National Organization for Marriage: Washington, DC
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), was officially started in 2007 by Maggie Gallagher and Robert George. Since that time, the organization has become a formidable group with an annual budget in the millions of dollars. Sources of their funding remain a mystery as NOM has consistently brought lawsuits against the states where they campaign in order to avoid complying with local campaign finance disclosure laws. NOM’s current president is Brian Brown and under his leadership, the organization has a long history of engaging in spreading falsehoods and lies in order to accomplish their stated goals of “opposing same sex marriage.”
PLEASE READ: GROUPS ARE NOT DESIGNATED AS HATE GROUPS FOR PROMOTING SPECIFIC VALUES OR BELIEFS. THEY ARE DESIGNATED AS HATE GROUPS FOR INTENTIONALLY PROMOTING WELL KNOWN FALSEHOODS. Please read our note.
In 2008 NOM created an advertisement called the “Gathering Storm” that was widely mocked both online and in the media. Among other falsehoods, the ad made the false claims that gay people would force homosexuality on others and take away their rights. The advertisement preyed on existing prejudices against gay and lesbian Americans as predators in order to incite animosity and increase public fears.
On April 6, 2010 NOM used their twitter account to make the false claim that gay people have shorter lifespans than heterosexuals and that it is an unhealthy lifestyle. These claims are false and stem from a falsified study that was published by anti-gay activist Paul Cameron almost 30 years ago.
For years, NOM has pushed the lie that Massachusetts public schools teach kindergartners about gay marriage despite the fact that numerous organizations have noted that the claim is false. The Pulitzer Prize winning website “Politifact” found the claims by NOM to be false giving the ad it’s most extreme and rare “pants on fire” rating on February 10, 2011. NOM continues to use the lie in advertisements as recently as May of 2011.
On February 22, 2011 NOM publishes an article to it’s online blog making a number of false claims including, again, that gays and lesbians have shorter livespans. The article also makes the claim that gay and lesbian couples are less likely to be monogamous than heterosexual couples by intentionally distorting research from a number of disparate studies.
NOM continues to promote falsehoods using it’s blog and outreach programs including advocating that people should refer to gays and lesbians using the term “deviant sex”, that homosexuality will “hurt you badly”, constantly attempting to link gays and lesbians with pedophilia, and making the false claim that gay and lesbian Americans want “take away”other people’s rights and are engaging in “jihad. These claims are not only false, but they appear to be intentionally promoted to exploit existing irrational fears and prejudices and to create a climate where gays and lesbians are viewed as “others” instead of as humans.
