NOM’s reaction to HRC/Courage IRS filing: “They’re trying to silence us and make it hard for us to operate.”
October 16, 2010
NOM Exposed NOM Tour Tracker-California Right-wing
By HRC
NOM President Brian Brown told the Washington Post the other morning that HRC and the Courage Campaign are “trying to silence us and make it hard for us to operate.” First off, let’s dispense with the victim complex. It’s unflattering for an anti-gay fringe group like NOM that is well out of the mainstream to claim victimhood. NOM is experiencing the most successful growth in its three-year history, raking in $10 million this year. They’re hardly having difficulty operating.
On the substance: Brown says the allegations HRC and the Courage Campaign are making against the NOM Education Fund and its sister organization, the Ruth Institute, are “laughable.” While Brown might love a good belly laugh, nothing about this is funny. The evidence of wrongdoing by the NOM Education Fund and the Ruth Institute this election cycle speaks for itself.
The Post reported that Brown said, “Morse [the head of the Ruth Institute] participated in many events as a private citizen.” Not the case. Video not does lie. She was introduced in her professional capacity at the campaign bus tour advocating for Carly Fiorina’s senate campaign in California. She held up her organization’s bumper sticker. And on and on…(see Exhibits A-H of the complaint.)
Brown acknowledged one of the items mentioned in the complaint, which, according to the Post, he called a simple mistake. He was referring to a NOM press release that NOM has since scrubbed placing both NOM and the Ruth Institute at that Firorina campaign event on October 4.
We’ll say it again: NOM has every right to promote their views against marriage equality within the very clear confines of election and tax law.
60 Comments
1.
Ronnie | October 16, 2010 at 9:02 am
Bwaaaaaaa….that's all I have to say to Brainless Brown Suit……for the time being…..<3…Ronnie
2.
Michelle Evans | October 16, 2010 at 9:25 am
If NOM and its associated groups want to participate (i.e., interfere) in campaigns for political office, they are free to do so as mush as they and their budgets will allow. All they need to do is give up their tax-exempt status and pay their fair share, as would any other political action group.
But, of course, if they gave up that status, then they wouldn't be able to pay themselves as much, those poor, bullied, trod-upon souls that they are.
3.
Buffy | October 16, 2010 at 9:37 am
They're making us follow the law! Whaaaah! The law isn't supposed to apply to straight Christians…that's persecution!
What a bunch of hypocritical, whining, petulant children.
4.
Tomato | October 16, 2010 at 11:46 am
Didn't Jesus say something about giving unto Caesar that which is Caesar's?
Wow, NOM hasn't followed the Word of The LORD yet, why should they start now?
Do they even *read* the Bible? They worship power, not the LORD.
5.
Felyx | October 16, 2010 at 9:51 am
Reposting to keep it on your mind…
We are continuing to make corrections as they are submitted… check out the lasted version. There is a week left before the deadline. So anyone with suggestions or additions please send them in.
We still need someone to sponsor and submit the brief and I am still hoping someone with formatting knowledge to will help us make corrections.
If anyone is interested, please email me at civilmarriagerightsnc @gmail.com.
Here is the PDF version of the Prop8TrialTracker Amicus Brief.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/39386775/Prop8trialtrac…
– ♂F♥K♂
6.
grod | October 16, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Due to the limited ability for litigants to present all relevant information, there is herein presented further information to assist in the court's decision. Note possessive.
7.
Kate | October 17, 2010 at 12:44 am
Felyx — amazing job you're doing! I'd be glad to contribute proofreading skills, if you'd like. (For now, on the first page (description of P8TT), don't capitalize "The" ahead of United States, etc.)
8.
Felyx | October 17, 2010 at 5:33 am
Thanks Kate.
9.
Kate | October 17, 2010 at 7:04 am
Just let me know, Felyx. I'll be glad to do the final proofread.
10.
Felyx | October 17, 2010 at 8:01 am
Please email me Kate. [email protected]
Thanks,
Felyx
11.
Kate | October 18, 2010 at 12:37 am
Done, Felyx.
12.
Michael | October 16, 2010 at 10:10 am
Once again, the arrogance of the strident anti-gay pressure group NOM is astounding! They actually believe they are above the law just because they go to bed with members of the opposite sex! In state after state, they demand the special right to disobey the laws the rest of us must follow. And anyone who dares to challenge them on their unamerican and immoral stance is labled a "bully." Such actions are not inspired by Christ.
13.
Sagesse | October 16, 2010 at 10:15 am
The immigration debate
Gay couples take on an immigrant divide
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/ar…
14.
Steve | October 17, 2010 at 2:33 am
Again, they couldn't resist to get the token homophobic viewpoint in. Fucking "journalists"
15.
Sagesse | October 16, 2010 at 10:39 am
Mis-subscribed.
16.
Richard A. Walter (s | October 16, 2010 at 11:22 am
No, Courage Campaign and HRC are NOT trying to make it hard for NOM to operate, nor are they trying to silence NOM. What they are trying to do is get them to operate within the laws and abide by the Constitution and the FEC and IRS laws, rules, and regulations concerning their activities and tax-exempt status. And for them to play the victim card is so disingenuous as to be downright pathetic.
17.
[email protected] | October 16, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Yeah, how can someone with the means to defend themselves after having grossed $10 million tax free, possibly think themselves a victim when THEY are trying to ban us from our civil rights to marry?
18.
elliom | October 17, 2010 at 5:00 pm
And if obeying the law makes it impossible for them to operate, so be it!
19.
eDee | October 16, 2010 at 11:56 am
Ok, maybe one more comment before I go to bed…
the Courage Campaign are “trying to silence us and make it hard for us to operate.”
COME ONE PEOPLE! Let's face it, they're right!
If the Courage Campaign doesn't back down how on earth will NOM pay for on going attacks and rallies against you?
Do you really expect them to be able to stifle your hopes and dreams on a shoe string budget?
I really don't know what the world is coming too!
Umm yes Mr. Brown, Obviously the Courage Campaign would like to see your organization go bankrupt. Please give me 1 reason why Courage Campaign would want to make it easy for you to operate considering you're entire existence is to destroy peoples lives.
Thank you and Good night!
20.
Ray in MA | October 16, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Hopefully you are now taking a drug that will calm you down and put you to sleep. When you wake up, take a drug that will clear your mind and allow you to see reality throughout the day.
21.
eDee | October 17, 2010 at 1:32 am
@Ray in MA, you do realize I was being facetious?
Well, except for that last part about “Courage Campaign would like to see your organization go bankrupt” Seeing NOM go under would be the highlight of this year!
22.
Mark M. (Seattle) | October 18, 2010 at 7:12 am
I certainly understood your sarcasm eDee.
I'm sorry some still insist on treating you like a 'troll' on here……I for one deeply appreciate you being an ally.
BIG HUGS
Mark
23.
eDee | October 19, 2010 at 4:11 am
I have to earn my non-troll status. That's ok, I can do it.
HUGS back at you.
24.
Regan DuCasse | October 16, 2010 at 1:00 pm
NOM is so stupidly ironic.
How do you complain about being silenced, when obviously there is nothing that won't make you shut the fu*k up!?
25.
Carpool Cookie | October 16, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I don't know why groups make such a big fuss about tax exempt status anyway. It's not like an organization is going to dry up and fold and blow away if they have to pay taxes, it just means they have to do some belt tightening and reasses their staff and programs….like everyone else.
Welcome to the real world.
And if they're worried no one will contribute to their organization just because it won't be a tax write-off for donors any more, maybe they should take a good long look at what they're selling.
26.
Lora | October 16, 2010 at 1:54 pm
How about : "They're trying to silence US and make it hard for us to survive?"
Tit for tat NOM…
27.
elliom | October 17, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Hello, Kettle, my name's Pot, and you're black.
28.
[email protected] | October 16, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Is anyone curious why the media has not branded Gallagher a racist fort some of the comments she's made in the past? (This'd surely turn the African American comm. against her and NOM!) Gallagher, indeed, appears to have some rather ovate racist tendencies. You see, in 1991 she wrote an article condeming multiculturalism as being bad for kids and “the family”, but this article has the fopllowing rather offensive nugget that I am shocked no one has made a public stink over, yet. Maggie writes, “[e]mbarrassing as it may be to admit, most African-Americans are Christians.”
Here’s the full article:
http://www.city-journal.org/article02.php?aid=161…
Maggie Gallagher said of the NOMExposed website, recently (according to a NOM e-blast): “[it's] a deliberate tactic that’s been developed over the last few years, especially in the wake of Prop. 8, by ‘gay marriage’ advocates to harass and intimidate people and try to discourage them from participating in the democratic process.” Yet, she still plays the victim-card as if we are going to harass and protest supporters of NOM and their tyrranical schemes. However, part of American democracy has been, for generations, to show their collective voices by protesting, and picketting, and boycotting businesses! Indeed, Maggie Gallagher;s SCOTUS hero, Anthony Scalia, has declared that engaging in the “democratic process requires a certain amount of courage” (here, of course, he was speaking of releasing the IDs of anti-Gay petition signatures (‘course, NOM doesn’t think they should play by democratic electoral laws and hide it’s donor names!).
BTW, I have a question that no one has definitively answered, yet: if a Court has already ruled that NOM *must* hand over their donor list, and they have so far absolutely refused to do so, than why has no hefty legal action by the Court been taken against them? Heck, NOM keeps insisting that the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board simply let them off the hook because, they claim, the Iowa ECDB found no basis for the charges. I have contacted the IA. ECDB, and they have not responded to my concerns, yet. So far, there really HAS been no news about an Iowa ruling for or against NOM in this regard, so far as I am aware… Unless anyone can show me otherwise…
29.
alaneckert | October 16, 2010 at 3:52 pm
subscribing
30.
JonT | October 16, 2010 at 8:54 am
Ditto.
31.
Sagesse | October 16, 2010 at 9:54 am
Once more with feeling.
32.
Lesbians Love Boies | October 16, 2010 at 10:29 pm
silently sneaking in. late to the scribe party. shhhhh
33.
Ann S. | October 16, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I was just listening to a very interesting edition of “This American Life”, which opens with a snippet about Christine O’Donnell, the Republican candidate for the Senate. She managed to turn criticisms of her and how she had spent campaign money (paying her rent, a $3,000 check to her mother, all kinds of questionable stuff) into “woe is me, I’m being attacked” and promptly raised far more money than she ever had before.
Some folks are really good at this. It’s what Brown is trying to do. I think it’s part of the “you’re either with us or you’re against us” mentality. Some people voted for Palin just because they perceived that the media was “out to get her”. How does that make any sense? Don’t ask me.
People who believe in NOM’s message will look the other way about these types of legal violations, unfortunately. Only if we can get some type of actual enforcement action will there be any effect.
34.
Ann S. | October 16, 2010 at 8:54 am
And I need more email, too.
35.
Rhie | October 16, 2010 at 8:58 am
Yes, the media that she so desperately tries to get to cover her is out get her…
36.
alaneckert | October 16, 2010 at 10:02 am
Plus the fact that she doesn't do public appearances, only shows and media interviews…
37.
cc | October 16, 2010 at 4:24 pm
sigh…Andy Pungo is at it again:
[youtube =http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A30ABWB18M&fs=1&hl=en_US]
38.
Sagesse | October 16, 2010 at 11:38 pm
Of leopards and spots. He's quoted in an article I read just yesterday as saying he's not campaigning on same-sex marriage, although he still opposes it.
One can only hope he loses.
39.
Freddy | October 18, 2010 at 3:18 am
Would this video be more proof of NOM not playing by the rules and supporting candidates in an election?
40.
Sagesse | October 16, 2010 at 11:46 pm
This in an e-mail from the editors of The New Republic
Dear TNR subscriber:
On Tuesday, a federal judge issued an injunction on the enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” within the U.S. military. The order offers new hope that gays and lesbians will be able to serve openly in the armed forces one day soon. More than 50 years ago, the country faced another debate over civil rights in the military: ending the segregation of African American units. President Truman issued an order in 1948—for which he received heated criticism—calling for the establishment of "equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin." One year later, The New Republic’s Jean Begeman wrote “The Military Bill of Rights,” an article about the government’s progress in carrying out Truman’s order. Begeman discussed the state of integration across all three branches of the armed services and emphasized the order’s political ramifications, considering in particular “the minority groups which did so much to elect President Truman last November.” Overall, Begeman had measured praise for the Truman administration’s integration efforts: “It will deserve compliments, if not enthusiastic acclaim.” He also noted, “There is always the chance that, looking at such a new bill of rights for the defenders of our democracy, Congress will get the idea that it is about time to have equality among civilians as well.” As the debate over DADT continues, we can only hope that the Obama administration and Congress will make a similar connection between an inclusive military and an inclusive society.
Sincerely,
The Editors
Somewhat OT, but here's the 1949 article
A Military Bill of Rights
http://www.tnr.com/article/78420/integration-mili…
41.
eDee | October 17, 2010 at 1:42 am
Kinda off topic, but stay with your (Sagesse) theme – Anyone know where I can get "Rainbow" 7-Strand, Military strength, 550 Parachute Cord (ParaCord)? (I can find every color but rainbow)
I’m making survival bracelets for soldiers in Afghanistan and I thought it would be a nifty idea to make some Rainbow bracelets (for here at home) to support the demise of DADT.
42.
Kate | October 17, 2010 at 1:45 am
Sounds neat — what's a survival bracelet?
43.
Bob | October 17, 2010 at 3:17 am
I like your idea eDee, how does it work?
44.
eDee | October 17, 2010 at 3:21 am
@Kate: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5227940&…
I don't know how to post images to a comment or I'd post an image here, but try that link.
Basically it's 10 to 15 feet of parachute cord that can be used for many other things in an emergency. The bracelets I make are held together with a 220lb max load clip.
I have a friendship equality bracelet pattern with the = sign through it, but I was thinking that a survival bracelet with be more appropriate for DADT.
(http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm256/barefootmarket/equality.jpg)
45.
Alan E. | October 17, 2010 at 3:54 am
I'd buy one from you!
46.
Kate | October 17, 2010 at 4:08 am
I'd buy one, too — they're really neat!
47.
Bob | October 17, 2010 at 4:15 am
you got another sale here, in fact I like the rainbow bracelets, how much would it cost for a bulk, boxed and shipped to the troops, with a note attached to decide for themselves what to do with them,,,,, do they have any functional purpose, other than bracelet, ???
48.
eDee | October 17, 2010 at 4:38 am
@above
Thank you!
I’d be happy to make you one for free if you send me a 100ft of Rainbow colored, 7-Strand, Military strength, 550 Parachute Cord (ParaCord)
The other thing I was thinking was to make it blue and put yellow strands through it to make the = going around it.
100 feet makes about 9 bracelets. If someone wants to send me 100 feet of rainbow (or 50 feet of blue and 50 feet of yellow) I can make 1 bracelet for the person who sends me the cord and several others to sell to support Equality.
If anyone is interested, please email me at edeebracelet at gmail (dot) com
49.
eDee | October 17, 2010 at 5:43 am
@Bob,
Why yes they do – sort of.
The bracelets are either 10 or 15 feet of paracord (one long piece) and a quick link clip holds the 2 ends together.
I’ve never used paracord for anything other than bracelets, but campers and hikers tell me it has 100’s of uses. I have several friends serving in Afghanistan, they tell me the bracelets are very popular and are great in emergencies.
I’m not sure we could send rainbow bracelets, not because of the point, but because it’s not uniform. I have been told they need to be military colors, I wouldn‘t want someone wearing a bright easy to spot bracelet in combat.
But if you can find me Rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) cord (not the type of paracord called rainbow) I’ll be more than happy to make them. (specs: 7-Strand, Military strength, 550 Parachute Cord (ParaCord))
I had another idea. On Facebook the “Testimony: Equality on Trial” logo is a black hand with a yellow = as a ring. I could make black bracelets with yellow = woven through.
50.
Suzanne (not for muc | October 18, 2010 at 5:10 am
Rainbow ParaCord @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/MOUNTAIN-Para-Cord-by-Mount…
51.
Bob | October 18, 2010 at 5:30 am
@Suzanne (not for much longer) O hope i got that right, without scrolling down another time,
just wanted to say again how amazing this site is, ask a question and whalla, thanks for finding this
eDee, does this work, and more questions, how long does it take to produce a bracelet, cause to make it effective it would have to be a mass production.
see how many people who would be brave enough to wear this in their lives, workplaces, I'm thinking about curches, sort of make it visible during mass if you know what i mean,
52.
eDee | October 18, 2010 at 11:43 am
@Bob
“does this work” I’m not sure, I’ve emailed the seller to make sure it is actually rainbow colors. Rainbow usually indicates 3 or more colors.
“How long does it take to produce a bracelet” 20 minutes tops.
“to make it effective it would have to be a mass production.” I’ll teach you how to make them! I can make a video and post it on YouTube to teach everyone in the world. But things that are hard to get are usually more effective.
“how many people who would be brave enough to wear this in their lives, workplaces” I would wear it! I’d wear it to church, mass, Sunday dinner with the folks, and around the every homophobic friends I have.
BOB email me edeebracelet (at) gmail (dot) com
@ Suzanne (not for much longer) O, Thank you!!
53.
Kevin S. | October 17, 2010 at 1:54 am
Off topic, but the pertinent post has become buried:
Bleacher Creatures agree to stop homophobic chant – http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankee…
54.
Bob | October 17, 2010 at 3:13 am
thanks for the link Kevin, let's see if they follow through, sounds like a very positive response by the Creatures, and a great example of calling the bullies on their actions. Sounds like they weren't really aware of how distucitvie their behavior was. But having to look at themselves made them realize that'a not who they want to be. woot wootlll
55.
Kate | October 17, 2010 at 1:55 am
So….. NOM thinks that taking down the one page they do admit to means the action itself never happened???? In the CC video of the Ruth president/speaker, even their own Thomas (Hola, Thomas!) is shown preserving the actual event. Bumper stickers, bus logo, speaker and all. Scrub that, NOM.
56.
StraightSupporter | October 17, 2010 at 8:44 am
Why is the victim/persecution complex so popular. It seems to be extremely common, whether it comes as claiming to be a victim for being called out for the anti-equality bigots they are or as claiming to be persecuted anytime a person of a different religion or no religion dares to question them and call for secular society built upon equality, justice, and freedom. And yes, that means freedom from any particular religion as well, such as the freedom to not have religion shoved down people's throats or forced to live according to the dogma of a religion. It seems that the very core of all the anti-equality action is just that though, as they seem mainly composed of groups of people with their extreme views of their particular religion trying to force others to comply with them.
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