Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, announced today she is stepping down as Chairman, but will remain on the Board of Directors. NOM president Brian Brown will remain president, and NOM has hired a new Chairman of the Board, John Eastman, described by NOM as “a distinguished Constitutional law scholar.”
The National Organization For Marriage has been at the forefront of the same-sex marriage battle, and has been plagued by failed court decisions, hidden donor attempts, and is often accused of lying and misleading the public. Many wonder where NOM’s funding actually comes from, and many, including GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, have attempted to prove NOM is a front for religious organizations, such as the Mormon Church. That they have chosen a lawyer and law professor to take the helm may be a clue to where they feel the organization’s focus needs to be to keep it alive.
“My original intention in co-founding the National Organization for Marriage was to launch a politically sophisticated national activist organization to fight for the views of millions of Americans who believe that marriage is and should remain the union of husband and wife,” Gallagher said in a statement today. “I think it’s fair to say that NOM has been launched, and is now far more successful than even I dreamed (and I dreamed big!). I’m grateful to NOM’s President Brian Brown for leading this organization, and the addition of an eminent public intellectual like John Eastman to the NOM team is a great sign as we move forward to the battles ahead.”
“I will remain on the NOM board, and continue to work on specific projects for NOM, as well as taking on some additional outside projects I’ve long deferred, such as finishing my book Debating Same-Sex Marriage¸ which I’ve been working on for Oxford University Press with Prof. John Corvino,” Gallagher added.
Dr. John Eastman is professor of law and recently was Dean of the Chapman University School of Law, until he stepped down to mount a failed bid for California Attorney General. He is the Founding Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute, and the current Chairman of the Constitutional Jurisprudence Clinic, according to his Chapman bio.
NOM adds that Eastman, “has participated in over 50 cases in our nation’s highest courts, including such landmark cases as the Pledge of Allegiance case, the Boy Scouts of America case, the Ohio school vouchers case, the Kelo case involving property takings, and the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act case. Dr. Eastman is a former clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in government and political philosophy from Claremont Graduate School.”
Brian Brown, President of NOM, stated, “John Eastman is one of America’s foremost constitutional scholars and has distinguished himself as a fierce advocate for families and religious liberty. As a legal scholar, he has participated in dozens of cases before our nation’s highest courts, including the United States Supreme Court. When important constitutional principles are on the line, people frequently turn to John Eastman to advocate a conservative, pro-family position. He will be a great asset to NOM.”
“Marriage has quite correctly been described as a bedrock of civilization. Protecting the institution of marriage is a critically important issue, and I’m honored to join such distinguished company on the Board of such a phenomenally effective organization as the National Organization for Marriage,” said Eastman.
“Dr. Eastman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States,” according to his bio on his political campaign website.