Look: NOM’s Full-Page Ad Of Anti-Gay Hate And Lies Against Rhode Island Marriage Equality

NOM, the National Organization For Marriage has published a full page ad in a Rhode Island newspaper, and has been widely distributing through the U.S. Postal Service mailings, both of which include lies, anti-gay hate, and mistruths — which were quickly debunked by the non-partisan journalism group, Politifact and Rhode Islanders For United For Marriage.

“This ad is just another example of NOM’s hurtful misinformation campaign here in Rhode Island and across the country,” Ray Sullivan, Campaign Director for Rhode Islanders For United For Marriage said in a press release. “Rather than engage in a civil dialogue about the legislation at hand, which would extend marriage rights to all loving, committed couples in the Ocean State, NOM is employing the well-worn tactics of those opposed to equality: fear mongering,”

Politifact, a fact-checking arm associated with the Providence Journal and the Politifact national organization, addressed NOM’s claim that “Massachusetts public schools teach kids as young as kindergartners about gay marriage,” and, in an extensive investigation, concluded, “We find [NOM’s] statement False.”

The obvious question is, will this latest action by the National Organization For Marriage qualify them to be listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center‘s anti-gay hate groups page? The main criteria for inclusion is the repeated dissemination of anti-gay lies.

In their own extensive investigation, Rhode Islanders For United For Marriage published their own fact check response:

The advertisement that appeared in the Warwick Beacon includes a number of falsehoods and misleading statements that have been employed by NOM and its allies of intolerance in the past in other states, which are outlined below:

• Claim: Faith organizations, such as the Knights of Columbus, will be forced to host same-sex weddings in their facilities against their will.

• Fact: A Vermont inn refused to host a same-sex wedding and was penalized. However, the legal repercussions were not due to Vermont’s marriage equality law, but rather a state anti-discrimination law.

The inn owners cited “personal feelings” to justify their decision not to host the wedding of a lesbian couple.  But Vermont’s Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act prohibits public accommodations, such as inns, restaurants and schools that serve the public, “from denying goods and services based on customers’ sexual orientation.” Rhode Island law currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and HB5015 will not change affect that protection.

• Claim: Small businesses that oppose marriage equality will face lawsuits.

• Fact: A Seattle Times investigation “failed to turn up any evidence that same-sex marriage had produced a rash of suits involving businesspeople.”  The Times “also checked with human rights commissions in four of the six states where marriage is legal; the commissions said there was not an increase in discrimination findings or suits involving same sex marriage.”

• Claim: People have been fired from their job for opposing marriage equality.

• Fact: NOM claims Canadian sportscaster Damian Goddard was fired from his position with Rogers Sportnet after tweeting his opposition to marriage equality. Sportsnet denied that assertion, noting “well documented” reasonsfor his termination, saying it ”had already made the decision to terminate Mr. Goddard for cause.”

• Claim: Faith leaders who oppose access to civil marriage for all families have been punished for their beliefs.

• Fact: Bishop Fred Henry of Alberta, Canada, in a pastoral letter, equated homosexuality with pornography and prostitution, and asserted government should use “coercive power” to oppose them: “Since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the State must use its coercive power to proscribe or curtail them.”

A number of well-respected Canadians denounced the letter – including the Toronto Star editorial board and Globe and Mail columnist Michael Valpy.

• Claim: Marriage equality legislation will force schools to change curricula. For example, opponents of marriage equality have said, “In Massachusetts, children as young as second grade have been taught about homosexual marriage in class.”

• Fact: Minnesota Public Radio has called this claim misleading: “There’s no evidence that same-sex marriage is taught throughout Massachusetts, and the state doesn’t require such curriculum.” The claim was also previously debunked by PolitiFact Rhode Island, which rated it “false.”

The story was first reported by Jeremy Hooper at Good As You, who has been closely following developments in Rhode Island, and earlier this week exposed NOM for promoting videos filled with lies and anti-gay extremist hate, which NOM pulled after Hooper’s reporting.