NOM released the following statement today:

National organization for marriage

TO GAY RIGHTS LEADERS:

REPUDIATE THE POLITICS OF HATRED, DISRESPECT FOR THE MARRIAGE VOWS OF THE MAJORITY

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) released the following statement in response to the escalating attacks on NOM’s “Summer for Marriage” 23 city bus tour by major and mainstream gay rights leaders:

“In the last two weeks, we’ve seen mothers harassed, children threatened, and outrageous efforts to disrupt and drown out our rallies from gay marriage activists. Rather than repudiating these tactics, major gay rights leaders are now blaming NOM for the behavior of their own supporters. This is irresponsible and wrong, and we call on them to repudiate these tactics, which are being driven by their outrageous persistent efforts to paint Americans who believe marriage is one man and one woman as haters or bigots. What they really hate is that we are showing middle America the real face of the gay marriage movement, on videotape, for all the world to see,” said Brown.

Unlike the Human Rights Campaign or Freedom to Marry, NOM leaders do not need to wait to be asked to repudiate extremism, we have consistently called on our supporters at each rally to reject hatred and incivility, and to demonstrate love and respect for Americans who disagree with our views on marriage, including members of the LGBT community.  As Bishop Morlino said at the Madison rally, “There is no place for gay-bashers” in our movement.

View protestor’s videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4loOZl3xHj0

http://www.youtube.com/NationForMarriage#p/u/4/Ny10_M1nDEk

http://www.youtube.com/NationForMarriage#p/u/8/HWUkBQXrjpM

The National Organization for Marriage is a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it. Founded in response to the growing need for an organized opposition to same-sex marriage in state legislatures, NOM serves as a national resource for marriage-related initiatives at the state and local level. For decades, pro-family organizations have educated the public about the importance of marriage and the family, but have lacked the organized, national presence needed to impact state and local politics in a coordinated and sustained fashion. NOM seeks to fill that void, organizing as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, giving it the flexibility to lobby and support marriage initiatives across the nation. Find out more at www.nationformarriage.org.

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, [email protected] (x130), or Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.