Tuesday, November 3, 2009

NOM Names

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has received a great deal of attention in the past for its involvement in the fight for same-sex marriage, but now Fred Karger, an advocate for same-sex marriage, wants to focus more individualized attention on NOM and its supporters. Last week, a federal district court judge ruled in a suit brought by Karger that NOM must release the names of the individual donors who have funded the Maine-based Stand for Marriage Campaign.

Maine voters are choosing whether to repeal a law passed this spring legalizing same-sex marriage. NOM has donated $1.6 million to the campaign. NOM has as of yet refused to release the names despite the federal district court decision. Though polls close in an hour in Maine, this issue will still be hotly debated after the election is over and the fate of the ballot measure has been decided.

NOM was originally based on Nassau Street, but it has since relocated to Philadelphia, though it left a one-person office in the Borough. Professor Robert George remains NOM’s chairman of the board.

5 comments:

Emily said...

Careful on your understanding of this story: this isn't the first time that NOM has been asked to disclose its donor lists in accordance with state campaign finance law--they're currently, IIRC, undergoing a similar suit in Iowa as well.

Also, the Washington Post reported in late August that NOM's executive director, Brian Brown, has relocated to DC from Philly, while their website still lists a Nassau St. address and 609 phone number. (If you call that number, you get voicemail.) It's pretty unclear where they're located at all.

This reluctance to comply with state law and disclose donors--or even be clear about where their offices are--gives me every reason to be deeply skeptical about NOM.

Miley Cyrus said...

Em - this might explain why they are reluctant:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103002868.html

AC said...

From the Associated Press:

Maine voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement a heartbreaking [no bias here!] defeat in New England, the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage.

Gay marriage has now lost in every single state - 31 in all - in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine - known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate - and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.

Yet, you know we're going to end up with gay marriage anyway, no matter what the voters want.

cassdawn said...

@AC "Yet, you know we're going to end up with gay marriage anyway, no matter what the voters want."

yes, because it should never be put to a vote. civil rights should not be voted on. if you had put the emancipation proclamation to a public referendum do you think it would have passed?

AC said...

Curious how it's always your pet projects that should "never be put up for a vote." Things you don't like, on the other hand, should have full scrutiny.

The elites who control the Democratic Party strongly support gay marriage even though it’s not uniformly supported among Democratic voters. The Democratic Party is much more a party controlled by the elites than is the Republican Party (which is not necessarily a good thing for Republicans if people like Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin start running things).

This difference between the Democratic and Republican parties demonstrate the superior power of the leftist elite. The leftist elite is able to use Democratic votes to enact policies that the Democratic voters don’t actually want. In contrast, the conservative elite panders to the dumb people in order to win elections.