Yes, Maggie Gallagher, You Have Blood on Your Hands

Rob Tisinai

March 27th, 2012

In late 2010, Maggie Gallagher responded to the epidemic of gay teen suicide by asking:

Do I have blood on my hands?

To no one’s surprise, her answer was No. But now, with the release of NOM’s confidential 2009 report to its Board, we can firmly tell her:

Yes, Maggie, you do have blood on your hands.

One bit of NOM’s strategy is getting special attention. As reported earlier today, in a section called, “Not a Civil Rights Project” NOM’s document states:

The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks…Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key to raising the costs of pushing gay marriage to its advocates and persuading the movement’s allies that advocates are unacceptably overreaching on this issue.

You read that right: NOM, while publicly calling for a civil dialog on marriage, privately pinned its hopes on fanning hostility between gays and blacks. Does that make you angry? Never mind; stupid question; of course it does. But don’t forget this:

Gays and blacks are not separate groups.

They overlap. And not just within society, but within families as well. NOM has committed up to $5,000,000 to fanning hostility not just between gay and black constituencies, gay and black neighborhoods, or gay and black churches, but between straight black parents and their young gay teens.

Let’s hope the strategists at NOM aren’t trying to rip families apart. Let’s hope it’s not their primary intention. But hostility is a flame, not a scalpel, and those who fan it can’t control who gets burned. NOM, apparently, must have decided that gay black teens are acceptable collateral damage. Or they were just blind to the concept. But now, let me remind you of this:

Parental acceptance is a major factor in preventing gay teen suicide.

The numbers are scary. And the research has just been reaffirmed. Even worse, the parents’ first reaction is key — not the delayed and considered reaction, once parents have had a chance to take a breath, but the immediate reaction, the one inflamed by NOM’s millions of dollars spent fanning hostility.

When Maggie faced the question of blood on her hands, she claimed she felt a “moral obligation” to find out whether it was true. Her moral obligation led her to detail every possible cause of suicide that directed attention away from NOM. It did not lead her to detail the millions of dollars she’d committed to fanning hostility between minority parents and their gay children.

For Maggie, I guess, that just wasn’t a moral question.

Steve

March 27th, 2012

Don’t forget the part where they planned to hire someone full-time (to the tune of 60k dollars) to find children willing to publicly condemn their gay parents.

No idea if they actually went through with it, but if they did, they didn’t find any

Paul Mc

March 27th, 2012

I so look forward to Brian Brown’s first mainstream TV interview where he tries to defend the charge that looking for the kids of gay parents is not only deeply unethical but also very very creepy and possibly illegal.

Now let’s find their donors and put the same charges to them.

Nathan F

March 27th, 2012

This post is WAY more caustic than NOM’s strategy regarding communities of color. Blood on Maggie Gallagher’s hands? Can we please tone down the rhetoric and have a civil discussion of marriage equality?

Personally, I don’t see much difference between NOM’s outreach strategy to the black community and HRC’s outreach strategy to the religious community (or to communities of color or to youth).

The only thing I find really shocking and morally upsetting about the NOM papers (besides their typical disregard for the rights and dignity of LGBT people) is, as Steve pointed out, trying to pay children to condemn their gay parents.

Rob Tisinai

March 27th, 2012

Nathan, I did not introduce the rhetoric of blood on Maggie’s hands. That’s the conversation as she set it up.

Your question about having “a civil discussion of marriage equality” is exactly the point. NOM asks for that again and again. It would be a great way to proceed. But when they commit money to “fanning hostility” we have to deal with that head on.

Leave A Comment

All comments reflect the opinions of commenters only. They are not necessarily those of anyone associated with Box Turtle Bulletin. Comments are subject to our Comments Policy.

(Required)
(Required, never shared)

PLEASE NOTE: All comments are subject to our Comments Policy.

 

Latest Posts

The Things You Learn from the Internet

"The Intel On This Wasn't 100 Percent"

From Fake News To Real Bullets: This Is The New Normal

NC Gov McCrory Throws In The Towel

Colorado Store Manager Verbally Attacks "Faggot That Voted For Hillary" In Front of 4-Year-Old Son

Associated Press Updates "Alt-Right" Usage Guide

A Challenge for Blue Bubble Democrats

Baptist Churches in Dallas, Austin Expelled Over LGBT-Affirming Stance

Featured Reports

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate

When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.

Paul Cameron’s World

In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.

From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”

On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.

Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"

The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths

At last, the truth can now be told.

Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!

And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.

Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?

Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.

Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples

Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.

The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing

Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.

Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count

Daniel FettyThe FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.