National Organization For Marriage NOM Uses Photoshop To Create Doctored Photos Showing Support For Repealing New Hampshire Gay Marriage

The National Organization For Marriage (NOM) is an anti-gay group that has gone to great lengths in hopes of ensuring that marriage remains between one man and one woman.

Lately its members have turned their attention to New Hampshire, where Republican lawmakers are working to repeal the 15-month old gay marriage law passed by the state's Legislature.

Though polls show that the citizens of New Hampshire are against the repeal by a 2-1 margin and Governor John Lynch says he'll veto the bill if it comes to his desk, NOM is toiling away trying to make people believe that the majority of the people in the state support the repeal.

How are they doing this? With the magic of Photoshop.

As the blog Good As You and Rachel Maddow pointed out yesterday, NOM has taken (at least) two photos of rallies held for now-President Obama and repurposed them to make it look like thousands of people are attending their anti-marriage events.

The first photo, featured on the NOM website, was taken from an Obama rally held in St. Louis in 2008. The second photo, Good As You notes, was used to make NOM President Brian Brown's speech look well attended but is actually from a rally where 60,000 people came out to see Obama in Columbus, Ohio, in 2008.

As Rachel Maddow said in the clip above, "Caught you!"

Comments

[duckpuddle]

01:31 PM on 10/28/2011

I went to the NOM site. The image discussed was removed. In my three minutes there I realized that we have essentially won the war. Their "single most important sentence" has a really narrow focus:

"Gays and Lesbians have a right to live as they choose, they don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us."

They conceded that homosexual relationships are legitimate and due equal benefits and other rights. They just want the term marriage reserved for their definition -- no court will buy that.

They are conceding DOMA being overturned by courts. Their count is Massachusetts and 12 more states. They propose a constitutional amendment "to settle the issue once and for all".

What is the constitutional amendment path if 13 states have already done an "end-run" around DOMA,? If this country couldn't pass an equal rights amendment, how could a marriage amendment pass?

They are also conceding that gay parents can be good parents: "“Two men might each be a good father, but neither can be a mom. "

Their whole point is that opposite-sex marriage is "ideal".

Like Rush Limbaugh, they are just hot air with diminishing clout. Yea.

[Kclaw]

11:49 PM on 10/27/2011

NOM certainly gives credence to the expression, "There's a sucker born every moment." Hopefully within my life time I will see hate organizations such as this, go the way of the dinosaur.

On another note, NOM is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center along with 17 others, bringing the total to 18. You can see it on their site here: http://splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/the-hard-liners

[neighborhoodmole]

11:01 PM on 10/27/2011

This reminds me of the vacation ad for some Caribbean country a couple of years ago that use a photo of a beach in Hawaii!

[Proud Bay Man]

09:58 PM on 10/27/2011

I am soooooo frigggin overwhelmingly jubilant that Rachel is on our side. She is such a smart cookie. I can think of no one on the other side that equals her very educated truth and honesty.

[Stacy Marston]

04:03 PM on 10/27/2011

lol this is just hilarious......sad, sad, sad

[nix28]

12:44 PM on 10/27/2011

Well, isn't this just pathetic? Typical, but still pathetic.

[MemphisHopJack]

12:38 PM on 10/27/2011

I am still amazed that NOM calls themselves the National Organization for Marriage.
(Should read Nat'l Org Against Gay Marriage).

If they were truly for marriage they should be helping people prevent divorce. Help fund marriage counseling, educate people to save their marriages.

Even the name of the organization is a lie.

As a side I propose a counter group called GNOME -- Gay National Organization for Marriage Equality. (it could be a "small" group).

[Maria Kovacs]

12:34 PM on 10/27/2011

This doesn't surprise me. In fact, I think I am sort of glad. The reason: The fact that they feel desperate enough to need to photo-shop followers tells me that a) our country is becoming more and more comfortable with marriage equality, 2) our country is becoming less and less comfortable with hate and discrimination and 3) that organizations like this are doomed. So, thanks NOM, for doing something stupid for the world to see, that actually DISPROVES what you are trying to convey. *tips hat*

[rextrek]

08:13 AM on 10/27/2011

Ohh NOM didnt want to show the REAL Truth - with pictures of all the 10's of people at thier Hate fests.

[xenas mom]

06:28 AM on 10/27/2011

It's rather creepily wonderful that they would use pictures from an Obama appearance--given that they seem to think he is at the very least the anti-Christ--to attempt to create a vibrant public image.

[belladonna005]

04:52 AM on 10/27/2011

What a bunch of marooooons

[Bob Kellerman]

03:52 AM on 10/27/2011

DESPERATE CONNIVING BY MORMON AND CATHOLIC GROUPS

WHO CAN'T LET GO OF TRYING TO MAKE 2011 INTO 1950

You can't control your membership if they are encouraged to THINK by outside events

[Mikeygr]

11:00 AM on 10/27/2011

F&F

[JakeHanson]

01:53 AM on 10/27/2011

Completely pathetic, but it's not the least bit surprising that NOM and the Church of Latter Day Snakes are in cahoots.

[Mindy Czech]

01:42 AM on 10/27/2011

For Christians who are supposed to follow the Ten Commandments, they sure lie a lot.

[Balancement]

11:14 AM on 10/27/2011

It's particularly a Mormon trait--just google "Mormon lying for the Lord."

[Mindy Czech]

07:44 PM on 10/27/2011

I know all about the lying for the lord thing. My cousin was brainwashed by the Mormons years ago, and I researched everything I could about them because it scared me. Luckily she got out of it, but it was nutso.

[TXanimal]

11:29 AM on 10/27/2011

Apparently, their god finds homosexuality more appalling than breaking one of the Big Ten, despite what it says in their book. Zero credibility.

[JTyroler]

12:06 AM on 10/27/2011

How long before NOM becomes listed as a hate group (or are they considered one now)? Perhaps other hate groups will start using NOM's tactics and we'll see websites showing tens of thousands of people of all colors attending a Klan rally.

[starrigavan]

12:45 AM on 10/27/2011

FOX News was caught using video from one demonstration to prove a Tea Party Rally was huge. Apparently FOX didn't think that anyone would notice that the trees in the mid-summer Tea Party Rally didn't have any leaves...

[unreligious]

01:27 PM on 10/27/2011

Well FOX did go to court to defend their right to lie (and won the case).

[Kclaw]

11:51 PM on 10/27/2011

@JTyroler - they are considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, along with 17 others: http://splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/the-hard-liners

[JTyroler]

01:05 AM on 10/28/2011

Thanks!