NOM BLOG

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Pair of Studies Show Several Ways Dads Make a Difference for Kids

Karla Dial of CitizenLink:

Two studies recently published in scientific journals say that when it comes to parenting, dads really do matter to kids — and in some ways, they may have even more influence than mothers.

According to a meta-analysis of several decades’ worth of parenting studies published in Personality and Social PsychologyReview in May, kids who feel rejected by their fathers show higher rates of behavioral problems, delinquency, depression and substance abuse than those who feel rejected by their mothers. The analysis was conducted by Ronald P. Rohner, Ph.D., a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut and director of the Ronald and Nancy Rohner Center for the Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection.

Meanwhile, a study conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University (BYU) published last week in the Journal of Early Adolescence suggests that children whose fathers use an authoritative parenting style show more persistence than others — regardless of the type of parenting style their mothers use. Persistence, in turn was linked to lower rates of delinquency and greater involvement in school.

“Behavioral problems of kids — substance abuse, depression and overall psychological adjustment of children — tends to be more linked to children’s perception of dad’s rejection than to mother’s,” Rohner said.

A Prayer for Freedom!

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Dear Marriage Supporter,

As many of us gather in houses of worship across the nation this weekend, I hope you'll join me in taking a moment to remember our nation in prayer.

Here is a suggested Christian prayer from Fortnight4Freedom.org:

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared and collected numerous resources for individuals and churches across the nation at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org. And it's not just for Catholic churches! If your church is not already a part of this groundbreaking new initiative, I urge you to share Baltimore Archbishop William Lori's letter of invitation with your pastor this weekend. (Click here to download.)

As Archbishop Lori suggests, I hope you will set aside some time during these two weeks to pray for religious liberty both here and abroad, and will take advantage of this moment to explain the importance of religious freedom to your own children and grandchildren.

And then join with churches from every faith tradition on July 4th as we celebrate our heritage with the ringing of bells from coast to coast!

Influential MN Pastor: Star-Tribune Got it Wrong -- I Support Marriage!

(Watch Pastor Piper's full message from last Sunday here.)

Pastor John Piper writes in response to the Star-Tribune attempting to say he "opt[ed] out" of the fight to protect marriage when he preached against same-sex marriage last Sunday:

"[The Star-Tribune] got two parts wrong.

First they say, “Key Minnesota pastors opt out of marriage fight.” I didn’t opt out. I opted in. What is at stake more than anything else is the meaning of marriage and how important it is for the common good and for the glory of Christ. That was the main burden of the message. Marriage is the sexual and covenantal union of a man and a woman pledging life-long allegiance to each other as husband and wife. There is no such thing as so-called same-sex “marriage.” That is clear in God’s word.

The second mistake is to say that I “have not encouraged members to take a stand on the issue.” That is, in fact, the opposite of what I was saying in the last two points of my message (points 7 and 8).

The aim of point 7 was to help our people know how to vote on the marriage amendment."

National Organization for Marriage Says "Acceptance" of Gay Marriage Is No Path To Follow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2012
Contact: Anath Hartmann or Elizabeth Ray (703-683-5004)


"Retreating from the debate is not a path we or our followers will ever travel."—Brian Brown, NOM president—

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C.— Reacting to an op-ed written by family advocate David Blankenhorn and published online today by the New York Times, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) said that Blankenhorn's decision to "accept" gay marriage even while maintaining his beliefs that traditional marriage is a unique public good is likely a result of continual vilification, but is not a path for Americans to follow.

"David Blankenhorn has suffered extraordinary vilification and abuse as a result of his writings in support of marriage as the union of husband and wife and his testimony in defense of California's Proposition 8," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "Still, even in announcing today that he feels he personally has come to ‘accept' same-sex marriage, without supporting or condoning it, he expressly stands by every word he said in those writings and that testimony. He says his view of what marriage truly is, and of its indispensable social role, has not changed. I am certain that the commitment of the tens of millions of Americans who are working hard to maintain marriage as God designed it won't change, either."

Blankenhorn said in his article that he was stepping aside from the gay marriage fight to focus on other issues in part because of acceptance of gay marriage by elites. Last May he publicly opposed the North Carolina marriage amendment, but voters overwhelmingly passed it by a 61-39% margin.

"It is sad when a powerful and compelling voice goes silent—especially when the topic is one as important as marriage, and where the silence is not motivated by a change of view about the nature of marriage but rather a seeming succumbing to the continual pressure of the cultural elite," Brown said. "Yet retreating from the debate is not a path we or our followers will ever travel, for retreat will surely lead to defeat. We intend to fight on, and fight harder, for the truth—that marriage is the unique union of a man and a woman."

NOM also took issue with Blankenhorn's statement in the article that many Americans oppose same-sex marriage out of "animus" for gays and lesbians.

"It is very unfortunate that he seemed to suggest in his op ed that many people who hold a view of marriage identical to his own hold it for dishonorable reasons," Brown said. "That's not fair or true, and he shouldn't have said it. Still, we appreciate that he continues to stand by his past writings and testimony."

NOM's president said that Blankenhorn's new position would ripple throughout elite society and the media, but is not likely to have a material impact on the outcome of the debate.

"The American people know in their heart what marriage is, and they have expressed that in the form of over 70 million votes cast in 32 consecutive state elections to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman," Brown said. "I don't expect that Mr. Blankenhorn's change of views will have any more impact in the national debate than they did in North Carolina where voters overwhelmingly supported a marriage protection amendment despite opposition from Mr. Blankenhorn."

###

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

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

18 Social Scientists Respond to Attempt to Discredit Regnerus Study

Eighteen social scientists have responded to the attempt to discredit Prof. Mark Regnerus' study:

Same-sex marriage is one of the most contentious and vexing issues now facing our nation. It is perhaps in part for that reason that the new study on same-sex parenting by University of Texas sociology professor Mark Regnerus, which finds that young-adult children of parents who have had same-sex relationships are more likely to suffer from a range of emotional and social problems,[1] has been subject to such sustained and sensational criticism from dozens of media outlets, from the Huffington Post to the New Yorker to the New Republic. These outlets have alleged, respectively, that his research is “anti-gay,” “breathtakingly sloppy,” and “gets everything wrong.”

Although Regnerus’s article in Social Science Research is not without its limitations, as social scientists, we think much of the public criticism Regnerus has received is unwarranted for three reasons.

... We do not think that these new studies settle the nation’s ongoing debate about gay parenting, same-sex marriage, and the welfare of children. In fact, research on same-sex parenting based on nationally representative samples is still in its infancy. But we think that the Regnerus study, which is one of the first to rely on a large, random, and representative sample of children from parents who have experienced same-sex relationships, has helped to inform the ongoing scholarly and public conversation about same-sex families in America. Indeed, it is possible to interpret Regnerus’s findings as evidence for the need for legalized gay marriage, in order to support the social stability of such relationships. As social scientists, our hope is that more such studies will be forthcoming shortly, and that future journalistic coverage of such studies, and this contentious topic, will be more civil, thorough, and thoughtful than has been the coverage of the new study by Professor Mark Regnerus."

Gay Marriage Repeal Bill Introduced in Albany!!!

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Dear Marriage Supporter,

In March, David Storobin pulled off a historic upset: he won a seat in the New York Senate as a pro-marriage Republican in Brooklyn, one of the bluest districts in the entire country. He beat out the strongly pro-gay marriage Lew Fidler and replaced the disgraced Senator Carl Kruger, who sold out his constituents, flip-flopping and voting for gay marriage last year.

Just 10 days into his term, the new Senator Storobin is already making good on campaign promises to stand up for marriage in Albany, introducing the "New York State Defense of Marriage Act" to define marriage as between a husband and wife.

He needs—and deserves—our support!

Please take 2 minutes right now to contact your State Senator to let him or her
know that you expect them to support Senator Storobin's bill.

Following his stunning, come-from-behind victory, Albany's newest Republican continues to shock the establishment, showing that the same-sex marriage debate is not over in New York.

NOM has vowed to spend $2 million in New York elections to oppose those politicians who support gay marriage, and to win for the voters their right to vote on the definition of marriage.

You and I must support this fledgling marriage champion in Albany!

But Senator Storobin is just the beginning! Together, we can elect new pro-marriage allies to the House and Senate this November, and send a pro-marriage majority to Albany willing to fight for the future of marriage in New York.

Won't you please support NOM PAC NY today by making a secure online donation
of $25, $50, $100 or even $1,000 if you have the means?

Donate now

Supporter, it's time for the elite and the media to start paying attention to what has happened since same-sex marriage was imposed in New York:

  • In New York's 9th Congressional District, a pro-marriage Republican congressman was elected to a House seat that was held by Democrats for decades (since 1923 to be exact!);
  • Pro-marriage David Storobin has been elected in a heavily Democratic seat replacing a gay marriage backer;
  • Republican James Alesi was forced to retire from the Senate after his vote for same-sex marriage made it too difficult to get even compete in his own primary;
  • Mark Grisanti faces both a primary and general election challenge and is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to salvage his reputation after voting for gay marriage;
  • Senator Roy McDonald is in deep political trouble and has lost critical support over his vote in favor of gay marriage.

By the time all is said and done, those politicians responsible for passing same-sex marriage will be gone and NOM will still be there working with pro-marriage legislators to restore marriage in New York.

Please support David Storobin and his efforts to defend marriage today!

And please consider helping NOM PAC NY win even more victories for marriage with your generous gift today!

Donate now

Thank you for all you have done to make these victories possible. These next 5 months are critical as we take the next steps together.

House GOP Leaders Will Ask Supreme Court By the End of June to Take DOMA Appeal

CNN:

House Republicans have signaled they plan to ask the Supreme Court by month's end to get involved in a constitutional fight over same-sex marriage.

In a federal court filing Wednesday in Connecticut, the House of Representatives' Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group asked a judge to put on hold consideration of a pending lawsuit in that state over the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The 1996 congressional law defines marriage for federal purposes as exclusively between a man and a woman.

... Lawyers for House Republicans, who have now picked up defense of DOMA, said pending court challenges in other jurisdictions should now be put on hold until the justices ultimately decide whether to take up the separate case from Massachusetts.

The first step would be for congressional leaders to formally ask the justices to intervene, by filing a so-called "petition for certiorari."

In their motion this week in the current Connecticut dispute, GOP leaders said they would do that "by the end of the month," predicting it would be a "good candidate for Supreme Court review."

Thank Local School Board for Rejecting SSM...in 1st Grade Math Class!

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Dear Marriage Supporter,

Erie, Illinois is a small, rural town of 1,600 residents in western Illinois, just across the border from Davenport, Iowa...not exactly where you'd expect to find a national controversy brewing over pro-gay marriage school curriculum.

It all started when concerned parents in Erie, Illinois got word of plans for a new curriculum (even in a MATH class!) teaching their children as young as 4 years old about same-sex marriage and cross-dressing.

Listening to the parents' concerns, the Erie school board voted 5-2 to reject the curriculum introduced by the Gay, Straight, Lesbian Education Network (GLSEN).

But it didn't end there...now GLSEN has launched a national campaign to pressure the Erie school board into imposing its "Ready, Set, Respect!" curriculum over the objection of parents and taxpayers.

Please take 2 minutes to send the Erie School Board a message thanking them
for respecting the rights of parents, and urging them to stand strong!

Take Action Now!

As reported by CitizenLink, the curriculum invites students as young as kindergarten to "draw pictures of favorite TV or storybook characters and dress them in clothes that are different … from what they would typically wear," such as "Cinderella in a knight's armor" or "Spiderman wearing a magic tiara."

It also suggests teachers incorporate examples of homosexual relationships into classroom activities, such as math problems including "a variety of family structures and gender-expressions. For example, 'Rosa and her dads were at the store and wanted to buy three boxes of pasta...'"

And it encourages educators to use storybooks that familiarize young children with same-sex marriage and transgender or cross-dressing behaviors. Suggested books include Uncle Bobby's Wedding, which features two male guinea pigs who get married.

And now GLSEN is urging its members across the country to pressure the Erie School Board to re-introduce the curriculum over the objections of parents.

Help the Erie School Board stay strong in the face of this renewed attack against
marriage and our children! Send a message right now thanking them and
asking them to stay strong in their decision!

Take Action Now!

Australia's 2011 Census: Gay Couples Less than Half of One Percent

PinkNews UK:

Data from Australia’s 2011 census have been released today and show 33,714 gay couples, 1,338 of whom are married.

The number of same-sex relationships is equivalent to 0.48 per cent of the total number of couples recorded in the survey and has risen from 25,600 in 2006.

For the first time, gay couples had the option of recording themselves as married in the census, though Australia does not legally recognise them as such at the federal level.

AP Poll: Only 40% of Americans Support SSM

The AP:

President Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage did little to shift the nation’s views on the subject, with a new poll finding that the public remains evenly split on the issue.

...The poll found that 42 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, 40 percent support it and 15 percent are neutral. Last August, the country was similarly divided over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to be legally married in their state, with 45 percent opposing, 42 percent favoring and 10 percent neutral.

... posing a potential problem for the president, his announcement also fired up the right — against him. More Republicans and conservatives said they strongly disapproved of his handling of the issue now than before; 53 percent of Republicans said that, compared with 45 percent in August, and 52 percent of conservatives say as much now, up from 43 percent back then.

The issue could compel them to turn out in droves to vote against Obama.

Study's Newsflash: Nearby Guys Aren't Dads

This is the latest edition of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study. We are still waiting for anyone to criticize this study for not using a random sample, or for saying stability doesn't matter to children (see Pediatrics 2010, Gartrell).

In this latest edition they are reporting that children raised by two lesbian moms do not do better if they report having a "male role model":

"...About half of the young people in the study, both boys and girls, report having a significant male role model in their life, even though they have two mothers. But there was no difference in psychological well-being between those who have such a role model and those who do not. There was also no evidence that the presence of a male role model affects traits commonly associated with gender roles or that boys require a male role model to be well-adjusted.

Previous research based on this study has found no difference in well-being between children raised in lesbian families and and those in heterosexual two-parent families. The study is confined to planned lesbian families, meaning that both partners identified as lesbian before having children. Researchers recruited participants between 1986 and 1992 and have checked in with them at various points in their lives. Most of the participants are middle-class." -- The Advocate

California Committee Passes Bill Redefining Marriage as "A Personal Relation"

CitizenLink:

The General Assembly Judiciary Committee passed SB 1140 on a 7-1 vote late Tuesday afternoon.

State Sen. Mark Leno says his legislation is meant to protect churches that refuse to perform same-sex ceremonies from being threatened with the loss of their tax-exempt status in the future. Should the bill become law, it would define marriage as “a personal relation arising out of a civil, and not religious, contract.”

The bill, which passed the Senate nearly three weeks ago, may soon come before the full General Assembly for a floor vote.

Ron Prentice, executive director of the California Family Council, pointed out that the bill was drafted by the gay-activist group Equality California — and its only real purpose is to get same-sex marriage on the legislative fast track should the U.S. Supreme Court strike down the state’s current constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Legal Scholar Linton on the "Collusive Lawsuit" to Redefine Marriage in Illinois

Paul Linton, special counsel for the Thomas More Society in Chicago, writes at Public Discourse:

"...The fact that advocates of same-sex marriage uniformly oppose public votes on state constitutional amendments that would define marriage as a union of a man and a woman is telling evidence that they do not believe what they say. If advocates of same-sex marriage believe that the people of Illinois are now prepared to accept same-sex marriage, let’s have the General Assembly put the issue on the November ballot and we’ll see who wins. Same-sex marriage should not come in the back door, via an arguably collusive lawsuit in which no one charged with the responsibility of enforcing the law actually defends it."

The Sanctity of a Comic Book Gay Wedding, NOM Marriage News

NOM National Newsletter

Dear Marriage Supporter,

X-Men Comics is depicting a gay superhero wedding. "Northstar," who came out as gay in 1992, is now proposing to "Kyle."

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said, "Marvel has a long and proud tradition of reflecting the world in all its diversity, and this is just one more example of that."

Marjorie Liu, an X-Men writer, told Rolling Stone she wanted to inspire others to follow their footsteps. "Here are two people, trying to live their lives—mutant and gay, black and gay—empowered in their own ways, but also fringe-dwellers," she said. "They're living life on their own terms...The message is: You can do the same thing."

A comic book shop in New York City spotted a commercial opportunity, a chance for some nice publicity, according to LifeSiteNews.

They decided to fund an all-expenses paid wedding for two lucky guys, in their comic book store.

No, I'm not making this up.

Scott Everhart, bless him, at 39 years of age, saw an opportunity of his own. He applied online to win the comic book store wedding prize—and waited to tell his partner Jason until he was asked by the store to come in for an interview.

"That's when I broke the news to [Welker] and kind of proposed at the same time," he said.

Thor Parker, social media and events director at Midtown Comics, said, "They really stood out as super fans."

After the ceremony the store sold copies of Astonishing X-Men No. 51, which features Northstar and Kyle tying the knot.

(Same-sex weddings are becoming commonplace in comic books, from Archie to X-Men. Batwoman—originally a love interest for Batman—has become a lesbian.)

Why am I telling you this story? I don't know Scott or Jason and I wish them both well.

But something is wrong when huge companies push gay marriage into children's literature in order to make money. Something is wrong when a comic book store decides to host a wedding, again for commercial purposes. And something is really wrong when a man proposes because, well, somebody else is going to help pay for the wedding and it might mean a cool trip to New York City.

Somewhere there may be some foolish man and woman getting married in a comic book store. But nobody else is paying for it and nobody in the media is covering it.

Are we really supposed to believe in the "sanctity" of gay comic book weddings?

The promotion of gay marriage continues apace.

But so do more hopeful cultural evolutions.

The Southern Baptist Convention elected its first African-American president, the Reverend Fred Luter, Jr.

This is huge.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest Protestant body in the United States and the world's largest Baptist denomination. With over 16 million members, it is also the second largest Christian denomination in the United States, after the Catholic Church.

The SBC was formed in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia following a regional split over the issue of slavery. After the civil war, black Baptists generally split off from the SBC and formed their own congregations.

Dr. Richard Land, the Oxford-educated head of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, reminded me a few months ago of something else about the Southern Baptist Convention: they were the first, and perhaps the only, Protestant denomination to re-form themselves along Biblical principles. (The reformers called it "the conservative resurgence" while the dissenters refer to it as the "fundamentalist takeover.")

Actually, I was at Judge Pressler's ranch this February when Dr. Land reminded me of this historic event. Judge Pressler, along with theologian Paige Patterson, launched the re-formation of the Southern Baptists along Biblical principles.

In 1995, the Convention renounced racism and apologized for its past defense of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Today about one-fifth of SBC congregations are majority non-white.

Upon his historic election, Reverend Fred Luter, Jr., told CNN's Soledad O'Brien that he will stand with the Good Book when it comes to marriage:

I'm a man of the book. I believe in the word of God. I believe in the Bible. God has specifically spoken about marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman. That's biblical. No president whether it's a president in the White House, no governor, no mayor, no one can change that. God has already established marriage between a one man and one woman. So I would stand for that because that's what the word of God says and that's what I believe in.

He went on to say, "I support my President. He is my President. I pray for him and Michelle and his daughters on a daily basis. But on this issue, the President and I have two different opinions, for sure."

 

The day after this groundbreaking, historic event the Southern Baptist Convention went on record opposing not only gay marriage, but more specifically, the conflation of gay marriage with a civil right.

Marriage is "the exclusive union of one man and one woman" and "all sexual behavior outside of marriage is sinful."

The resolution acknowledges the "unique struggles" of gay people but goes on to affirm:

It is regrettable that homosexual rights activists and those who are promoting the recognition of `same-sex marriage' have misappropriated the rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement.

The times they are a-changing—and not always in the way progressives predict.

In Minnesota, the amazing Kalley Yanta just released a new video explaining the consequences of gay marriage that experts predict, including a "flood of litigation."

 

(The incredibly amazing Frank Schubert of Mission Public Affairs—who led the fight for Prop 8 among many other great victories—is heading up the fight in that state to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment.)

I thought about Kalley's video when I ran across a little news story—no big deal, you won't hear about this on Fox News, or from Sean Hannity or NBC. A federal lawsuit was just filed against St. Joseph's Medical Center, a Catholic hospital in Westchester, New York, because the Catholic hospital doesn't provide spousal benefits for same-sex unions. It's yet another lawsuit challenging DOMA, the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Religious charities, who do good work and are now facing litigation threats, are just collateral damage to gay rights activists intent on using the law to impose their vision of "equality." It quickly becomes clear, like in George Orwell's famous dystopian novel Animal Farm, that some are more equal than others.

"I remember almost a year ago when this bill was signed into law, we were told that it would have no impact on religious freedoms," my friend the Rev. Jason McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms told Citizen Link. "Less than a year later it's very clear that gay marriage is indeed having an impact on religious freedom here in the Empire State."

St. Joseph's Medical Center's insurance plan is self-financed, which means it falls under federal law rather than the laws of New York State. Catholic hospitals self-finance in order to avoid state laws that require them to fund abortions and other acts the Catholic church considers immoral. Striking down DOMA (which protects their right to limit spousal benefits to husbands and wives) is the first step to imposing a new orthodoxy of gay "equality" on every organization in America.

I want to thank Sen. Mitch McConnell personally for speaking out against the abuse of power against nonprofits, including a suspicious attempt by the IRS to force disclosure of donors whose names are not required under federal laws. And for specifically mentioning the leak from the IRS of NOM's confidential tax documents:

The head of one national advocacy group has released documents which show that his group's confidential IRS information found its way into the hands of a staunch critic on the Left who also happens to be a co-chairman of President Obama's re-election committee. The only way this information could have been made public is if someone leaked it from inside the IRS.

Thanks Sen. Mitch McConnell, for speaking truth to power!

Let me promise you—with your help and with God's—we will not be deterred or intimidated from standing up now and forever for God's truth about marriage.

This fight, this good fight, continues. We know Who wins in the end, don't we?

Thank you for all that you have made possible—with your prayers, with your letters, with your kind words of encouragement and with your financial contributions.

GOProud Endorses Romney

The Advocate (a gay news source):

Mitt Romney received his first endorsement from a group representing gay Americans when GOProud voted to support the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Tuesday night, saying that the businessman and former Massachusetts governor brings “the experience and expertise to turn this economy around.”

In a statement, the group for gay conservatives and their allies announced it had “enthusiastically,” but not unanimously, decided to back Romney despite his support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would limit marriage to the union of one man and one woman.

“GOProud is prepared to commit significant resources to help make Mitt Romney the next President of the United States,” said Lisa De Pasquale, interim GOProud board chair and former CPAC director. The group plans to have a large presence at the Republican National Convention this September in Tampa, where it will hold the annual Homocon event.