Tag Archives: Same-sex marriage

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Sign up to be a NOM Watcher!


Human Rights Campaign

Don’t believe the lies:
NOM is not a respectful, tolerant group.

NOM Exposed

We’re reaching out to you directly because you already may be familiar with NOM Exposed, the project of the Human Rights Campaign and Courage Campaign dedicated to revealing the truth about the so-called National Organization of Marriage. Chances are you’ve read our posts on NOM’s leading role in the states, or caught our latest video trying to get NOM’s required federal tax returns.

You signed onto “NOM Doesn’t Speak for Me!” – a vehicle we’re using to let lawmakers and the media know how out-of-touch and radical NOM really is. But now, with marriage battles looming in 2011, and with NOM promising to wage war on LGBT families, we need your help.

We need eyes and ears on the ground, to make sure that we fully document the hostile, anti-gay environment NOM helps create. We must hold NOM and its followers accountable and alert both the media and voters to their radical ties and agenda.

This fringe group is gearing up to undo marriage equality in states where it is currently legal and to stop marriage in other states where it could become legal. These people won’t give up until marriage equality is banned nationwide.

That’s where you come in. Become a “NOM Watcher.” We’re looking for people from all walks of life to report on and help us challenge NOM activities in the states. Check out our new tracker map to see where NOM might be next. In the coming weeks, we’ll be providing specific steps you can take locally as a NOM Watcher.

Thanks for your engagement. We can all play a role in calling out homophobia and protecting our families.

Thanks,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese

P.S. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for daily updates and to see what NOM’s up to.

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BREAKING: School board bigot resigns after our campaign


Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights
Human Rights Campaign
 

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October 2010
UPDATE
What has HRC done for me lately?
US – HRC volunteers and staff hard at work nationwide as Election Day approaches. More »
US – HRC and Utah leaders deliver 150k petitions to Mormon Church. More »
US – HRC presses President Obama on DADT. More »
IA – HRC helps fight witch hunt against pro-marriage equality judges. More »
US – After HRC’s letter, Dept. of Ed. offers anti-bullying resources. More »
US – HRC and Courage Campaign file IRS complaint against NOM. More »
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Bullying from politicians, the pulpit, and playgrounds… An election that could decide the future of marriage equality… This is your last chance to help us mobilize volunteers, expose hate groups, run hard-hitting ads, and get hundreds of thousands of pro-equality voters to the polls. Join the fight.
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An immediate crisis


Human Rights Campaign


We need 16 donations from Seattle by TOMORROW.

We’re fighting poisonous hate from right-wing groups and on the campaign trail.

Join

How would you feel seeing this headline on November 3rd?

Radical Conservatives Take Over Washington

It’s not farfetched. At a time when anti-LGBT bullying and harassment are already out of control, this election could usher a wave of extremists into Congress and bolster hateful right-wing groups that have already begun urging lawmakers to pass a national ban on same-sex couples marrying.

One prominent candidate founded a “cure the gays” group before running for Senate. Seriously. Last week, another declared he wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education so students won’t be taught that “Susie has two mommies is an appropriate family situation.”

We’ve already raised more than half of the $250,000 we need by MIDNIGHT TOMORROW to expose illegal electioneering by radical groups and get hundreds of thousands of voters to the polls.

But we need 16 donations from Seattle to get us there. Can you help, Carmen?

With Tea Party funding and groups like the National Organization for Marriage running illegal ads, the risk of a radical takeover of Washington is shockingly real.

So we’re fighting back. Here’s how:

  • We’ve got organizers on the ground in key cities across the country, fighting against radical candidates.
  • We just filed a formal complaint with the IRS detailing illegal political campaigning by a tax-exempt nonprofit arm of the National Organization for Marriage.
  • We’re running innovative programs in faith communities so groups like the Mormon Church hierarchy don’t have the last word.
  • And we’re launching a massive effort to get pro-equality voters to the polls.

In the wake of so many horrific stories of anti-LGBT hate crimes and bullying, fair-minded supporters across the country – both LGBT and straight – are energized and ready to help. Over a million are wearing purple today in memory of victims of anti-gay bullying. But at the same time, every day brings new examples of right-wing vitriol – and unless we take direct action to fight them, they could soon have an even bigger platform for their hate.

Last week, the president of the extreme, anti-equality Family Research Council wrote in The Washington Post that it’s the “homosexual movement” – not bigotry – that causes feelings of despair among LGBT youth.

His offensive claim comes in the wake of a Mormon leader’s hateful sermon saying same-sex attraction is “impure and unnatural”… the Catholic Diocese of Minnesota mailing a misleading, anti-gay DVD to every single parishioner in Minnesota… and the National Organization for Marriage’s relentless, outright lies.

These groups do real damage with these comments, but hearing the same hate spouted from elected leaders – and seeing it in legislation like a federal ban on marriage equality – is even more dangerous. And that’s the immediate crisis before us now.

Can you help us reach the 16 donations from Seattle we need to fight back?

Election Day is only 13 days away. I hope you’ll stand with us.

Not backing down,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese
President

P.S. If you’ve already put a check in the mail or given to HRC by some other means, I can’t thank you enough. If you haven’t yet contributed, I hope you’ll join us today. Also, don’t forget to wear purple today! Learn more here.

Join

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After suicides, Mormon leader rants against gays

2 Comments

Human Rights Campaign



The recent suicides of several gay teenagers have made national headlines. Yet this is the moment – of all moments – that a top Mormon leader decides to broadcast a verbal rampage against gays to millions of viewers.

I couldn’t believe it either. Boyd K. Packer, the second-highest leader in the Mormon Church, said in a sermon broadcast to millions yesterday that same-sex attraction is “impure and unnatural” and can be overcome, and that same-sex unions are morally wrong.

Do we need more proof than the suicides of teens as young as 13 that words like these can do unimaginable damage?

We cannot stay silent. By speaking out together, we can show the Mormon Church hierarchy that it has literally risked the lives of children by inciting their tormentors. And we can ensure that the young people who heard this sermon know that it is scientifically wrong and profoundly misguided.

Speaking before 20,000 people and broadcasting to millions more, Packer said same-sex unions are morally wrong and “against God’s law and nature” – and that the church hierarchy would continue to support marriage bans like Proposition 8 (which was funded largely by Mormons).

It makes me physically sick to think how many young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender kids had to sit in those pews and listen to that venom.

Comments like these are exactly what makes young LGBT kids think there’s no way out but suicide – that their parents will reject them, that their communities will shun them, and that living openly will bring pain or violence – that even God looks on their very identity as a sin to be “overcome.”

And these lies fuel the bullying, harassment, and violence that plague our schools.

Packer’s lies have been disproven over and over again by science and by the spiritual experience of Americans who know their LGBT neighbors and care about them. We know sexual orientation cannot and should not be changed and that two people falling in love is beautiful, not evil.

But unless we refute these lies whenever groups like the anti-LGBT National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the Mormon Church repeat them – whether through letters like this or projects like HRC‘s www.NOMexposed.com – we risk another young person hearing them and believing that LGBT people are “defective.” And that belief contributes to violence and suicide.

Americans are sick of the Mormon hierarchy trying to dictate what they should believe. They know commitment and love when they see it. That’s why they are turning away in droves from limitations on their friends’ and neighbors’ freedom to marry.

Thank you for helping take a stand for the truth.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese
President
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Secrets and lies: NOM Exposed!


Human Rights Campaign

Don’t believe the lies:
NOM is not a respectful, tolerant group.

NOM Exposed

Sign the petition at
www.NOMexposed.org

Are you tired of the National Organization for Marriage, a.k.a. NOM, putting on a mask of tolerance for the media?

Are you sick of their claim that they speak for a majority of Americans – while they support extreme anti-gay zealots and keep their donors secret?

Well, we are. And today, along with our friends at the Courage Campaign, we’re launching a website that pulls back the curtain on NOM for everyone to see.

NOM Exposed uncovers shocking secrets so people can get the real facts as NOM throws its weight around in race after race this election cycle. We’ll post up-to-the-minute dirt on NOM over the coming months and years, so bookmark the site and come back often.

NOM recently released a slick new ad on behalf of Tom Emmer, the candidate for governor of Minnesota with ties to a group that condoned the execution of gays. The ad disguises NOM’s anti-LGBT agenda behind a fake claim of protecting civil rights.

NOM even had the gall to compare itself to Martin Luther King, Jr., flashing images of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

It’s a flagrant distortion of reality – the latest in a history of deception since NOM opened for business during the Prop. 8 campaign.

NOMexposed.org is about spreading truth. We’ve spent months digging into NOM’s funding, shady ties, ethics violations, and more. We created this site so that every time someone searches for NOM – voters, elected leaders, reporters – they’ll get the real story. They’ll find out that:

  • Brian Brown, NOM’s President, has said that “allowing gay marriage is akin to allowing polygamous marriage.”
  • Not to be outdone, NOM founder Maggie Gallagher has said same-sex marriage is worse than polygamy.
  • NOM has close ties to the powerful and secretive right-wing religious group Opus Dei.
  • Robert George, the “reigning brain of the Christian right” and Chairman of NOM’s board co-authored the Federal Marriage Amendment that would have written anti-gay discrimination into the U.S. Constitution. He also believes that repealing antiquated laws banning sodomy will lead to incest.
  • To hide its political activities, NOM has blatantly flouted campaign finance laws.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve tracked NOM’s financial ties, showing how huge, secret donations have swelled its budget from $500,000 to $10 million in just three years. We’ve connected the dots to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and the Mormon Church.

Now we need your help to get the word out – share shocking facts on Facebook and Twitter or spread the truth by simply passing this email along.

If you believe that strong families aren’t about “straight” or “gay” but about love and commitment; if you’re a person of faith; if you’re straight or LGBT, married, partnered or single – add your name and say “NOM Doesn’t Speak for Me.” We’ll share this petition with officials and the media in states where NOM is at work.

We’ve called NOM out before, whether revealing the audition tape for “Gathering Storm” or alerting the press to their lies. But NOM Exposed goes deep into the organization’s roots and represents a commitment to keep tabs on their activity and connect the dots for voters.

NOM wants to claim the middle ground. But people don’t know who they really are. We are not going to sit by and let them dictate the terms of the debate. We’re going to expose the lies – not just today, but every day.

Won’t you join us?

Thanks,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese