Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJuly 29th, 2010
Brian Brown has struck up the orchestra and started in on his song and dance routine. You know the one.
(hands on chest) Oh woe is me, I’m so bullied, so abused.
(arms outstreched) Oh can’t you see how badly I’ve been used?
(hands up to God) I treat those vile maggots with love and with care.
(hands clutched) And just cuz I want to take away their rights, they say that I’m not fair.
Really. Me!! It’s truuuuuue.
(all together on the chorus)
Send money.
Send money.
You know that they’re evil, so full of sin
and if you don’t send me cash, then they’re gunna win!
So send money, more mu-uh-ney.
Cuz if you send money I can keep my job.
His latest letter out to his supporters is, frankly, disgusting. But if follows the pattern that the National Organization for Marriage has used since Brian became its face:
* Claim to be a victim
* Use offensive language to demonize gay folk
* Claim gay folk are intolerant
* Lie about his support (double the crowd)
* Use more demeaning and offensive language to demean gay folk
* Suggest that gay folk are all in a conspiracy
* Beg for money
(disclaimer – the money you send to support this event will be used for other purposes)
Brown’s best over-the-top – and least honest – paragraphs are:
I thought I had heard and seen it all, but the radicals reached a new low yesterday in Madison, Wisconsin. NOM and its supporters gathered peacefully in Madison to pray for marriage and to stand in support of marriage remaining a sacred union between men and women.
We were honored to have Bishop Robert Morlino of the Diocese of Madison address the crowd. Bishop Morlino spoke of the need to love one another even as we disagree on the issue of same-sex marriage. Yet when he led the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer, the gay marriage radicals screamed and booed him.
I’ve now watched two videos of that segment of the rally – both the unedited and NOM’s edited version – and the truth is that the counter protesters closest to the rally didn’t scream and those who were further away and couldn’t hear what was going on chanted “hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia’s got to go.”
Personally, as readers know, I prefer the silent treatment. It is effective in making our presence known without giving them video. And most know that I consider myself a Christian. But guess what: I am not obligated to honor or respect the prayers of those who are calling out on God to miraculouosly take away my rights. Those are not holy prayers or worthy of respect.
Entire fundraising letter after the break
By now, you’ve heard all about the incredible display of intolerance from supporters of gay marriage.
They’ve come to our peaceful marriage rallies in city after city to harass and intimidate us. We’ve seen men harass a nursing mother, refusing her request to feed her children in private and instead stare at her and block her ability to watch our rally from a safe distance. We’ve seen protestors draped in the rainbow flag storm the stage and scream, red-faced into the microphone to prevent our speakers from talking. We’ve seen them bait a five year old child, asking her if she’s being raised by her mother to be a bigot. We’ve even heard a gay marriage supporter threaten to kidnap a child in attendance at a rally.
I thought I had heard and seen it all, but the radicals reached a new low yesterday in Madison, Wisconsin. NOM and its supporters gathered peacefully in Madison to pray for marriage and to stand in support of marriage remaining a sacred union between men and women.
We were honored to have Bishop Robert Morlino of the Diocese of Madison address the crowd. Bishop Morlino spoke of the need to love one another even as we disagree on the issue of same-sex marriage. Yet when he led the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer, the gay marriage radicals screamed and booed him.
Watch the video here.
This is the face of intolerance. Isn’t it something when people who so loudly demand tolerance from everybody else, show such intolerance for those who simply wish to pray to God for the preservation of His sacred institution?
The NOM Summer for Marriage Tour started out as a simple exercise to bring together supporters of marriage across the country to rally in support of an institution that we hold dear, something that has served society well since before there even was a society. And we’ve done that with hundreds of supporters across the country joining our tour, and tens of thousands joining our bus tour online.
But something else has happened along the way — the people of America are seeing for the first time with their own eyes how radical our opponents truly are. These people who scream at our supporters, mock priests, taunt children and boo the Lord’s Prayer are the very same people who, with a straight face, promise that they would never force their values on us if America would only legalize gay marriage.
Their lies have been laid bare for the world to see. And the world is watching it backfire on them. Last week alone, over 1.3 million people read about the gay radicals on Facebook. Millions more watched news reports and read about their antics in various news publications. Today in St. Paul, we had one of our largest rallies to date, with between 200 and 250 supporters coming out to stand for marriage. And rather than the protests dampening turnout, I’ve lost count how many people have come up to me to say that they came to the rally because they saw the videos of the protestors and are more determined than ever to stand up for marriage.
To say that the display of anger and intolerance has been a public relations disaster for the gay marriage movement is the understatement of the century. That’s why two gay marriage groups yesterday attempted embarrassing efforts at “spin control” to try to deflect the public’s attention away from what is happening at the marriage rallies.
Yesterday, the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement claiming the Summer for Marriage tour was an elaborate stunt designed to draw “lawful protestors” who are wrongly being portrayed by “made-up stories of as harassment.” Their problem, of course, is the video evidence that we have of screaming gay marriage radicals storming the podium and harassing nursing mothers and booing a Catholic Bishop leading a group in the Lord’s Prayer.
Do these look like “made up stories of harassment” to you? Unfortunately for the Human Rights Campaign, these are the faces of what the future will look like for anyone who opposes same-sex marriage. Groups like HRC and their supporters will use the full force of the law — lawsuits, legislation, regulations and even public intimidation and harassment — to force their vision and values on the American people. This is becoming more and more clear to America with every passing tour stop.
The group “Freedom to Marry” issued their own statement yesterday, but they apparently forgot to coordinate their message of the day with HRC. Instead of accusing us of “made up stories of harassment” this group showed a repulsive picture of someone whose sign featured a noose, implying that homosexuals should be put to death. They went on to “demand” that NOM repudiate this “incitement to violence.” We’d treat this call seriously if it weren’t such a contrived stunt.
First of all, NOM has already repudiated this display of intolerance — and did so on the spot (not through a press release). We demanded this individual to take down his sign, because it was inconsistent with NOM’s aims, methods, and message: We come together in love to support marriage as one man and one woman.
Second, at every rally we make it clear that our fight is not with gay Americans, it is with a bad idea. The Lord teaches us that we are to love all His children. We approach the issue of marriage from the perspective of love. You can watch video of NOM’s Chair, Maggie Gallagher, making this point here.
[OK. I have to break in here. “in love”?? Your fight is not with gay Americans? Is that so?
Then why is this letter full of “the radicals reached a new low”, “gay marriage radicals”, “This is the face of intolerance”, and “screaming gay marriage radicals”? Your message is the very antithesis of love]
Our opponents are becoming more and more desperate as they watch their carefully scripted narrative of same-sex marriage crumble before the eyes of the American people.
We need your help to continue our successful Summer for Marriage tour and to continue to publicize this issue. If the tour is coming to a city near you, please come to show your support. We need all our supporters to rally around the cause, especially in these trying times. Visit http://www.marriagetour2010.com for all the latest tour information.
We also need your financial help to continue the tour. This is a costly and difficult tour to organize and implement. We have to feed, house and transport staff and volunteers in nearly two-dozen cities — not to mention the cost of preparing, securing and keeping the bus and support vehicles on the road for the month-long tour. Please make a special contribution today to enable us to bear all the expenses of this historic tour.
There’s no doubt that God is working a wondrous thing with the Summer for Marriage tour. We are changing hearts and minds across America. People are rallying to our side. Please keep us in your prayers, and remember us with a financial gift as well.May God bless you and your family.
Faithfully,
Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for MarriageContributions or gifts to the National Organization for Marriage, a 501(c)(4) organization with QNC status, are not tax-deductible. The National Organization for Marriage does not accept contributions from business corporations, labor unions, foreign nationals, or federal contractors; however, it may accept contributions from federally registered political action committees. Donations may be used for political purposes such as supporting or opposing candidates. No funds will be earmarked or reserved for any political purpose.
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MJ
July 29th, 2010
Here are my thoughts on the matter:
It really is such a shame that there’s no perspective here. I mean, people getting angry because there’s a bunch of people who hate them, hate their partners, hate their families? That doesn’t make any sense! People getting angry because various Christian groups want to relegate them to second class citizen, call them evil and sinners, and remove or block all legal protections for them? All because they don’t love “the right gender”? Absolutely right! Christianese is used skillfully in this letter to mask their true intention.
I mean, sure I understand their need to raise funds, and I even understand their fear. But if they could see the harm they are causing in perpetrating hatred of regular everyday people whose behaviour doesn’t affect them, I wonder if then they’d stop.
I grew up surrounded by this kind of homophobia and I remember gay people being vilified, and not thinking about it for myself or even thinking of gay people as real everyday people. I wonder how many of these Christians are stuck in that same situation. My feeling is that there are a lot of Christians who oppose marriage equality because they’ve never thought about it for themselves.
I wonder how much of this homophobia is to promote an “us” vs “them” mentality in an attempt to raise money.
MJ
July 29th, 2010
Also, whenever I hear “NOM”, I can’t help but think “om nom nom” for some reason. :)
Richard Rush
July 29th, 2010
I’ve been thinking that the National Organization “for” Marriage needs some retooling, and I’m here to help.
They need a new name/acronym that is more truly expressive of their goals, their values, their tactics, and who they are. Rational people understand that NOM doesn’t exist to be FOR anything. Everyone agrees that marriage should include the union of a man and a woman, so there is no need for a campaign to promote the idea. No, NOM is AGAINST marriage for some tax-paying American citizens.
One name/acronym I propose is
Sanctimonious Christians Against Marriage (SCAM).
As a Christian-based organization, why would they want to keep Christ hidden (the way Maggie does with her Hindu husband)?
There are some other options, though:
If they want to broaden their appeal, they could go with
Sectarian Coalition Against Marriage (SCAM).
Or to be more expressive of their founding roots, they could go with
Super Catholics Against Marriage (SCAM).
I’m sure there are more good options, but I wanted to get the process started.
Priya Lynn
July 29th, 2010
MJ said “I mean, sure I understand their need to raise funds”.
They don’t need to raise finds. They have a desire to, but no need – their cause is entirely unnecessary.
Regan DuCasse
July 29th, 2010
I had a moment of spewing my coffee on my keyboard when Brian Brown invoked the civil rights movement as comparable to what he’s ‘fighting’ for.
Completely forgetting that said movement was about EXPANDING rights for suspect minorities, not taking them away.
And that veterans of that movement like Coretta King, Julian Bond, Andrew Young and Rep. John Lewis support marriage equality…as did the woman whose name is on the precedent for it, Mildred Loving.
Brian Brown, you’re unbelievable in your arrogance and cowardice and no one, should have to pay a price for it.
Rob Tisinai
July 30th, 2010
If they have video of the mother being harassed, they should release it. All I’ve seen from them is an interview with the mother ex post facto (exp post fictio?)
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