Poor Brian Brown and the National Organization for Marriage just can't catch a break from all the fundraising to be had off of marriage equality. He gets madder and wealthier with every victory we win. No doubt Mr. Brown was as surprised as the rest of us to see the ruling out of Utah on marriage equality this afternoon. With dollar signs in his eyes, he took to NOM's blog to decry the latest cash cow dropped in his lap.
"We appreciate Attorney General Tarbet's swift action in seeking a stay of this decision and his commitment to appeal the ruling to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals," Brown said. "The rush to issue same-sex ‘marriage' licenses in Salt Lake County before the ink is even dry on Judge Shelby's decision is unseemly and an insult to the people. This is one of the most important issues facing the state and country. The constitution of the United States is not changed because a single judge says it should be. This critical matter needs to be considered by the higher courts immediately."
The decision today is remarkable because the judge claims that it's the purview of the state to define marriage, yet he has invalidated their definition of marriage, one overwhelmingly adopted by both the state Legislature and the people of Utah. Everyone in America should be concerned to see how easily activist judges can cavalierly toss out the will of overwhelming majorities of legislators and voters alike. It's becoming increasingly clear that the people of America need to reclaim their sovereignty and amend the US Constitution to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
"This ruling is a travesty of justice," said Brian Brown, NOM President. "The voters of Utah made their will in this matter perfectly clear less than 10 years ago when adopting an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. This ruling should concern every American who cares about the rights of citizens and their involvement in determining the laws that govern us. This trend of vetoing the voters from the bench must be stopped."
The problem for Brian is those cash cows just get skinnier by the victory. His donor base is going the way of the dinosaurs. His cause has already been lost and was writ large in Utah today. Sure, there will be appeals and posturing and this thing will be dragged through the courts for as long as it can be milked, but equality will win. People were married today right under the Mormon's noses. Once you have been given a green light to your rights, well, that is a very difficult thing to rescind. Californians know a thing or two about that.
This domino effect taking place in our country from striking down DOMA couldn't come at a better time. We need to fast track this battle and get it behind us. There is much work to do in other, more desperate parts of our planet. I hope I live to long enough to turn my full attention towards fighting against the terrifying events unfolding beyond our borders. I'm looking at you, Russia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc...