If Prop 8 Loses, Maggie Wins
Closing arguments in the federal Prop 8 trial, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, begin tomorrow, after several months of hiatus, investigation, and a lot of questions from Judge Vaughn Walker. As I was reading through them, and offering my two cents, one question in particular struck me and gave me pause. “What harm do proponents face if an injunction against the enforcement of Proposition 8 is issued?”
In other words, what harm will come to the anti-marriage equality folks if Prop 8 is overturned, disqualified, etc. The answer, I wrote, is, “None. Groups like NOM will make a fortune taking this to the Supreme Court.”
It’s true. Maggie Gallagher and her National Organization For Marriage (NOM) only make money when they take in money. And, when it dawned on me that Maggie is probably hoping for a loss, I tweeted, “Pretty sure that advocacy groups that are ‘against’ something take in far more money than those that are ‘for’ something.”
Think about it. Outrage, hate, fear, anger, are all emotions that force us, biologically, to take action. Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown, the two rulers of NOM, are experts in fanning those flames, under the guise of God. Doubt that? Look at Brian Brown’s weekly emails to his “supporters,” which, like this one last month, ended in,
“God bless you and your family, and thank you again for your support and encouragement. It means a lot to me, and to all of here at NOM.”
Or the week’s before,
“And please pray for all of those standing on the front lines for marriage.”
See their formula?
While the name of their organization is the “National Organization For Marriage,” NOM does very little to actually support marriage, even traditional marriage. If they did, they would be spending the vast majority of their funds (one still wonders where all that money comes from..) on teaching couples how to be better couples, how to work through modern-day problems, how to stay together even during the disasterous economic times we’re in.
No, instead, Maggie and Brian focus on “protecting marriage” by fighting the very people who believe in marriage and are fighting for marriage equality.
Imagine if we all could join forces? NOM and LGBTQ activists, fighting together to actually protect the institution of marriage from all the forces actually that infringe upon its propagation: like hard economic times, demanding workloads, and religious expectations.
It will never happen. So we need to be ready, regardless of the ruling that comes from the federal Prop 8 trial, to counter the hate and homophobia that will consume NOM and its supporters.
This fight is only just beginning.
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