NOM BLOG

Category Archives: Election Watch 2012

NEW VIDEO: Top 10 Marriage Victories of 2012!

National Organization for Marriage

2012 was an important year for marriage.

And while we were disappointed by some of the recent election outcomes, it's important to remember the many victories this past year brought in the fight to protect marriage.

NOM was integral to each of these victories—often initiating and leading them, and other times as the single largest donor in support of the winning cause.

Marriage is winning . . .

. . . with a marriage amendment passed in North Carolina and another on its way in Indiana;

. . . with outspoken support from each of the leading GOP Presidential candidates, and with a strong statement in the Republican Party platform;

. . . with five state Senators in New York who lost their jobs after betraying their constituents by legalizing gay marriage, despite massive financial support from Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the gay marriage lobby;

. . . with corporations put on notice by the massive support behind NOM's Dump Starbucks campaign and the outpouring of encouragement on August 1st, Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day;

. . . with new, powerful, and compelling research by scholars like Mark Regnerus at the University of Texas, whose ground-breaking "New Family Structures Study" showed the major differences between young adults raised by same-sex parents and those raised by a married mom and dad;

. . . and with the United States Supreme Court deciding to hear appeals of cases on both the Proposition 8 and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act.

We have a great opportunity to continue winning historic victories for marriage in the new year, and we want you to be a part of it!

Please click here now to make a year-end contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or more to NOM and help us blaze a trail to new victories in 2013.

Marriage faces some enormous battles in the next year and NOM is getting ready to fight them . . . and WIN!

Please re-commit to the fight and stand with us in defense of marriage.

P. S. Gay marriage is NOT inevitable. The greatest danger the defenders of true marriage face is complacency and despair. We can WIN for marriage! We've done it before, time and again! The year ahead is critically important, and we need your help today to give marriage the defense it needs—the defense it deserves. Please watch our Top 10 Marriage Victories of 2012 video now, and prayerfully consider making a year-end contribution to help NOM bring about even more great wins in 2013!

Brian Brown: "We Are the Rebels Now!"

Our President Brian Brown was interviewed by Reuters on the future of the marriage battle:

"...in many states the gay marriage fight remains an uphill battle. The National Organization for Marriage says its own polling has found well over half of American voters believe marriage should be defined as a union of one man and one woman.

But Brown acknowledges that defenders of so-called traditional marriage now find themselves on the defensive.

"All of the cultural power is being exerted on the side of redefining marriage," Brown said. "Therefore, in colleges, students are constantly hearing about how it's discrimination or bigoted to stand up for traditional marriage."

"We are the rebels now," he said."

"Protest Votes Against Same-Sex Marriage Help End 32-Year Reign" of NY Senator Saland

The Observer gives credit where credit is due -- to pro-marriage voters in New York who ousted Steven Saland for betraying them on marriage!

"When Terry Gipson stood on a chair to announce that he had been declared the winner by Gannett publishing in his race to unseat state Senator Stephen Saland, he received a warm ovation from the crowd at the Election Night party at Shadows on the Hudson in Poughkeepsie.

... And while the final ballot count is still not in, the Gipson victory comes as a surprise to many who were unsure that anyone could unseat Saland, a Republican who has been in the state Legislature for 32 years, especially after Saland was endorsed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo after he voted to approve same-sex marriage. The endorsement and a letter from the governor to voters’ mailboxes came in the final days of the campaign.

In response to those actions, the Gipson campaign had pointed out that Saland opposed many of Cuomo’s other key priorities and that Gipson, who is pro-choice and supports same-sex marriage, would be a better match to the governor’s agenda.

“It’s quid pro Cuomo,” said one Democratic committee member not affiliated with the campaign who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. “Saland finally voted for same-sex marriage after years of helping block it, and it got him the endorsement.”

Saland has not yet been mathematically eliminated from the race and has not conceded."

Brian Brown: Election Result Should "Wake Up and Energize" Marriage Advocates

The Baptist Press interviews our president Brian Brown about the future of the marriage movement:

Voters in three states legalized gay marriage on Election Day -- the first time voters in any state had done so. But it wasn't a turning point on the issue, and traditionalists can still win the cultural battle, says Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage.

Some might think Brown is naive, but he notes that supporters of traditional marriage were outspent by a margin of 3-to-1 in liberal-leaning Maine, Maryland and Washington and lost by an average of only 53-47 percent.

"This is not over," Brown told Baptist Press, referencing the nationwide debate over marriage's definition. "... They had a great election from their perspective, but I hope that what this does is wake folks up and energize folks and people realize that [these losses] were not inevitable, same-sex marriage is not inevitable."

Bloomberg: SSM Backers Remain Focused on States Where People Can't Have a Say

More evidence that despite what happened in these past elections, gay marriage backers still don't trust their ability to win state elections:

Gay-marriage advocates, coming off their first ballot-box victories, are targeting New Jersey and five other U.S. states where the road to legalization is simpler because voters can’t overturn laws through referendums.

In Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island, lawmakers plan to consider or revisit the issue next year, and all except Minnesota already allow civil unions. Even though they prevailed in votes in four states Nov. 6 after a decade of defeats, backers say they prefer to make homosexual weddings legal through legislatures or courts. -- Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Baptist Press: Poll: 60% of Voters Back Traditional Marriage

The Baptist Press:

Despite four victories by gay marriage supporters on Election Day, a solid majority of voters nationwide still believe marriage is between one man and one woman, according to a new poll.

The survey by the Polling Company shows that 60 percent of voters in this year's election agreed that "marriage is between one man and one woman." Fifty-one percent agreed strongly. All total, 34 percent disagreed with the statement.

The poll of 800 people who voted either on Election Day or who voted early was conducted Nov. 7.

Breitbart's Ken Klukowski: "Marriage Still Wins When Equally Funded"

Breitbart News contributor Ken Klukowski:

"...the facts from the election returns don’t support the contention that marriage is a losing issue. First, it appears that supporters of gay marriage had vast resources to promote these ballot measures that swamped social conservatives, easily outspending supporters of traditional marriage. The Left managed to heavily market this issue not only to their base but also developed ads targeting Republicans, young people, and minorities with customized messages as to why those specific audiences should support gay marriage. Traditional marriage supporters had insufficient funds to effectively respond.

Second, in each of those four states, traditional marriage outperformed Mitt Romney and Republican candidates in general. Far from a drag on the ticket, traditional marriage received more votes than Romney in each of those four states. Thus, most citizens voting Republican/Romney also voted for traditional marriage, and also a sizable bloc of Democrat/Obama voters supported traditional marriage.

In the end two things appear clear within the context of how gay marriage is currently being discussed. The first is that there is a trend among young voters in favor of gay marriage. The second is that, given the narrow margins in these races, traditional marriage still wins when equally funded, but a large imbalance of resources for promotion and organizing to mobilize voters can give gay marriage a winning edge.

The looming question that America will soon face as a consequence of gay marriage is polygamy."

NOM's Thomas Peters on PBS: The Future of the Pro-Marriage Movement is Bright

NOM's Thomas Peters discusses the election results on PBS NewsHour and also responds to the inevitable question about inevitability:

Here is the last exchange between the host and Peters:

Suarez: "Aren't you standing on shifting sand? Given the momentum of the polls, given the momentum of the legal challenges, the losses in various federal appellate courts, the changes in various state laws, maybe you'll win tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but are you fighting against an inevitability?"

Peters: "No for two important reasons, first of all, I believe in the truth of my pro-marriage views, just as the other side does, and people who have those deep-seated convictions don't look at the changing tides wherever they may be they fight for what's true and what's right. Second of all, I think it's amazing with all of the cultural forces tying to redefine marriage that we're still here in 2012 just barely seeing some footholds gained in deep blue states. I think the future of the marriage movement is bright and ultimately I don't believe history moves in one direction."

Mainwaring: SSM Victories "Tactical Wins, Not a Sea Change"

Doug Mainwaring, a gay tea party activist and writer, notes the "thin margins for same-sex marriage" in deep blue states and concludes:

"...In my home state, Maryland, a minimum of 23% [100% - (37%/48%) = 23%] of the opposition to same-sex marriage came from Obama/Biden supporters. Earlier in the year, the Maryland House of Delegates only narrowly passed same-sex marriage legislation with just one vote to spare, and that only came with lots of arm-twisting.

These are not overwhelming victories representing a sea change in public attitude toward same-sex marriage. These are tactical wins." -- AmericanThinker

NOM's Peters on What the Election Taught Us: "Marriage Will Not Win If It's Not Defended."

NOM's Thomas Peters reflects on what lessons should be learned from the election results:

Thom Price asked whether the election losses were attributed to a lack of communication.

"It's a lack of activation, not communication," said [NOM's Thomas] Peters, who noted the disparity in the number of volunteers working against Minnesota's marriage amendment in comparison to the numbers supporting the amendment. He suggested that Catholics need to be far more active in the process. "Our opponents start by voting, and then spend months phone-calling, door-knocking, and getting the word out."

On the issue of marriage, Peters noted that traditional marriage lost in all four states - Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.

"In Minnesota, we tried to pass a marriage protection amendment so that marriage couldn't be redefined by judges. In Maine, voters approved same-sex 'marriage.' In Maryland and Washington, referendums to try to overturn gay marriage failed," said Peters. "We were outraised by 4 to 1, and 8 to 1 in some cases. Yet, in every one of those states, more people voted for marriage than voted for Romney. Traditional marriage lost by only a small margin. The message this sends to Christians is that marriage will not win if it's not defended." -- NCRegister

By The Numbers: Marriage Outperformed Romney in All 4 States

We've mentioned before that marriage fared better than the top of the GOP ticket in all four states that put the question to the people, here are the most recent figures:

Marriage vote:              Presidential race:

Maine 47.4%                 Romney 40.9%
Maryland 48.1%            Romney 36.6%
Minnesota 48.1%          Romney 45.2%
Washington 48.0%        Romney 42.3%

In other words, marriage outperformed the GOP ticket by:
6.5% in Maine
11.5% in Maryland
2.9% in Minnesota
5.7% in Washington

Marriage unites us more than party!

Despite First Ballot Wins, Gay Marriage Backers Still Wary of The People

The Wall Street Journal points out that despite their huge spending advantage and wins in deep-blue states, gay marriage backers are still opting to pursue their agenda through the courts and legislatures:

After notching their first wins using state ballots, gay-marriage advocates said their long-term national strategy will rely more on legislatures and federal courts than expensive state-by-state popular votes.

...But many gay-rights leaders said their strategy going forward—built on lessons from the African-American civil-rights movement—doesn't bank on taking their cause directly to voters in many more states.

"Rights should not be put to a vote," said Evan Wolfson, the founder of Freedom to Marry, a national gay-rights group that supported Tuesday's initiatives. "While we have now shown we can do it, it doesn't mean that we should have to do it, and it doesn't mean that it is easy to do." He said "very few" states are likely appropriate battlegrounds for future ballot fights, given the expense and organization required.

Opponents of same-sex marriage said Tuesday's results proved only that gay-marriage advocates could persuade voters in a few liberal states. "What they did not accomplish is changing the opinions of Americans," said Frank Schubert, political director for the National Organization for Marriage.

"I don't know exactly what they are going to do, but I expect there will be a lot of pressure on them by in-state activists" to take up new ballot battles, he said.

Gay-marriage proponents face a difficult landscape. Over the last 15 years, some 30 states passed amendments to their constitutions that define marriage as between a man and a woman, making it impossible in most cases for state courts or legislatures to legalize gay marriage. Changing those laws would require new ballot initiatives in each state or action by the federal government or courts.

Recent efforts by gay-rights groups have focused on winning support for gay marriage from legislatures in states such as New York, which didn't have a constitutional ban. Voters in Maryland and Washington on Tuesday voted whether to support decisions made by their legislatures to legalize gay marriage. Similar legislative battles could happen next year in states including Rhode Island and Delaware.

LSN: Exit Polling Data Suggest Breakdown of the Family Favors the Rise of Liberal Politics

LifeSiteNews:

As the dust settles around last night’s election, the conventional wisdom is that Obama claimed the nation’s female vote. Some analysts, however, are pointing out that marital status appears to have been a more significant factor in the voting booth than gender.

According to polling data released by MSNBC, Obama carried the majority of the female vote over-all, at 55%. However, of the married women polled, 53% voted for Romney and 46% for Obama. In contrast, unmarried women favored Obama over Romney by a huge margin of 67% to 31%.

According to Brad Wilcox, Director of the National Marriage Project and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, the data suggests that the President’s message resonates specifically with those women living the consequences of family breakdown.

“Single mothers are more likely to depend on a generous welfare state and therefore to identify with the expansive governmental vision of the Democratic Party,” Wilcox told LifeSiteNews. “By contrast, married mothers are less likely to depend on the welfare state and therefore to identify with the limited government philosophy of the Republican Party.”

He added: “Married women are more likely to have a pro-life worldview, and unmarried women are more likely to have a pro-choice worldview.”

Wilcox’s analysis is consistent with a candid strategy memo released by the liberal-leaning Greenberg Quinlan Rosser research firm just before the 2008 election that landed Obama the Presidency.

“Unmarried women represent one of the most reliable Democratic cohorts in the electorate,” the memo read.

Brian Brown to SCOTUS: Keep Your Hands Off Marriage!

Our President Brian Brown is quoted in the New York Times:

"...it is not clear which side benefited more from those developments [the four marriage referendums] at the Supreme Court.

Supporters of traditional marriage, even as they registered disappointment, said the results showed that the question could be resolved democratically.

“It bolsters our case,” said Brian S. Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage. “It’s very difficult to say you need a federal resolution of this question if states are resolving it for themselves.”

Adam Umhoefer, the executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the group behind a California case seeking to establish a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, expressed mixed feelings about the developments. They were, he said, the right outcomes in the wrong forums.

“Fundamental constitutional rights like marriage,” he said, “should never be subjected to a popular vote.”

Cardinal Dolan Promises President Obama: Catholic Church Will Continue to Fight For Marriage

The US Bishops:

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, congratulated President Barack Obama, November 7, the day after his re-election as President of the United States.

Cardinal Dolan promised the prayers of the bishops saying that "The Catholic Bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom to meet the difficult challenges that face America."

He added that "In particular, we pray that you will exercise your office to pursue the common good, especially in care of the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, and the immigrant. We will continue to stand in defense of life, marriage, and our first, most cherished liberty, religious freedom. We pray, too, that you will help restore a sense of civility to the public order, so our public conversations may be imbued with respect and charity toward everyone."