or around Washington, DC you may want to plan to visit Georgetown University this evening for what is sure to be a fantastic lecture by NOM friend and What is Marriage? co-author Ryan T. Anderson. The title of the lecture is "Marriage as a Social Justice Issue."

Here is the description from the event page:

Ryan AndersonWhat is marriage? Why does marriage matter? What would be the consequences of redefining marriage? These are just some of the questions Ryan T. Anderson will address in his lecture on Marriage as a Social Justice Issue.  Anderson is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and co-author of the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, cited by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito twice in his dissenting opinion on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case. Anderson makes a secular case for marriage without appeals to theology, revelation or morality.

The lecture will be in McCarthy Hall in the McShain Large  Conference Room (37th and O St. N.W.) from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. It is free and open to the public.

RSVP on Facebook event page here.

"As Close to an Ideal Test as We've Seen"

Over at Public Discourse, Professor Mark Regnerus reports on the important new study from Canada which we told you about yesterday.

Regnerus shares his opinions on the research by Douglas Allen published in the Review of the Economics of the Household last week:

FamilyEvery study has its limitations, and this one does too.... [but] its limitations are modest in comparison to its remarkable and unique strengths—a rigorous and thorough analysis of a massive, nationally-representative dataset from a country whose government has long affirmed same-sex couples and parenting. It is as close to an ideal test as we’ve seen yet.

The study’s publication continues the emergence of new, population-based research in this domain, much of which has undermined scholarly and popular claims about equivalence between same-sex and opposite-sex households echoed by activists and reflected in recent legal proceedings about same-sex marriage.

Read Professor Regnerus' full piece here.

"The Vocation to Form One Flesh"

From LifeSiteNews.com:

Pope FrancisPope Francis urged youth today to have the “courage” to get married and have children despite a culture that emphasizes “individual rights” over family.

The pope made the remarks in Assisi during an energetic question and answer session with a number of young people.

[...]

The pope pointed out that marriage is a "real vocation, just like priesthood and religious life are. Two Christians who marry each other have recognized in their love story the Lord's call, the vocation to form one flesh, one life from the two, male and female" [emphasis added].

Read more here.

The Script Repeats...

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Same-sex 'marriage' radicals are at it again... the latest example comes from Chicago.

In what Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute called "a stunning admission" openly homosexual Democratic State Representative Greg Harris of Chicago, outright admitted in a public debate that the proposed law in Illinois redefining marriage did NOT provide religious liberty or conscience protections for individual Christian business owners.

Higgins' article continued, saying that "it was clear that both he and homosexual Chicago Alderman Deb Mell (a former state representative and co-sponsor of SB 10) oppose any such protections." (emphasis added).

Earlier this year, when trying to force the bill through the legislature, Alderman Mell claimed that warnings about future religious persecution were dishonest "scare tactics."

And so the script repeats... promise that nothing will change when marriage is redefined while knowing that religious liberties will be necessarily suppressed and people of faith are sure to be punished.

Won't you please make an immediate, generous donation of $35, $50, $100, $500 or even $1,000 to NOM right away to help us expose the lies upon which the movement to redefine marriage is based?

Remember, if you donate today, your gift will be matched, dollar-for-dollar by a generous donor who has pledged to match every donation to NOM before the end of the year, up to $1,000,000!

It's especially important to act now because the past few months have seen numerous examples of the kind of anti-religious abuse that will increase as same-sex marriage becomes more widespread.

In Washington state, a florist had to file a counter-suit against the state attorney general, after being charged with a violation of the state Consumer Protection Act for refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding.

In Minnesota, the Department of Human Rights recently released new rules governing individuals who believe in traditional marriage. Despite many, many promises to the contrary when pushing the marriage redefinition bill through the legislature, they decreed 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."

And the worst part? None of this is accidental! It's by design!

Please consider making an urgently needed donation of $35, $50, $100, $500 or even $1,000 to NOM today to help us defend marriage and religious liberty wherever they are threatened.

I want you to read what Chai R. Feldblum, a professor of Law at Georgetown Law School, and an Obama appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has to say:

"I believe the burden on religious people that will be caused by granting gay people full equality will be justified. . . That is because I believe granting liberty to gay people advances a compelling government interest, that such an interest cannot be adequately advanced if 'pockets of resistance' to a societal statement of equality are permitted to flourish, and hence that a law that permits no individual exceptions based on religious beliefs will be the least restrictive means of achieving the goal of liberty for gay people."

Can you believe that?! Religious liberty is a guaranteed right under the US Constitution; gay marriage obviously is not. Yet in left speak, our constitutionally guaranteed religious liberty to live out our faith in our daily lives is a "pocket of resistance" to a "compelling government interest" to establish a "societal statement of equality!"

In other words... my belief and yours... my Church's teaching and yours... that marriage is the union of one man and one woman... is contrary to the interests of government and must be suppressed!

Won't you please help us put a stop to this insanity by making a generous donation right away?

This is even taking place in states where the laws on marriage recognize it as the union of one man and one woman! Consider:

  • Albuquerque, NM: In August, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled it was illegal for a photographer to refuse to accept clients celebrating a same-sex commitment ceremony. The case is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Gresham, OR: Also in August, a same-sex couple filed a discrimination complaint against a bakery that refused to decorate a wedding cake for their celebration. Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced that the goal of the law is to "rehabilitate" offending business owners, rather than shut down their businesses.
  • Denver, CO: In a claim brought to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a baker faces up to one year in jail for refusing to decorate a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding ceremony.

NOM is working all across the country to wake people up to the fact that redefining marriage poses an enormous and imminent threat to our precious religious liberties. But we need your help to reach more people and build the grassroots coalition needed to stop these abuses in their tracks.

Please click here right away to support NOM's work to defend marriage and the religious liberties of individuals who stand up for it.

Thank you!

Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown

PS: Redefining marriage isn't about hollow claims of "equality" and "civil rights." It's about changing the core, foundational institution in our society — turning it into a vehicle stripped of gender which exists purely for the satisfaction of adults, and away from one intrinsically ordered toward gender complementariness and geared toward the good of children.

And right now, it's the weapon of choice being used by a small but extremely well funded group of extremists in a fight to strip away our First Amendment religious freedoms. We cannot let that happen! Won't you please stand with me today by making a generous donation to NOM to advance our critical work? Remember, whatever you give today will be DOUBLED, thanks to our generous donor who established a new matching gift challenge. Help us draw a line in the sand and stand up for marriage... for the rights of children... and for our most precious religious liberties.

[An earlier version of this message misattributed statements on the Illinois Family Institute blog to the Chicago Tribune. These errors have been corrected. - Ed.]

Thou Shall Compromise Thy Faith

Despite the fact that the Washington State Constitution reads:

SECTION 11 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship, shall be guaranteed to every individual, and no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion;

Religious FreedomThat state continues to be at the forefront of sanctioning people of faith when it comes to same-sex marriage.  First the State sued a Christian florist, and now it has admonished a judge for simply saying he would not perform same-sex weddings due to his religious beliefs.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A Thurston County Superior Court judge has been formally admonished for saying he wouldn’t perform gay marriages.

Judge Gary Tabor first made the comments during an administrative meeting shortly before Washington’s gay marriage law took effect late last year. He told colleagues he wasn’t comfortable performing same-sex weddings and asked if other judges would do it in his stead. (Read More)

So we ask, “What does ‘Absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment…’actually mean in Washington State?”

Facts Are Stubborn Things

The famous line from founding father John Adams comes to mind with the publication of yet another study - published in a peer reviewed academic journal - that demonstrates the negative outcomes for children when they are denied the love of either a mother or a father. Maggie Gallagher reports on the study over at NRO:

Just-the-FactsUsing Canadian census data, a very large and therefore representative database, Canadian professor Douglas Allen of Simon Frazier University finds that children raised by intact, married biological parents do better than children raised by same-sex couples.

So once again science confirms the truth about the importance of marriage that the wisdom of the ages and common sense have always told us: marriage matters because kids need and deserve a mom and a dad. Redefining marriage, though, means that kids as a norm will be denied at least one of these parents' vital role in their lives - and there are consequences, whether we like it or not. Facts are stubborn things.

Holding Their Feet to the Fire

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Well, the big news this week of course is the lawsuit that NOM filed just yesterday against the Internal Revenue Service for unlawful disclosure by one or more IRS employees of our confidential tax return information, including the identities of our major donors. Worse, the information went to our chief political opponent — the terribly mis-named Human Rights Campaign — whose president was a national co-chair of President Obama's reelection campaign.

If you need to catch up on that story, or wish to keep best appraised of its developments moving forward, your best resource is the NOMblog, under the subject tag IRS. Click here to read all about it!

But you should also be sure to check out the case page set up by NOM's legal representatives at ActRight Legal Foundation. There you'll find the actual case filings, including the exhibits of 'smoking gun' evidence and other pertinent artifacts — all available for download, at www.ActRightLegal.org/NOM-v-IRS.

But there's plenty else still happening this week having to do with marriage, and here are the top items of interest in case you missed any of it:

UK Reveals SSM to Be a Political Loser

From across the pond, recent news reveals that two-thirds of Members of Parliament believe that supporting marriage redefinition is a 'vote loser.' And now, Prime Minister Cameron himself is expressing "regret" for "forcing" marriage redefinition through the Parliament.

In the US, the same is true, whatever the complicit media tries to prove to the contrary. The fact is that nearly two-thirds of the American people are against redefining marriage. Marriage significantly outperformed (by an average of seven points) the Republican presidential ticket in last November's elections, as well — in all four states that had ballot issues dealing with marriage. Conservative pundits and politicians here should take note: support for marriage is strong, and a platform built around that plank is a firm political footing.

In Congress

This week, we’re still working to have as many people as possible write their federal legislators to express their support for two hugely important pieces of legislation coming up this term:

The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act

Congressman Raul Labrador of Idaho, along with 60 co-sponsors, is offering this critical bill to protect all organizations, religious or otherwise, that believe marriage to be the union of one man and one woman from having their tax-exempt status stripped by the IRS.

This legislation will protect religious liberty in a very crucial way, allowing organizations to communicate their views about marriage without threat of reprisals via the tax code.

Marriage Amendment

And the other critical piece of legislation is the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, sponsored by Representative Tim Huelskamp and a host of others. Has your Congressman joined the coalition yet to enshrine marriage once and for all in our Constitution and protect this precious institution for the good of all future generations?

Marriage Battles Around the Nation

New Jersey

We told you last week about the New Jersey Superior Court judge who brazenly handed down an activist ruling that the state should begin conducting same-sex marriages.

Since then, Governor Christie has pledged that his administration will appeal this egregious ruling — a pledge that deserves all our thanks.

But those of you who live in the Garden State also need to let the legislature know today that it's more critical than ever that they commit to defending marriage and letting the people exercise their right to vote to define marriage constitutionally in New Jersey.

Illinois

Later this month — on October 23rd, in Springfield — local leaders are hosting the second Defend Marriage Lobby Day.

The event website explains the success the pro-marriage movement has had there in keeping the legislature from committing to bringing a vote on SB-10 (an act that would redefine marriage); but they note that this day is all the more important as the veto session approaches:

Over the past seven months, we have been busy contacting churches in key districts. Thousands of religious leaders from across the state have responded, voicing their opposition to marriage redefinition to local state lawmakers. They have urged their members to stand for God-ordained marriage. And as a result, YOU stepped forward. Perhaps for the first time. Thank you! But we need you to do it again, for as long as this issue is on the minds of those who are in power to pass laws.

If you live in Illinois, plan to attend this great event if you are able. And in the meantime, take some time to email the legislature and remind them where you stand on SB-10!

This week we remember that our elected officials, whether local or state or federal, work for us — for, as Lincoln put it, ours is a "government of the people, by the people, for the people." So please continue to stand with us as together we hold our government accountable: executives, legislators, judges, and — yes — tax administrators.

Faithfully yours,

Brian S. Brown

Flock to the Capitol

“If same-sex “marriage” becomes the law in Illinois, the ramifications for our children will be disastrous.  We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.” Illinois Family Institute

Even while NOM battles on the national stage with the IRS, the battle to protect marriage in Illinois continues on.  Our friends at the Illinois Family Institute are calling all marriage champions from all over Illinois to “Flock to the Capitol” on October 23rd for the Defend Marriage Lobby Day.

Defend Marriage Lobby DayCHILDREN will be taught implicitly and explicitly that mothers and fathers are interchangeable and that mothers or fathers are expendable…

CHILDREN need, deserve, and have a right to both a mother and a father. Social science research consistently demonstrates that children with both a mother and father fare better than do motherless or fatherless children. Mothers and fathers bring critical and different components to child-rearing. Purposely placing children in fatherless or motherless homes is tragic and will have negative consequences for future generations. Most societal ills can be traced to the breakdown of the natural family. Redefining family and marriage to include two people of the same sex will only further weaken marriage, family, and ultimately society.

They’ve even produced a 2-minute video for you to show in your church promoting this important day.

They're also helping to arrange buses to Springfield from across the region.  We encourage you to take the time on October 23rd to stand for marriage in Springfield, Illinois.

Gay Marriage is a Vote Loser

In England, a recent report showed that nearly two-thirds of MP's believe that supporting gay 'marriage' is a 'vote loser.' And reports from local Conservative associations show a rapid decline in membership, with gay marriage seen as one of the reasons. Now even the Prime Minister, David Cameron, is saying that he regrets "forcing" marriage redefinition through the Parliament.

Thumbs DownThe same can be said in America.  Despite the droning drumbeat of the mainstream media, nearly two-thirds – 65 percent – of Americans disapprove of redefining marriage.

During the November 2012 elections, true marriage out-polled the Romney campaign in all four states marriage was on the ballot – by double digit margins!

It seems English politicians have already learned what the GOP in America – and all its candidates – need to grasp.  Defending marriage as one man and one woman is a winning issue at the polls.

All to Play for in the Garden State

Things are moving fast in New Jersey – the legislature continues to move towards attempting to override Governor Christie’s veto of same-sex ‘marriage,’ while the Courts recently ruled – in a very faulty and activist ruling – that New Jersey must start allowing same-sex ‘marriages’ to begin by October 21st.

New JerseyThis week Governor Christie reiterated his position that the definition of marriage should be left to the people and at the same time appealed the Court’s ruling and asked for a stay while the appeal is considered.

Finally today, a new, pro-marriage coalition – New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage – held a press conference to announce itself and its plans for defending marriage and religious liberties in New Jersey.

Among their points are letting the people vote on marriage and challenging the legislature to take whatever action it is planning BEFORE the November elections so the voters will know where their representatives stand when they go to the polls in November.

BREAKING NEWS - NOM FILES SUIT, NOM Marriage News

NOM National Newsletter

Dear Marriage Supporter,

I have some breaking news for you! Today, NOM filed suit against the IRS over the leak of our confidential tax documents from their offices and to discover how these documents got into the hands of our chief political opponent, the Human Rights Campaign in March 2012.

It's a felony to release or receive confidential tax returns. NOM's case has garnered a lot of attention throughout the course of this year — especially following our chairman Professor John Eastman's explosive testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee this past June. We have been working hard to make sure that not only our rights, but every American's rights, to freedom of speech and association are protected as they should be.

Unfortunately, despite our efforts and the efforts of several members of Congress, the IRS and Obama Administration continue to every request to get to the bottom of this crime and hold accountable to the American people those responsible for this deed. That's why our lawsuit is so important, not only for our case, but for anyone who has been harassed and targeted over their political beliefs. As Dr. Eastman explains in his op-ed today on FoxNews.com, "The politicization of the IRS... is a dangerous development, a threat to the liberty of every citizen, and it needs to be stopped. NOM's suit is an important step in that effort."

Dr. Eastman writes,

It was March of 2012. Marriage was on the ballot in 5 states that year: North Carolina in May; and Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington in November. Those seeking to redefine marriage had an uphill battle. 32 states had voted since 2004 to reaffirm the traditional definition of marriage by large margins, and no State had voted to approve same0sex ‘marriage.' But campaigns of intimidation and harassment against donors to the traditional marriage cause and its flagship organization, the National Organization for Marriage, had begun to take its toll. The Human Rights Campaign ("HRC"), NOM's principal opponent in these political battles, even had a website, "NOM Exposed," designed to publicly identify NOM and its supporters and donors so they and their businesses could be harassed. But HRC wanted more. They wanted access to NOM's confidential list of donors, lists that NOM is required to file with the IRS but are not public information.

Magically, soon after their president was named a national Co-Chair of the Obama Releection campaign, the HRC got what they wanted. It's an established fact that the information originated with the IRS.

That leak of confidential information had its desired effect. Dr. Eastman explains:

The campaign of harassment and intimidation that had been tried and perfected in the fight over California's Proposition 8 could now begin again in the 2012 election cycle. That effort succeeded. Donations to NOM and to the ballot campaigns then underway became increasingly hard to come by, to the point that the same-sex marriage forces were able to outspend NOM and its allies by more than $20 million dollars (a nearly 4 to 1 advantage) in the 4 States where marriage was on the ballot in November 2012, resulting in the first electoral losses for traditional marriage ever.

What happened at the IRS concerning the illegal leak of our confidential tax return and donor information is the most serious example to date of the kinds of intimidation tactics that same-sex marriage activists use to bully folks and try to scare us from the public square.

And yet it's been eighteen months since the illegal disclosure of our 2008 Form 990 Schedule B which eventually made its way into the hands of the Human Rights Campaign... and no charges have been filed, nor any demonstration made of what internal investigations into the matter involved or discovered. In fact, the IRS claims that releasing the name of the culprit is illegal on the basis of the very same federal statute that was violated in the leak! Talk about an Orwellian irony!

An organization with the power and reach of the IRS must be held to account for the scandal of political targeting, or else our treasured First Amendment rights run the risk of becoming worth less than the parchment they're written on.

So, we'll be fighting the IRS in court to get to the bottom of this matter. This lawsuit goes hand-in-hand with one of our central beliefs as Americans: the belief that no one should ever have reason to be afraid to exercise his or her freedom to speak, write, act, donate, or vote on behalf of the common sense principle that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.

The Human Rights Campaign has a notorious record of intimidation and bullying. Pro-marriage individuals are targeted by HRC and others — such as the Southern Poverty Law Center — with all kinds of charged and libelous rhetoric — such as "hate speech" and "hate groups" — in the hopes that they will feel too threatened and frightened to express their views publicly.

The most flagrant instance of what this kind of uncivil behavior can lead to was seen last August, when Floyd Corkins used the SPLC's "hate map" to compile a list of organizations that he hoped to target in a murderous shooting spree. But for the heroic actions of a security guard at his first target — the Washington headquarters of the Family Research Council — there's no imagining what the tragic results might have been.

Of course, Corkins' deadly plans are an instance of extremism. But extremism is no stranger to the HRC. Their stock in trade is bullying, harassment and intimidation. (See their disgusting website, NOM Exposed, for an example.)

One way or another, the HRC is not going to be able to just ignore the felony that has occurred. They are going to have to answer how they came into possession of a confidential tax return and donor information — information that unquestionably originated with the IRS itself — at the very time their president was raising millions of dollars for President Obama's reelection campaign as a national co-chair.

I say "one way or another" — that's because, in addition to the suit we've just filed, there are others looking into this matter. Just this past Friday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's chairman Darrell Issa announced that his committee would be holding an investigation into the IRS's malfeasances as well. In a statement to NRO's The Corner, Issa said:

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.

"The truth will come to light," said Shakespeare. But sometimes it needs a little help, and we're going to give it all we can to ensure that the truth of this matter is exposed for the American people. The protection of our core liberties demands nothing less.

As I said, this case is not just about NOM, but about every American's right to the freedoms of speech, religion, and association. I'm glad we've finally filed this critical suit, but NOM still needs to press forward, not just with the case, but with the marriage battles across the country — New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii, and in Congress. Please consider a generous donation to NOM today to help us win these fights. And remember, now is a great time to make a gift because your generosity will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $1 million.

Thank you for your faithfulness to NOM and the unique and critical institution of marriage.

Faithfully yours,

Brian S. Brown

The IRS Is Having a Tough News Day

In addition to the important announcement today that NOM has filed suit against the IRS, two other stories are drawing heat for the Government agency today:

IRS-HRCAs part of the shutdown of the Federal government, the National Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) - which describes itself as "Your Voice at the IRS" - has shuttered its doors, and this has potential ominous consequences for citizens. Forbes reports:

Shutting down TAS could have some serious consequences, according to [the service's head, Nina Olsen]. With our voice at the IRS cut off, “the government can harm the taxpayer with impunity and the taxpayer has no redress”.... According to Olson, the advocate service routinely handles cases from distraught taxpayers who threaten suicide if their disputes with the IRS cannot be resolved expeditiously, as well as cases in which a lien on property ties up funds a taxpayer needs for lifesaving medical help. Apparently, the entire lien process has not been shut down.

You can read the full story here.

And if anyone knows the importance of having an avenue of redress when it comes to dealing with the IRS, it's the subject of the other story worth noting today: Dr. Ben Carson.

According to The Washington Times:

Just months after he gave a speech earlier this year that challenged America’s leadership in President Obama’s presence, Dr. Ben Carson was targeted by IRS agents who requested to review his real estate holdings and then conducted a full audit without finding any wrongdoing.

“I guess it could be a coincidence, but I never had been audited before and never really had any encounters with the IRS,” Dr. Carson said in an interview Thursday.... “But it certainly would make one suspicious because we know now the IRS has been used for political purposes and therefore actions like this come under suspicion.”

Go read more about Dr. Carson's situation, and let's hope that this powerful agency finally faces appropriate scrutiny and is held accountable to the American people.

The Politicization of the IRS Must Be Stopped

The politicization of the IRS (and other law enforcement agencies of the federal government) is a dangerous development, a threat to the liberty of every citizen, and it needs to be stopped.  NOM’s lawsuit is an important step in that effort.

Today NOM filed suit against the IRS for the criminal release of its confidential tax information which included dozens of names of major donors.  NOM’s chairman, Professor John Eastman has published an op-ed on Foxnews.com describing the issue:

Prof. John EastmanWherever one stands on the marriage issue, we should all be able to agree that the people responsible for these abuses by the IRS must be held to account.  The IRS is simply too powerful, with too much access to our most private information, to become a tool in the political fights of the day.

We have been down this road before.  One of the Articles of Impeachment that had been drawn up against President Richard Nixon before he resigned in 1974 charged that Nixon “endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposes not authorized by law.”  Yet the Department of Justice, the Inspector General at the Treasury Department, and the Internal Revenue Service itself have all circled the wagons to protect the felon or felons who illegally disclosed NOM’s tax return.

So today, NOM is filing suit against the IRS, as permitted by federal law, to obtain compensation for the injuries it suffered as a result of these felonies.

Read Dr. Eastman's entire piece here.

The National Organization for Marriage Files Lawsuit Against The IRS Over Illegal Leak of Organization’s Confidential Tax Return to Marriage Opponents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2013
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Matille Thebolt (703-683-5004)


“We can prove that NOM’s confidential tax return was released by the IRS and went to our chief political opponent. This is a federal crime.” — Brian Brown, NOM president —

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) announced it has filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service seeking damages over the illegal release of the organization’s 2008 confidential tax return which went to the Human Rights Campaign, America’s leading marriage opponent whose president was a national co-chair for President Obama’s reelection campaign.

“We have irrefutable proof that NOM’s confidential tax return was released by the Internal Revenue Service and went to the number one opponent of marriage, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) whose president was a national co-chair of President Obama’s reelection campaign. The HRC promptly published it and released it to the media,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “This is a federal crime. Worse, the confidential information contained in the illegally leaked documents included the identity of dozens of our major donors and the HRC used this confidential donor information to harass our donors. This is a chilling set of circumstances that should ring alarm bells across the nation.”

The lawsuit, The National Organization for Marriage, Inc. v. The United States of America, Internal Revenue Service was filed in federal district court in the Eastern District of Virginia. NOM is represented by ActRight Legal Foundation, NOM Chairman John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, of counsel to ActRight Legal Foundation and Jason Torchinsky of Holtzman, Vogel & Josefiak, PLLC.

“There are many emerging examples of how the IRS has targeted conservative groups, but what’s happened with the release of NOM’s confidential tax return to a group that fights marriage at every turn, and which was headed by President Obama’s national reelection campaign co-chair is in a special category of abuse and concern,” said John Eastman, NOM’s Chairman.

“So far the IRS and Obama Administration officials have stonewalled our every attempt to get information or answer basic questions about who knew what inside the IRS and who in the Obama administration had any information or involvement in this crime. Our lawsuit will be a powerful tool in ending the stonewalling and getting the truth to the American people.”

NOM called on the Congress to continue to pressure the IRS, Treasury Department and other officials to disclose what they know about who is responsible for the illegal leaking of NOM’s tax return and confidential donor identity information, which was then published by the Human Rights Campaign.

“The American people are entitled to answers about who at the IRS is responsible for this crime, and whether anyone in the Administration, White House, or Obama Reelection campaign had any information about or involvement in the crime,” said Brown. “We urge Congress to continue to pursue an investigation, including putting the appropriate government and HRC officials under oath and subpoenaing documents to get to the bottom of this matter.”

###

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Matille Thebolt (x143), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

"The IRS Needs to Pay" - NOM to File Suit Today

At The Washington Times, Stephen Dinan reports that "The National Organization for Marriage will sue the IRS on Thursday, saying it has evidence that someone within the agency leaked the organization’s private donor list to its political enemies in 2012 but that nobody has been held responsible" [emphasis added].

IRS

Dinan spoke to attorney Cleta Mitchell of ActRight Legal Foundation which is handling NOM's case. She said:

Somebody did this deliberately and it was planned, and we need to know who it was. The IRS needs to pay. Ultimately, the IRS is responsible for the damages.

Dinan also quotes NOM's chairman, Dr. John Eastman, explaining how the fact that the leaked documents had internal IRS markings on that that had been hidden makes for a compelling case:

It suggests to me that this thing was deliberate and at high levels — head of the division, a political appointee, somebody. And darn it, we’re going to find out who did it, and we’re going to wrap it up with a bow and send it over to the Justice Department and keep the pressure on.

You can read Dinan's entire piece here.


And don't forget that you can hear John Eastman and Cleta Mitchell both speaking today at The Heritage Foundation as part of their ongoing series, Preserve the Constitution.

The event will be live-streamed from 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT, and you can sign up for an email reminder here.

Oh, and the topic of the event? "Political Speech and the IRS: Protecting the First Amendment." Surely, this one is not to be missed!