Maggie Gallagher

Two groups opposed to gay marriage are cheering a federal judge's ruling upholding Nevada's gay marriage ban. Two groups opposed to gay marriage are cheering a federal judge's ruling upholding Nevada's gay marriage ban. U.S. District Chief Judge Robert Jones on Thursday ruled against plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of Nevada's ban. In Sevick v. Sandoval, Jones, a George W. Bush appointee, found that gay men and lesbians do not qualify for protections under the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause because they have not historically faced discrimination. ?Homosexuals have not historically been denied the right to vote, the right to serve on juries, or the right to own property,? Jones wrote. Jones also cited recent victories at the ballot box for supporters of marriage equality. ?It simply cannot be seriously maintained, in light of these and other recent democratic victories, that homosexuals do not have the ability to protect themselves from discrimination through democr

A new poll released Wednesday found foes of a gay marriage law in Washington state gaining ground. A new poll released Wednesday found foes of a gay marriage law in Washington state gaining ground. Referendum 74 asks voters to either uphold or reject a marriage law approved by lawmakers. Previous polls showed the measure winning with a comfortable margin. But the new statewide Elway Poll brought bad news for supporters, finding Referendum 74's lead had dwindled down to just 4 percentage points ? 49-45 percent. ?We have gained 10 points since last month's poll and are within 4 points and closing in: The other side is under 50 percent for the first time,? Rev. Joe Fuiten, senior pastor at Cedar Park Assembly of God Church, wrote on his Facebook page. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of marriage equality, said she wasn't surprised by the results. ?I've seen this kind of swing against gay marriage before, and I would sa

A goodbye letter from a father to this son James has gone viral on the Internet. ??A goodbye letter from a father to this son James has gone viral on the Internet. In the letter, the father tells his son that their life together is ?in the past? now that he has come out gay. A copy of the letter was originally uploaded to Reddit. It gained momentum after Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor posted it on his Facebook profile. ?James: This is a difficult but necessary letter to write.? ?I hope your telephone call was not to receive my blessing for the degrading of your lifestyle. I have fond memories of our times together, but that is all in the past.? ?You made your choice though wrong it may be. God did not intend for this unnatural lifestyle. If you choose not to attend my funeral, my friends and family will understand.? It is signed: ?Goodbye, Dad.? In uploading the letter, Reddit user RegBarc said he received the letter five years ago after he came out to his father. ?It's important t

Bishop Gene Robinson and Dr. John Corvino will debate Dr. Rob Gagnon and Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse on gay marriage. Bishop Gene Robinson and Dr. John Corvino will join Dr. Robert Gagnon and Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse on a panel on gay marriage taking place Sunday, July 29 at San Diego's Skyline Church. Robinson is the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. He resides in New Hampshire. Wayne State University Professor John Corvino co-authored Debating Same-Sex Marriage with Maggie Gallagher, a former president and chairman of the board of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). They will argue in favor of gay nuptials. On the other side will be Gagnon, an Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and Morse, the president and founder of the Ruth Institute, a project of NOM. Gagnon has written extensively on the biblical view of homosexuality and has a history of linking homosexuality to pedophilia, promoting ?ex-gay? therapy and condemning being g

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has been charged with 'propagating known falsehoods' about gay people. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has been charged with ?propagating known falsehoods? about gay people. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) chides NOM, the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, in the Summer 2012 edition of its Intelligence Report. In a story titled National Organization for Marriage Continues to Spread Lies About Gays, SPLC's Mark Potok and Evelyn Schlatter make their allegations. ?For more than a year now, gay rights activists have alleged that NOM is playing a shell game, avoiding the most egregiously false defamations of gay people on its own website, but linking directly to others who don?t. The charge had enough impact that Maggie Gallagher ? who co-founded NOM in 2007, is past chairwoman of the board, and remains a key NOM spokeswoman ? felt forced to respond.? ?Maggie Gallagher and [NOM president] Brian Brown have repea

Nearly 75 percent of voters say a candidate's position on gay marriage is not 'very important' to their vote. ?Nearly 75 percent of voters say a candidate's position on gay marriage is not ?very important? to their vote. What is important to voters during this election cycle is the economy and jobs, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. ?More than eight-in-ten voters say the economy (86%) and jobs (84%) are very important issues in deciding who to vote for this fall,? pollsters said in releasing their findings. ?Roughly three-quarters also cite the federal deficit (74%), health care (74%) and education as top voting priorities.? Gay marriage ranked dead last at 28 percent. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, brushed aside the poll's findings. ?Social issues are always further down the of voters' concerns, below jobs, the economy, getting blown u

HRC and Freedom to Marry on Tuesday called on Roman Catholic bishops to stop supporting gay marriage foe NOM. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Freedom to Marry on Tuesday called on Roman Catholic bishops to stop supporting the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage. In a letter to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the groups cited NOM's recently revealed strategy to pit minority groups against gay marriage supporters in their plea. ?Last week, HRC uncovered a series of documents that shed light on the racially and ethnically divisive strategies and tactics used by NOM,? the letter reads. ?The documents reveal that NOM's key goals are to 'drive a wedge between gays and blacks,' and to manipulate Hispanic communities by 'making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity' and 'to make opposition to gay marriage an identity marker, a badge of youth rebellion to conformis

R. Clarke Cooper has called on Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to repudiate NOM's marriage pledge. R. Clarke Cooper, the executive director of the gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans, has called on Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to repudiate a pledge from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) each signed promising to work against gay marriage. The GOP presidential candidates signed the group's 5-point pledge last summer. In on op-ed published Tuesday by the Washington Times, Cooper criticized recent revelations that the group was working on a strategy to pit minorities against supporters of marriage equality. ?NOM put explicit plans to exploit racial divisions on paper,? Cooper wrote. ?'The strategy goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks.' Regarding immigrants, 'We must interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity.' NOM's ultimate agenda? 'Fanning the hostility' between L

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) tapped Republican Rep. Steve King to spearhead its efforts in Iowa to repeal gay marriage. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) tapped Republican Rep. Steve King to spearhead its efforts in Iowa to repeal gay marriage, the Des Moines Register reported. In internal memos unsealed last month in the course of NOM's ongoing legal challenge to Maine's campaign reporting laws, the group mentions King's name repeatedly, saying he would ?lay out a plan.? The group wrote in connection with Iowa and New Hampshire: ?We expect to force presidential contenders to deal with the issue, and since we know these are generally pro-marriage states, we anticipate pro-marriage candidates to do well and thus influence the U.S. presidential races in 2012.? The paper noted that NOM President Brian Brown said with a hint of sarcasm: ?The mask is off. We want to elect a president who believes marriage is a union of a man and a woman.? Brown added that King ?ha

A Mitt Romney state political action committee gave $10,000 to the anti-gay marriage group National Organization for Marriage (NOM). ?A Mitt Romney state political action committee gave $10,000 to the anti-gay marriage group National Organization for Marriage (NOM). According to documents released Friday by gay rights advocate Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Free & Strong America PAC Alabama, a state-level PAC that has raised and distributed money on behalf of Romney, made the donation in 2008. At the time, NOM was working to approve Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban. Internal documents released this week in connection to a Maine court case outline NOM's strategy to pit minority groups against supporters of gay marriage. ?Mitt Romney's funding of a hate-filled campaign designed to drive a wedge between Americans is beyond despicable,? said HRC President Joe Solmonese. ?Not only has Romney signed NOM's radical marriage pledge, now we know he's one of the donors that NOM has

Maggie Gallagher of NOM has defended memos which reveal that the group pursued a strategy to pit minorities against gay marriage supporters. ?Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) on Friday defended memos which reveal that the group pursued a strategy to pit minorities against gay marriage supporters. Appearing on MSNBC, Gallagher said, ?I don't apologize for any of them,? in reference to roughly 15 projects the group outlined in 2009. One project titled Not a Civil Right sought to ?drive a wedge between gays and blacks ? two key Democratic constituencies? and establish opposition to marriage equality as ?a key badge of the Latino identity ? a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation.? Another sought to ?recruit glamorous but unintelligent celebrities? to their cause. Gallagher denied her group used race in its efforts against marriage equality. ?It's insulting to suggest that these African-American or Latino leaders are standing up because NOM is m

Televangelist Pat Robertson and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) on Friday were added to GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project. Televangelist Pat Robertson and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) on Friday were added to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's (GLAAD) Commentator Accountability Project (CAP). GLAAD earlier this month debuted the project with 36 conservatives, most of whom are frequent guests on cable and network news programs and are often quoted in the mainstream media. ?Both NOM and Pat Robertson this week further exposed the depths to which they are willing to go to turn Americans against their LGBT friends, family, co-workers and neighbors,? said GLAAD spokesperson Herndon Graddick. ?If the media is going to include the voices of NOM or Robertson in any story about LGBT people, it has the responsibility to inform its audience about who these people truly are, and the insidious tactics they employ to derail equality for every America

Social conservatives listed in a just-launched online repository of anti-gay rhetoric have condemned the project. Social conservatives listed in a just-launched online repository of anti-gay rhetoric have condemned the project. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's (GLAAD) Commentator Accountability Project (CAP) highlights the anti-gay rhetoric of frequent media commentators. ?The Commentator Accountability Project is bringing all of these statements to light, while calling attention to the sentiments behind them,? the project's description reads. ?We will show that the commentators who are most often asked to opine on issues like marriage equality or non-discrimination protections do not accurately represent the 'other side' of those issues. They represent nothing but extreme animus toward the entire LGBT community.? The project currently lists 36 conservatives who have railed against gay rights. Many of those listed are frequent guests on cable and network news programs an

'Glee' co-stars Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison discussed gay rights on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premier of '8'. ?Glee co-stars Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison discussed gay rights on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premier of 8, a play based on the trial over the constitutionality of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8. 8, which was written by Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black, raised more than $2 million in its Los Angeles premier, more than double what it raised during its Broadway premier. (Watch the reading here.) (Related: George Clooney says gay marriage no longer a wedge issue.) In the reading, Lynch portrayed Maggie Gallagher, the former chairwoman of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), while Morrison played plaintiff Paul Katami, the partner of Jeff Zarrillo. Colfer played Ryan Kendall, a young man who testified during the trial on his experience being sent by his parents to ?reparative therapy? as a teenager. In an inter

Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has claimed that a gay marriage law in Maryland. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has claimed that a gay marriage law in Maryland is primarily about Democratic leaders lining their campaign coffers. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed the bill approved by lawmakers into law during a ceremony surrounded by supporters held in Annapolis on Thursday. O'Malley, who had championed the bill in his annual State of the State address and at committee hearings on the issue, said he supported marriage equality because he felt the state had an obligation to protect the children of gay couples equally. ?We are one Maryland and all of us at the end of the day want the same things for our children. We want them to live in a loving, caring and committed home that is protected equally under the law,? O'Malley told supporters at Thursday's event. NOM, the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage

Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has claimed that a gay marriage law in Maryland. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has claimed that a gay marriage law in Maryland is primarily about Democratic leaders lining their campaign coffers. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed the bill approved by lawmakers into law during a ceremony surrounded by supporters held in Annapolis on Thursday. O'Malley, who had championed the bill in his annual State of the State address and at committee hearings on the issue, said he supported marriage equality because he felt the state had an obligation to protect the children of gay couples equally. ?We are one Maryland and all of us at the end of the day want the same things for our children. We want them to live in a loving, caring and committed home that is protected equally under the law,? O'Malley told supporters at Thursday's event. NOM, the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage

Maggie Gallagher has said that Rick Santorum's opposition to gay marriage is helping his presidential campaign. Maggie Gallagher has said that Rick Santorum's opposition to gay marriage is helping his presidential campaign. Gallagher, the founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, discussed Santorum's recent rise in the polls as it relates to the issue of gay marriage during an Aljazeera segment which also included Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Michael Cole-Schwartz and the Pew Research Center's David Masci. Masci said that Americans are nearly divided on the issue. ?It's gone from a clear majority against same-sex marriage to essentially a divided country on this issue,? Masci said via satellite. Cole-Schwartz said that while opposition to gay nuptials was playing well for GOP candidates during the primary, it wouldn't during the general election. ?Michael I just think you're living in a dream world if you think it's

Kevin Bacon, Chris Colfer and John C. Reilly have joined the cast of the Los Angeles premiere of the play '8'. ?Kevin Bacon, Chris Colfer and John C. Reilly have joined the cast of the Los Angeles premiere of the play 8. 8, which was written by Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is based on the trial over the constitutionality of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8. The 13-day trial held last year in San Francisco resulted in federal Judge Vaughn Walker, now retired, declaring the ban unconstitutional. A federal appeals court earlier this month upheld Walker's ruling. ?People need to witness what happened in the Proposition 8 trial, if for no other reason than to see inequality and discrimination unequivocally rejected in a court of law where truth and facts matter,? said Black in a statement. ?I've built my career around exposing and uncovering 'the real story.' The goal of 8 is to show the world that marriage equality is a basic constitutional right and that those who wou

Cynthia Nixon's comment on whether being gay is a choice has been used to support 'ex-gay' therapy. Cynthia Nixon's comment on whether being gay is a choice has been used to support ?ex-gay? therapy. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) used the comment in discussing the gay community's opposition to ?ex-gay? therapy, which attempts to ?cure? gay men and lesbians. ?I think honestly, partly, it's that personally, people still find it quite painful to come to terms with being gay and the way they do it is by saying, 'I'm born that way,' 'God made me that way.' So it becomes part of their identity structure for coping with what was probably initially not very happy feelings about it,? Gallagher told EqualityMatters.org. ?There are a lot of women who will tell you that they made a choice to be a lesbian. In fact, some famous celebrity just did this.? Nixon, a co-star of the HBO series Sex and the City, told The New York Times that being gay, for her, is a choice

NOM's Maggie Gallagher has denied there is a correlation between opposition to gay marriage and suicide rates among gay teens. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has denied there is a correlation between opposition to gay marriage and suicide rates among gay teens. Under Gallagher's leadership, NOM backed passage of Proposition 8, which put an end to the weddings of gay and lesbian couples taking place in California after the state Supreme Court legalized the institution. A federal appeals court last week declared Prop 8 unconstitutional. Appearing on RT's The Big Picture, Gallagher disagreed with host Thom Hartmann's opinion that opposition to gay marriage played a role in the suicide rates of gay teens. ?I actually took the trouble to look at whether gay marriage reduces gay teen suicide rates and I don't think that's going to turn out to be true,? Gallagher said. ?I don't think it's a matter of gay marriage. I think it's a matter of acceptance,? Hartman