Box Turtle Bulletin

Did Justice Ginsberg Set the Supreme Court Up to Allow Marriage Equality?

That’s the intriguing possibility that The New York Times’ Adam Liptak raised today. It all hinges on the opinion she wrote for Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law was constitutionally permitted to deny funding to the Christian Legal Society because the group’s policies violated the schools anti-discrimination policies. Actually, Liptak’s optimism hinges not on the entire opinion, but on one single sentence in that opinion:

“Our decisions have declined to distinguish between status and conduct in this context.”

Liptak thinks he sees a technique used by former Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.:

“Brennan’s colleagues learned to watch for the seemingly innocuous casual statement or footnote — seeds that would be exploited to their logical extreme in a later case,” Seth Stern and Stephen Wermiel wrote in a new biography of the justice to be published in October.

Justice Ginsburg’s bland talk about status and conduct was significant because courts are more apt to protect groups whose characteristics are immutable. Calling sexual orientation a status may not require the conclusion that being gay is immutable rather than a choice, but it certainly suggests it.

There was something broader going on, too, said Suzanne B. Goldberg, a law professor at Columbia.

“The court is talking about gay people, not homosexuals, and about people who have a social identity rather than a class of people who engage in particular sex acts,” Professor Goldberg said.

That’s very significant. Previous court decisions talked about gay people as a collection of behaviors and little more. This case marked a small but important change. But the stakes are much bigger when it comes to marriage equality, and that’s a lot of weight for a single sentence to carry going forward. Let’s hope it doesn’t buckle.

Update: BTB’s Timothy Kincaid noted this very same thing in his analysis of the Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. You can blame my short attention span for the omission.

Mississippi School District Settles With Lesbian Student Over Cancelled Prom

Fulton, Mississippi’s nickname of “the world’s cruelest town” was well-earned when Itawamba Agricultural High School student Constance McMillen was denied her prom. When the school learned that Constance planned to bring her girlfriend to the prom, they canceled it. Then parents organized a private prom and at first refused to tell her where it was taking place. Then they invited her to that private prom at the country club, only to organize a double-secret private prom elsewhere. This left Constance and her girlfriend with a half dozen developmentally disabled students at the country club wondering where everyone went.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the school district over this outrageous behavior by so-called adults. Today the ACLU announced a settlement:

Itawamba County School District officials agreed to have a judgment entered against them in the case of a recent high school graduate who sued her school for canceling the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend. The agreement ends a precedent-setting lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 18-year-old Constance McMillen, who suffered humiliation and harassment after parents, students and school officials executed a cruel plan to put on a “decoy” prom for her while the rest of her classmates were at a private prom 30 miles away.

“I’m so glad this is all over. I won’t ever get my prom back, but it’s worth it if it changes things at my school,” said McMillen, who was harassed so badly by students blaming her for the prom cancellation that she had to transfer to another high school to finish her senior year. “I hope this means that in the future students at my school will be treated fairly. I know there are students and teachers who want to start a gay-straight alliance club, and they should be able to do that without being treated like I was by the school.”

As set forth in documents filed in court today, school officials agreed to implement a policy banning discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the first policy to do so at a public school in the state of Mississippi. The school also agreed to pay McMillen $35,000 in damages and pay for McMillen’s attorneys’ fees.

The Ethics of Outing Politicians

I am generally not a huge fan of outing, but I do make a particular exception for politicians, particularly when they vote against the interests and rights of a community in which they secretly enjoy the, err, benefits from. And so my reaction to the outing of Rep. Mark Kirk by LGBT advocate Mike Rogers was quite the opposite of Timothy’s. I do believe that when a politician who has, in the past, voted against the LGBT community and is subsequently revealed to be gay himself, that political figure then faces a critical crossroads. He can either step into a more honest relationship with his voters and himself, and in the process free himself to truly vote his conscience (i.e. former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe), or he can continue to deny to himself and his constituents the truth behind his anti-gay voting record and reap the consequences of reduced credibility (i.e. former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig).

Another more recent outing — this time a sort of an involuntary self-outing — provides the perfect example of why we need politicians who are honest with themselves as they are with their voters. California state Senator Roy Ashburn, who came stumbling out of the closet following a DUI arrest after leaving an Sacramento gay bar, had been a reliable vote against bills to protect the LGBT community. After he was outed, his voting record started to change toward the pro-gay side of the ledger.

Yesterday, Sen. Ashburn apologized for his prior votes and described how the imperative of protecting the closet superseded all other public policy considerations:

I should begin with an apology. I am sincerely sorry for the votes I cast and the actions I took that harmed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Just as important to me, I am sorry for not stepping forward and speaking up as an elected official on behalf of equal treatment for all people. For nearly 26 years, the voters in my area of California trusted me as their elected representative. I look back now knowing there is so much more I could have done to inform the public about LGBT people and to fight for equal rights under the law. Regrettably and selfishly, I took another path in my life and political career—I chose to conceal who I truly am and to then actually vote against the best interests of people like me. All this was done because I was afraid – terrified, really – that somehow I would be revealed as gay.

My past actions harmed gay people. In fact, all people are harmed when there is unequal treatment of anyone under the constitution and laws of our country. I do not believe in discrimination, and yet my votes advanced unequal of treatment of gay people and promoted the suspicion and fear that limits people from being forthright and accepted in society.

…I am no longer willing, nor able to remain silent in the face of unequal and hurtful treatment of my community. It may have taken me a strange, incoherent and long path to get here, but this is where I find myself as a gay Republican Senator. It’s time for Republicans to find our way and fight for equal treatment for all people, especially the freedom to be unique and have our rights acknowledged and protected.

Shades of Jim Kolbe.

Civil Unions signed in Ireland

From the Irish Times:

The Civil Partnership Bill, which provides legal recognition for same-sex couples in Ireland for the first time, has today been signed into law.

The Bill was signed into law by President Mary McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin this morning

It extends marriage-like benefits to gay and lesbian couples in the areas of property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax.

Meanwhile, its neighbor is still talking about full marriage rights. (Pink News)

Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, has said that the government will give gay couples the right to civil marriage.

He predicted that the change would be made before the next general election.

Mr Hughes said a consultation would take place in the coalition government on taking civil partnership to the next level.

Speaking in a video interview, he said: “It would be appropriate in Britain in 2010, 2011, for there to be the ability for civil marriage for straight people and gay people equally.

NOM’s followers are so full of “love” that it oozes right out of them

On the National Organization for Marriage’s Facebook page, the followers of NOM have a few choice things to say about you. Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher will never say these things where they can be heard. But what follows clearly reflects the opinions, perspectives and attitudes of those who actively engage in efforts to deny gay people equality under the law.

Brian and Maggie are the face of the anti-gay movement. Here is its heart:

Fahd Omar: I hate homosexuality. I love the true idea behind the love between a man and a woman. Almost All religions agree to this.

Joshua James Elderkin: …These faggots have nothing left to do but die and go to hell & they’re going to take as many people with them as they can.

RalphandLinda Mccarty: so sad, haters, God love the person, HATES the sin,

Some were upset that two lesbians made out.

Deborah Bartlett: Agreed Peggy, I am so thankful that The Lord has told us that this is an abomination and that it will be something we will not have to put up with for eternity!! I refuse to worry about their feelings or worry about making them mad! They don’t worry about my feelings on their public displays of affection and the fact that it makes me sick and I have to explain to my children that it is against nature ! Heck even animals know it is not right!!! When was the last time you seen two female animals make a nest together or two male animals!! You don’t and won’t!!! It is gross and I have taught my children better and they know it is not something you are born with, that is crap!! God creates life , therefore he will not create trash!! It is a choice you make and a choice you choose to expose others to against our will!!

Kendra Glover: Wow!!!!This wel written. The Gay Agenda!!!!It’s proof that it’s more to this lifestyle. Making sexual gestures? What is that? Let’s get to the meat…….What’s the motive of this so called civil rights movement ( not even close to it). The motive is to change your mind, and think SEXUALLY perversed at all times. Just hearing about them … See Moremaking these horrific gestures is proof of their agenda. It has all to do with promoting ALL KINDS OF SEX. Two people that are of the same sex are not together for the sake of love. For the sake of SEX, the way they want to. Homosexuality is not a person. It is one’s lifestyle wanting and having sex with the same sex. I’m a woman married to man ( not conused). We are not married to have sex. What? The problem is we haven’t challenged them in their agenda. When you talk to your children about sex. Do you have to show them sexual gestures? Do you see the ignorance to this filth? IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT SEX!!!!

Diane E. Fowler: It is the homosexual attitude, “you can’t ignore me, I’ll shove it down your throat” (and your children’s as well). Keep praying America, please keep praying for these lost sodomites.

And some were espousing real hatred

Joshua James Elderkin: Scott, I’m not trying to win any cause. I just say what I think and whoever likes or dislikes it then great. The whole world is run by Satan, there is no justice or truth presented in the media.
Anyone with a lick of sense and sanity already knows another man’s backdoor isn’t legitimate relations and is filthy and anyone who isn’t is probably a brainwashed moron or a pervert already. Exactly who are we trying to win over?
They go to hell, God wins, thats how it ends and in the meantime coddling them by curbing my language isn’t helping anybody and it’s actually exactly what the homos would like.

And while not all of NOM’s supporters agree with the following, some do

James Yeakley: They feel empowered when civilization stops calling them “pederasts,” “faggots,” and “douche bags,” and begins calling them “gay.” They feel empowered when civilization stops calling what they do “perversion” and starts calling it “an alternate lifestyle.” They feel empowered when they can shut down a city’s major arteries because they are as “proud” to be perverts as people of Irish descent are to be of Irish descent, and if people of Irish descent can parade to show their pride, the perverts must also be permitted to prance near-naked down city streets alongside Hollywood celestials, confused clergy, and pandering politicians.

So, why do we empower them? Because we require our citizens to “embrace tolerance and diversity.” Because what may be disgusting to 93% of us does not trump the “freedom” of the 7% to publicly disgust the 93%.

Can anything be done about it? Someone needs to bring a shovel down on the head of one of these perverted freaks and successfully argue before the courts that acts of doing this are protected free expression–like burning an American flag, on American soil, in a public demonstration, or in a museum of American art.

Volunteers?

But most assumed that gay people are the ones hating them and attacking them and that they are loving and righteous and holy. They see themselves as agrieved by our mere existence and deeply wounded by our efforts not to be legally disadvantaged.

These folk actually believe that we are at spiritual war and that gay folks are the aggressors. But Jesus promised them on the cross that they would overcome the homosexuals, so they are assured victory. It’s a mindset that is difficult to fathom if you’ve not experienced it first hand.

And finally, I include this one which just makes me sad:

Jennifer Anderson-Harris: Do you know what’s worse than this?? There is a lady, supported by our gov in office, who is going around the country to schools teaching the alternative ‘sex education.’ She is telling our 4-6th graders that’s it’s OK to be GAY! That improved methods of not getting pregnant are to have sex with YOUR OWN (SAME) SEX! And there isn’t anything that anyone can do to stop it as it’s sanctioned by the White House and his children have already taken her class. With his wife’s ‘blessing’.

Thank you Jesus for allowing me to homeschool my children. That they are learning and teaching Bible scripture. To not tolerate the sin but to love and teach the sinner. To spread the seeds of salvation in your name, JESUS. Thank you!

Embarrassing images from NOM’s Providence Rally

When NOM’s Big Bus of Animus pulled into Providence, Rhode Island, things veered from the usual. Previously, counter-protests had been non-confrontational: Augusta’s was off-site, Manchester’s stayed a distance, and Albany’s surrounded NOMmers but did not disrupt the speakers.

Not so in Providence.

There the counter-protesters at first stood outside the anti-marriage rally and chanted, hoping to distract and annoy the speakers. And, as the equality supporters – by all accounts other than Brian Brown – outnumbered the anti-gay rallyers, this did serve to agitate them.

And some of them began to pray… more on that later.

But then the counter-protesters failed to stay united. Some went behind the speakers and began chanting and a few went up and began screaming in the face of NOM President, Brian Brown.

Not smart.

While I’m sure the young people in the picture certainly felt at the time like They Told Him!!, all that really happened is that they allowed the National Organization for Marriage to have an opportunity to capture an image that they could sell as The Militant Homosexual Activists!!being disruptive. A version of this picture – not including NOM’s “security” guys standing there unconcerned – has been making the rounds of anti-gay sites.

And this confrontation did something even worse than creating an embarrassing image, it made NOM’s Summer for Marriage Tour interesting.

Consider for a moment: you’re a nice young Catholic lady who is trying to decide what to do for the afternoon and you’ve come up with three options: finally write to Great Aunt Melba to thank her for her lovely Christmas fruitcake, pull weeds in the petunia bed, or go stand for an hour in the sun and listen to Jennifer Roback Morse and Brian Brown lecture you about marriage. Weeds seem pretty exciting by comparison.

And NOM’s circus hasn’t had much draw so far. No celebrities or prominent politicians; even Rhode Island’s anti-gay governor Don Carcieri didn’t make an appearance. It’s just mostly senior citizens and uber-religious folk and, heaven forbid, you might run into Aunt Melba.

But now suppose that there’s a possibility that you might get to confront Militant Homosexual Activists. Well, that might be interesting. Good for a story next Thanksgiving when you’re stuck sitting next to Aunt Melba, at least.

So confronting Brown was an ill-advised choice. It took an extremely boring situation and gave the press a reason to cover it and anti-gay activists a reason to bother.

Now, this is not to say that I don’t understand the emotion which led the kids to go confront Brown. Rhode Island is expected to be the next Marriage battle ground and, depending on November’s election, may have a legislative vote in 2011. I would be emotional as well.

And equality supporters were not the only ones who let their emotions cloud their wisdom. So did Pastor Jay Stirnemann of the Christ Temple United Pentecostal Church in Tiverton:

For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, Stirnemann is “speaking in tongues,” also called Glossolalia, a religious practice is predominantly engaged in by Pentecostals and other Charismatic Christians. There are a variety of hypotheses about speaking in tongues, but most include a high level of emotionality and lower level of logic or direct communication.

Those who speak in tongues experience it as letting go of themselves and letting the Holy Spirit speak through them. Some think Glossolalia is God’s spirit within them communicating in a celestial tongue, some as a way to praise without distraction of thought or of Satanic influences (Satan being unable to understand the language), but all agree that this is a very holy experience. And they agree that speaking in tongues is an evidence that God has granted them with specific spiritual powers.

In this case, Stirnemann clearly believes that he is engaging in spiritual warfare, that his praying in tongues enables angelic forces for good to invisibly battle demonic forces for evil. His prayer is one of authority and power and he is “binding spirits of darkness.” He genuinely believes that the chanting gay people are attacking him spiritually and that his prayer is effective in defeating such attacks.

But it doesn’t matter so much exactly what it is that Pastor Jay believes, what matters is what he is doing and how it will be perceived. And NOM can’t be too happy about the latter.

The National Organization for Marriage is in many ways a Catholic lay organization. And it is rather unlikely that Brian Brown or Maggie Gallagher are comfortable in the presence of those who are praying in tongues. Nor are legislators, voters, or contributors to their cause.

Remember our young Catholic lady above. She would rather spend a whole day visiting with Aunt Melba discussing her bursitis than spend any time with “crazy people babbling nonsense.”

So in Providence, I’d have to say that both sides suffered from image issues. And remember, this whole campaign – along with the counter campaign – is crafted solely for media and public image consumption.

Going forward, the winners in the battle over image and perception will be determined by which can avoid appearing to be raging lunatics or babbling nutjobs.

Ex-Gay “Life Coach” Accused of Sexual Impropriety

Alan Downing

Truth Wins Out released a video today featuring two former clients of “ex-gay” life coach Alan Downing who allege that as part of their “therapy”, Downing made them undress in front of a mirror and touch their bodies while the older therapist watched. The two former clients, Ben Unger and Chaim Levin, liken the sessions to a “psychological striptease” say they were harmed by what they consider unprofessional behavior and sexual misconduct.

According to a statement from Truth Wins Out:

Downing, who admits he is still attracted to men, is a major player in the “ex-gay” industry and a practitioner of so-called “reparative therapy”. He is the lead therapist for Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) and is listed on the People Can Change website as a “Senior Trainer” for Journey into Manhood, which is a controversial “ex-gay” backwoods retreat designed to supposedly make gay men more masculine.

For more background information on Journey Into Manhood, you can read about journalist Ted Cox’s undercover report here where he describes some of the group’s homoerotic “therapy” techniques.

JONAH is headed by Arthur Abba Goldberg, who was revealed last February as having been convicted of a Wall Street swindle in 1989. He was convicted of a conspiracy to defraud the United States in a scheme to sell fake bonds to cash-strapped cities. Goldberg founded JONAH after serving his eighteen-month prison sentence.

In the latest video, Ungar and Levin describe their “therapy” sessions with Downing:

“He was encouraging me, ‘it’s okay Ben, you can take your shirt off’…here was a man that was much older than me, and I was around 20,” said Ben Unger, a former client of Alan Downing. “At that point, I was just staring at a mirror with my shirt off and he was right behind me staring at the mirror with me at my body. Then telling me to look at my body and feel my body. It was weird.”

“While I was standing there without my clothes on, he asked me to touch my genitals,” says former Downing client Chaim Levin. “Once again, I communicated that I was not comfortable with it. And he was like, you know, ‘just feel yourself. Just feel it for a second. So, you can grasp your masculinity physically.'”

Gunmen Kill 17 at Gay Party In Mexico

In one of the worst single-incident killings in Mexico’s drug war, gunmen opened fire at a party in the northern Mexican city of Torreon, killing 17 men and women and injuring another 18. Officials counted 122 spent shells from assault rifles.

“The party was ongoing … when gunmen arrived in several vehicles, disembarked and, without uttering a word to those in attendance, opened fire,” Jesus Torres, state attorney general, said in a statement. The assailants fled.

The party was organized by a gay group and was being held at the Italia Inn in Torreon, Coahuila. The event was organized via facebook, and was “open to all.” Investigators suspect drug traffickers were behind the massacre. The northern city of Torreon has become a drug smuggling transfer point for entry into the U.S.

Coahuila, a mostly rural state which shares a border with Texas, passed a civil unions bill in 2007, becoming the only state outside of Mexico City to do so.

Mugabe: Yes to Polygamy, No to Gay Rights

Today, Radio Voice of the People reported that Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe spoke before an Apostolic christian church and reiterated his support for the church’s established practice of polygamy:

Our Constitution allows polygamy. We will not force people into monogamous marriages. It’s there even in the bible – Solomon was not only given wealth but many wives,” said Mugabe who had children with current wife Grace while former first lady Sally Mugabe was still alive. He said the apostolic sect therefore had a right to be polygamous.

Meanwhile, Mugabe also reiterated his comparison of LGBT people to “dogs and pigs”:

“Today, the Anglican Church condones marriages between men and the same for women. The Archbishop of Canterbury is blessing such marriages – that is similar to dog behavior.

“At some point, I realised that I was reprimanding blameless dogs and pigs, which are aware that marriage is for procreation.

“We say no to gays! We will not listen to those advocating the inclusion of their rights in the constitution,” charged Mugabe.

Two Zimbabwean LGBT advocates are awaiting trial after having been detained and tortured by police following a raid on Gay and Lesbians Zimbabwe (GLAZ)’s headquarters. Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi were arrested and charged with possessing “pornography.” The nature of the alleged “pornography” (anything gay-positive can be seen as “pornographic” in some countries) has not been disclosed.

NOM’s President administers the NOM site that NOM claims is not their own

Ya know that National Organization for Marriage Facebook page that that spews pure nastiness and contempt? The one that NOM’s PR firm claims is run by “a private party”?

The Facebook account on which these statements were reportedly made is not NOM’s Facebook page and neither NOM nor anyone representing NOM made these statements. The Facebook account in question is operated by a private party and NOM does not control what is allowed to be posted on the account…

Yeah, well guess who was doing using the site’s administration today.

Protect Marriage: One Man, One Woman Brian: Fun rally today in Albany. Protestors came out with colored balloons and umbrellas. I posted the whole account over at the Marriage Tour blog, complete with pictures.

That “Brian” would be NOM’s president, Brian Brown.

(p.s. My favorite comment was this one… and she wrote it without irony:

Dawn Benjamin: in the end times people will call evil good and good evil. They will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money. Pray for these people and ask God for their spiritual eyes and ears to be opened. It is a spiritual warfare but God has won the Battle!)

Another bad day for the National Organization for Marriage’s Giant Flop tour

Today NOM’s Big Bus of Animus came to Albany, NY. And the rhetoric and spin from the National Organization for Marriage is reaching comical proportions.

NOM: “Local supporters were happy with the turnout, explaining that downtown Albany is a “ghost town” on weekends.”

More NOM: “We started off in Augusta with close to 200 people on Wednesday, had roughly 150-200 in Manchester on Thursday, and around 100 in Albany today.”

Courage Campaign: “It’s fair to say that Albany turned into yet another NOM FAIL, due to the beauty of creative counter-protest and the paltry NOM attendance (Danny hand-counted 57 attendees).”

Yes, it looks like NOM continues to have problems with simple mathematics. Or perhaps they suffer from Honesty Deficiency Syndrome.

In Albany, local supporters of equality came up with a very creative way of countering NOM’s message. Inspired by their warnings of gathering storms, the community showed up with colorful umbrellas and surrounded the rally.

And NOM & crew are not happy. NOM’s Louis Marinelli is getting increasingly bitter as each day goes by.

Today he continued his pattern of putting the names and pictures of gay people on his blogsite, this time a young activist named Danny. While this is a common tactic for the some of the crazier of the anti-gay loons, I’m not sure what Marinelli is hoping to accomplish. I guess he thinks that this is still 1972 and that gay people are living in the shadows hoping no one finds out that we are gay.

He also waved his martyr flag with a little story about how some woman wasn’t able to dictate to the “rude interlopers” where they should stand or which way they should face.

Poor NOM, things aren’t going so well for them in the North East. Tiny crowds, “rude interlopers”, and unflattering photos of NOM’s Brian Brown scowling, glaring, and snarling. We’ll see how things for for them tomorrow in Rhode Island.

UPDATE:

Marinelly has lost it. He’s really completely lost it.

He has now dedicated an entire blog post to the fact that some counter-protester brought his dogs. Seriously.

NOM tries relabeling their Facebook site

The National Organization for Marriage is feeling the heat resulting from the nasty-ass hate speech that is being spewed at their One Man, One Women Facebook page. They’ve already tried to announce that this site – which they tout as their own – is not really theirs but is all separate, you see. Just ignore the logo and the slogan and that the site’s “owner” is – as I write this – driving NOM’s Big Bus of Animus around on a 23 city tour.

Well, no one bought it. So now they are trying a different approach. NOM has now changed the picture that accompanies the site administrators to this:

Because they aren’t really NOM.

Nope, they are a coalition. Yessiree, a coalition. See, it says so right there!

So, sure. Okay, they are a coalition. A coalition that goes by the name of National Organization for Marriage.

LCR v. DADT testimony begins

From the AP

Former Air Force Maj. Michael Almy took the witness stand to support a federal court lawsuit filed by a Republican gay rights organization challenging the constitutionality of the military’s ban on openly gay troops.
…
Almy said he had been honored as a top communications officer in the Air Force for his leadership skills in running an exemplary unit that helped maintain control over the vast majority of Iraq’s air space during the war.

After his tour, he returned to his base in Germany where he was called to his commander’s office and questioned about a dozen personal e-mails he said the Air Force discovered after a service member searched through his computer in Iraq.

Almy said his commander tried to force him to admit he had violated the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“We went round and round for approximately 20 minutes,” Almy testified.

Almy said he never admitted to the military he was gay and was careful to keep his personal life separate from his professional one. Still, after the meeting, Almy was told he was relieved of his duties.

Ya know, I feel bad for the person who signed up the defend their country only to find them self assigned to snoop through other people’s private email looking to make sure they are all to people of the right gender. Who wants that job?

NOM’s Marinelli can’t count

National Organization for Marriage’s Louis Marinelli is blogging about the “enthusiastic rally for marriage in Manchester”. He says

Then we got to work and everything went pretty smoothly which gave us time to play some music prior to the rally, which started on time at noon with an introduction by Brian Brown who gave a very charismatic speech about how we will not tolerate being labled as bigots for standing up for what we believe in.
…
He received great applause from a crowd of marriage supporters that had quicky grown to over 150.

And here’s his wide-screen shot of the crowd:

How many heads are in this picture? I count 74. And I compared it to the others from the same event and while some folks seem to have been milling about, this was pretty much it.

Don’t you wish the ones who claim moral superiority would at least try to speak truthfully?

The “families” on NOM’s Big Bus of Animus are fake,

Anti-gay activists love to call same-sex relationships “artificial.” But those brightly smiling happy families beaming from the side of the National Organization for Marriage’s tour RV and van truly are fake.

As Jeremy at GoodAsYou.org shows, they are stock photos of models posing as families.

Oh, but when has NOM ever cared about honest representation?