Recently, NOM went nuts over a polygamous relationship in Massachusetts that is not a marriage, saying that legalized polygamy is coming. They also endlessly promote the idea that marriage equality is somehow a threat to religious freedom.
But two events in the past week have shattered these arguments, and if anything, turn them in our favor.
CNN reports:
A new law that went into effect in Kenya this week makes it legal for a man to marry as many women as he wants. And a leading women's group is applauding it.
President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the polygamy measure into law Tuesday, formally recognizing what has long been a cultural practice in the nation.
So Kenya has legalized (some) polygamy. Well, if NOM's talking point that marriage equality leads to polygamous marriage is to be believed, I guess Kenya must have already legalized same-sex marriage right?
No. Quite the opposite.
Pew Research's report from last year on global attitudes towards homosexuality found that 90% of Kenyans believe it should not be accepted by society. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Kenya. And gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
If anything, homophobia led to polygamy in Kenya.
Now we come back to domestic issues, specifically one from North Carolina. Media Matters' Luke Brinker reports:
On April 28, the United Church of Christ (UCC), a progressive Protestant denomination that supports marriage equality, filed suit in Federal District Court challenging North Carolina's ban on clergy blessings of same-sex unions. Under the state's 2012 same-sex marriage ban, it's a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 45 days in jail, to perform a ceremony for any couple lacking a valid marriage license. The UCC argues that the ban infringes on clergy members' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion:
"We didn't bring this lawsuit to make others conform to our beliefs, but to vindicate the right of all faiths to freely exercise their religious practices," said Donald C. Clark Jr., general counsel of the United Church of Christ.
The lawsuit represents the inverse of a long-standing (and entirely baseless) conservative horror story about marriage equality - that churches will be forced to perform same-sex weddings against their will.
Now that marriage discrimination laws are infringing religious freedom, will NOM come out in support of the UCC's lawsuit, which aims to advance religious freedom? I'm not holding my breath.