National Organization for Marriage Announces New Board Chair

The National Organization for Marriage announced on Thursday, Sept. 21, that John Eastman has been appointed chair of the organization's board of directors.

Eastman, the former dean of the Chapman University Law School, is the founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence. NOM President Brian Bond described Eastman as "one of America's foremost constitutional scholars" who has proven 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," added Bond in a statement that announced Eastman's appointment. "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."

Eastman succeeds Maggie Gallagher as chair of NOM's Board of Directors.

"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," said Gallagher, who will remain on NOM's Board. "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."

Maggie goes to Concord

The National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher was among those who testified before the New Hampshire House’s Judiciary Committee today in support of two bills that would repeal the state’s marriage equality law.

One source described the NOM lightning rod in particularly unflattering terms as he described today’s proceedings in Concord, but it is important to note hundreds of marriage equality advocates also turned out for the hearing. I would also like to add my mother, who lives in Manchester, to the discussion. Don’t politicians have anything better to do than to stop someone from getting married? Sometimes mothers definitely know best!

Maggie Gallagher does Georgetown

It is entirely logical to describe Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage as pleasant in personal interactions, but her rhetoric strongly suggests an entirely different reality.

Gallagher and gay blogger Andrew Sullivan sparred last night at Georgetown University. She provided an abundance of sound bites about the need for a mother and a father to raise their child, the necessity to uphold the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings on marriage and even LGBT teenager suicides. Gallagher, however, dodged this reporter’s question about how a same-sex couple’s marriage could possibly impact her own relationship with her husband.

“I don’t believe it is about me; it’s about my children,” she said.

If Maggie truly believes marriage equality has absolutely no impact on the relationship she has with her husband, she can surely provide a coherent explanation about why NOM continues to support efforts that seek to enshrine discrimination against loving and committed couples. Gays and lesbians (and everyone else for that matter) are certainly interested in her explanation.

New York activists, politicians scoff at marriage threats

As activists and politicians prepare for a possible marriage vote in the New York State Senate by the end of the year, they continue to scoff at the primary challenge threats the National Organization for Marriage has made against any Republican Senator who supports the bill.

Attached is a link to the article I posted to EDGE earlier this morning that contains an interview with state Sen. Tom Duane [D-Manhattan] and others. Maine's successful marriage referendum has certainly energized and even emboldened NOM and other like-minded groups. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington further disclosed yesterday it could not continue to fund the various social programs if the District's lawmakers do not change a proposed law that would allow marriage for gays and lesbians.

These are obviously only threats until they are actually put into practice, but these claims certainly prove anti-marriage groups continue to try to go on the offensive in the wake of Maine.

Stay tuned...

Iowa and Maine investigate National Organization for Marriage

As the National Organization for Marriage and their allies continue to push for a repeal of nuptials for gays and lesbians in Iowa and Maine, ethics commissions in both states have called upon NOM to answer questions about those who fund their campaigns.

The Iowa Ethics and Commission Disclosure Board made the request to NOM in an Aug. 27 letter. And the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices wrote Stand for Marriage Maine PAC Treasurer Joseph Keaney and NOM executive director Brian Brown on the same day.

The much broader question is obviously why NOM and its supporters feel the need to overturn both the Iowa Supreme Court decision in April and the passage of legislation in Augusta in early May that extended marriage to same-sex couples in both states. The specific concerns, however, revolves around the role the Mormon Church, the Diocese of Portland [Maine] and other religious organizations continue to play in the anti-marriage campaigns in both states, and even allegations of money laundering. These questions are indeed disturbing, if not at all surprising.