Like millions of Americans, I was able to see the absolute joy experienced by hundreds of gay and lesbian couples who are now able to legally marry in Washington, DC. I wept when I saw television reports of couples who have been together, some for decades, finally able to share in the joy and happiness afforded automatically to their straight brothers and sisters.
Hooray for the Washington, DC City Council and Mayor Fenty for allowing all its residents full equality under the law just like our founding fathers intended.
I cried with joy for all the young LGBTQ Americans who can clearly see that they are not inferior, but equal. I am thrilled that kids growing up now know that they can marry the person that they love in five enlightened states, and in our nation's capitol.
Hooray for our courageous leaders who stood up to bigotry and discrimination and did the right thing. They stood up to you and your army of paid henchmen who fight marriage equality tooth and nail every step of the way.
I don't have words to express my disgust toward you and all those you are fronting for at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). You have spent at least $25 million in just the past few years to try and undo the happiness of so many people. Hundreds of couples lined up in the cold and rain of Washington last Wednesday in order get a license so they could finally marry the one they love.
Why are you, all your financial backers and all your high-priced attorneys across the country hell-bent on destroying so many lives and hurting so many people, just as they are about to experience the happiest day of their lives?
What is so wrong with your life, that you make your living attempting to hurt so many others?
You preside over two extremely well funded organizations that portend to "protect marriage." You speak all over the county at marriage rallies. You are on TV all the time defending what you call the "sanctity of marriage." You have written books on marriage, one of which is even titled, The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better-Off Financially, yet NOM's Executive Director, Brian Brown and you viciously attack anyone who gets in your way.
Are You Even Married, Maggie?
No one has ever seen your husband. You attend countless marriage events, chock full of married couples, celebrating marriage, yet you always, always show up alone.
I had the displeasure of attending your recent presentation at the CATO Institute in Washington, DC. I was amazed to see that you don't wear a wedding ring. No rings on any fingers. Where is your alleged husband? Why no ring?
Just last year, NOM proudly said it spent over $8 million in a dozen states in your recently released "Investor's Report."
That doesn't even include the millions more in attorney's fees and money raised through your 501(c)3 charitable fund.
You fight people's happiness at the ballot box, state legislatures and through too many law suits to count.
Recently, NOM has lead the effort to undo the Washington, DC law through every means possible, including going to Congress, the courts, all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. Brian Brown's angry email from Friday states, "Don't believe the lies. It's not over in D.C. by any means."
Where Does All Your Money Come From?
You continually hide where all your millions come from on your extremely late or never reported federal income tax filings. You refuse to cooperate with the California and Maine Ethics Commissions (both of whom are currently investigating your National Organization for Marriage), and when these investigations began into your many campaign irregularities, you sued both states to stop their investigation in an attempt to intimidate those seeking the truth.
Anyone who dares to support equality becomes the victim of your venom and hate.
We will not be intimidated. We refuse to allow you, and all those paying your salary, to hurt any more young people.
We have enlisted our own army to fight NOM and you at every turn. We are dedicated to finding out the truth about you and the front group that you head. And we will not rest until your cover of secrecy and deceit is lifted.
And, BTW, why isn't ANY news broadcast, like CNN, asking explicitly WHY Gay Civil Rights must ALWAYS suffer through the indignity of a ballot vote of our bigoted neighbors and family members! Oh, and don't forget that NOM is flaunting Iowa's ethics violations, as well!
They've been waging a culture-war against us ever since for the past 30 years...the whole span of my life! Many of them want to see this country governed by Biblical law, which would require death for all Gay people and any unchaste women before marriage. Indeed, they HAVE been getting their religious views enforced into the law books! Incidentally, this would make for a GREAT topic for a documentary!!!
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/spring/holy-war
Of course, let's not underestimate Maggie in any way, as her rallying cry to her "Good Christian" acolytes is, "They will call you bigots!" despite the fact that Christians have been on the OPPOSITE side of civil rights since the very beginning! Amazing, then, how there can be a single African American Christian, then. Moreover, Maggie clearly believes that any and EVERY Gay-inclusive legislative act that protects us is a direct threat (literally) to her "peoples of faith" (ie. Christians). Don't forget, she is playing to her perceived "Christian majority" which believes that Christians should have the right by law to define what is and is not marriage! This is clear by her disingenuous statements that Civil Unions or Domestic partnerships are alright for us because, as she's said, "it's not discrimination to treat different things differently!" Yet....NOM has also fought to get CUs or DPs defeated at the ballot by the voters of each state through ad-campaigns!
Actually, Fred, Maggie apparently *is* married; however, her religion...(remembering that she's merely a "good Catholic girl" defending her religion's views of what constitutes a marriage and attempting to enforce those views into the secular laws of the USA upon each citizen, whether they want them or not)...is actually married to a Hindu whom, as far as I understand, is not a valid marriage within Catholicism; they will refuse to officiate over the marriage of a mixed couple, unless the non-Catholic converts! However (and here's the kicker), Maggie has never actually been seen wearing her wedding ring!!!
Though, what seriously bothered me was (and I'm shocked that no news outlets, like CNN, made a big deal about it), NOM Director, Brian Brown, actually called for the dismissal of the charter because it protects gay people! Yet...what he forgets (and seriously needs to remember, as with ALL opponents to marriage equality, is that what protects the LEAST of us, protects EVERYONE!
BTW, has anyone read this FASCINATING article by the Southern Poverty Law Center from a few years ago? It explains how this anti-Gay backlash transpired as a result of old white Christian males who did not like the direction their country was taking... First it was women demanding careers and a right to vote, than the African American community and segregation/ interracial marriage; and finally when the gays were demanding their rights, too, they slammed their foot down (collectively) and said, "ENOUGH!!!"
And hooray to you, Fred, for putting our fight so eloquently.