Grinch-like NOM pushes for intolerant season
As the lights come on and Salt Lake City turns into a regular tinsel town, the holidays are heating up in Utah. With events ranging from gay ski weeks to performances of The Nutcracker, it’s the most wonderful time of year for any Utah queer.
With Thanksgiving already over, one of the first holiday hurdles is gone, and dinner with the extended family hopefully went smoothly. However, over at the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, the pressure is on to make upcoming holiday get-togethers even more difficult.
Public opinion supporting the legalization of gay marriage has grown at an accelerating pace in recent past. Over the last decade, support has risen 9 percent and according to the latest Pew Research Center survey, 46 percent support same-sex marriage and only 43 percent oppose it. The survey reached 2,410 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 points.
This is just the latest of a string of polls that indicate a growing number of Americans support marriage equality, and NOM has changed its tactics.
Rather than being on the offensive and openly attacking queer rights, the organization is playing the victim. Maggie Gallagher, board member and former executive director of NOM, released a survival guide for religious folk who have queer family members. She outlines three steps for how to address the issue: State the position briefly, refute the charge of bigotry and ask for tolerance.
Gallagher insists that her followers emphatically state a complete and unwavering support for one man-one woman marriage. She then continues to say that her adherents must insist that their queer and allied family members express complete tolerance for their views. And any disagreement will turn the NOM supporter into a victim and expose the queers for the bullies that they are.
In Washington, NOM tried, again, to play the victim card and attempted to stop the release of the identities of those who supported their petition to outlaw same-sex marriage in the state because the group said it fears queers will attack their supporters.
Rather than having open minds and encouraging informed, civil discussion at holiday family gatherings, NOM is advocating for a simpler, more isolated path.
As public exposure to queers increases through movies, TV, music and just a most accepting atmosphere in many cases, NOM is losing out on the chance to see that we’re just as boring as other families. Rather than acknowledging and celebrating diversity during the season of love, NOM is advocating for a close-minded, non-accepting approach.
Even though I don’t believe in Jesus Christ, I love this season and the goodwill it engenders in our communities and I hope mine and yours remember the true spirit of the season.