The Wall Street Journal two weeks ago characterized an anti-same-sex marriage equality campaign by the National Organization For Marriage (NOM), as “deceptive,” and, even after a response from none other than NOM Chair Maggie Gallagher, reiterated the “deceptive’ label again today. Here’s why they’re right.
In his July 26 Wall Street Journal column, James Taranto wrote, “If the National Organization for Marriage were a commercial enterprise, its ‘Let the People Vote’ campaign would be a case of deceptive advertising.”
“‘Let the People Vote’ is a futile venture; Roe v. Wade is likelier to be overturned than New York’s Marriage Equality Act is to be repealed or nullified,” Taranto concluded, adding, “the language on the [‘Let the People Vote’] site implies that the Legislature acted illegitimately when it ‘imposed same-sex marriage on New York with no vote of the people.’ Such a vote is not part of the ordinary procedure for enacting legislation in New York, and it is misleading to pretend otherwise.”
WATCH: Maggie Gallagher: “It’s Gonna Be A Bloody Mess In New York” (Video)
Unsurprisingly, NOM’s Maggie Gallagher was none-too-pleased, and penned a response, which the WSJ generously published today (about half-way down the page.) Here’s a portion of Chairman Gallagher’s screed:
“To compare this Let the People Vote effort to the likelihood of repealing Roe v. Wade is seriously misplaced. 80% of New York voters want the right to vote on marriage, just as voters in 31 other states have been able to do. Some cultural elites said the abortion debate was over when the Roe decision came down, and it was time to move on. But people of faith did not rest, and now a majority in this country are pro-life. With marriage, 62% of Americans already support the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, as do a majority of New Yorkers, and an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers want to be able to vote on the issue. Those numbers do not suggest it is time for surrender. Its time to come together and fight for the survival of marriage no matter the procedural obstacles we face. That’s what we at NOM and our allies intend to do.”
Even if you read Gallagher’s entire response, you’ll see that it contains no effort to repudiate the accusation that “Let The People Vote” — at its core — is deceptive. And Gallagher, a rather intelligent individual, must know it is.
Gallagher isn’t intending to “let the people vote” on marriage equality at all, despite the campaign. I could hold a “let me lose 30 pounds without trying” campaign too, but it would be equally futile and self-deluding.
A few more important points.
READ:Â NY Same-Sex Marriage: Why NOM’s 10,000 Protesters Lie Is So Embarrassing
Taranto today responds to Gallagher’s response:
“Meanwhile, ‘NOM Staff’Â blogs on the organization’s website: ‘There will be an election in 2012, in which we will find out if Republican elites are right they can pass a gay marriage bill in NY without consequences.’
“Imposing ‘consequences’ on ‘Republican elites’ is a perfectly legitimate goal,” Taranto writes. “But to the extent that that is the objective of the ‘Let the People Vote’ effort, it reinforces our view that the effort is deceptive.”
Touché!
(Side note: as usual, NOM posts only the parts they liked from the WSJ on their site today, of course.)
But wait, there’s more!
Gallagher writes above, “80% of New York voters want the right to vote on marriage…” But no one The New Civil Rights Movement reached out to, nor any Google search, could provide us with a poll or other document that finds that result — or anything like it.
What a Gooogle search did net — in addition to today’s claim of,  “80% of New York voters want the right to vote on marriage…” is this:
“80% of Rhode Islanders want the chance to vote on marriage…” from a NOM press release dated January 11, 2011, and this quote, which appeared in a One News Now article titled, “NY Republicans sell out on marriage vote.”
“The poll shows that 57 percent of New York voters believe marriage should be defined only as one man and one woman,” says Gallagher, “and that in addition, the vast majority — I think it was close to 60 percent — said that they think the people of New York should have the right to decide this issue, not the legislature.”
So, which is it?
Do an amazingly consistent 80% of New Yorkers and Rhode Islanders “want the right to vote on marriage?” Or is the number “close to 60 percent?,” Maggie? Or, is this number just made up? If there is a “poll,” is it a reputable, real, and accurate poll? Not like some others NOM has publicized.
Gallagher has not responded to a request for comment on this issue.
But wait, there’s more!
Gallagher’s NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, is fundraising on the “fact” that “New Yorkers Stand 10,000 Strong for Marriage!,” and, “By the time we reached the United Nations plaza, nearly 10,000 people were present,” referring to their anti-gay hate rally held in midtown Manhattan July 24, the day same-sex marriage became legal in New York state.
The NYPD puts the attendance at NOM’s anti-gay hate rally at 3000. That’s an official number obtained by The New Civil Rights Movement.
There’s a big difference between 3,000 and 10,000, and as we wrote a week ago, there’s a really big difference between 3,000 and 20,000. What’s 20,000? The number of confirmed protesters at NOM’s anti-gay hate rally in 2009.
Looks like the people are voting Maggie. Against you, NOM, and against anti-gay hate.
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