At the start of this month, I posted about a lawsuit filed by the United Church of Christ in North Carolina, seeking their marriage discrimination amendment to be struck down as a violation of their free exercise of religion: their right to perform same-sex marriages. I wondered (without holding my breath) if conservatives like NOM would get behind the case. Not holding my breath was a good decision.
NOM's stated goal is "to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it", but their latest blog post reveals that their concern for people of faith only extends to people of their faith: their faith of bigotry, hatred and discrimination. They are trumpeting a column for Decision Magazine by fundamentalist pastor Franklin Graham. The post is an insult to all Christians who support marriage equality:
Graham: "True Followers of Jesus...Cannot Endorse Same-sex Marriage"
Rev. Franklin Graham, son of world-famous evangelist Billy Graham, said that “true followers” of Jesus “cannot endorse same-sex marriage,” regardless of what others, including President Obama, the media, or the Supreme Court say about the issue.
[...]
Graham maintained that Christians cannot compromise on the issue of marriage and must remain committed to biblical principles.
This is not personally offensive to me, as I am not a Christian. But the message to pro-equality Christians is that they are not true Christians due to their support for marriage equality. This, to me, is the type of insult against people of faith that NOM has consistently denounced.
I'm aware that there is a possibility of our opponents accusing me of hypocrisy for this judgement, as I have also stated what I believe constitutes a true Christian. In this diary, I referred to "right-wing anti-LGBT fundamentalist "Christians"". Here's the difference between me and NOM:
I'm not criticizing NOM for saying that Christian supporters of marriage equality aren't true Christians. This is, without doubt, insulting to that group of people. I acknowledge that my statement about "right-wing anti-LGBT fundamentalist "Christians"" would also be offensive to that group of people. I don't have a problem with either me or NOM exercising our right to say something that someone else might find insulting. What I am criticizing them for is their insulting of pro-equality Christians despite their concern over "people of faith" being persecuted. They apparently haven't realised that many people of faith are pro-equality, and that there are faiths with beliefs, teachings and followers different from theirs. If their concern for people of faith was genuine, they would support the religious freedom of the United Church of Christ to perform same-sex marriages, and not dismiss pro-equality Christians as not "true followers of Jesus Christ". That they do this is just further proof that their concerns for people of faith are not genuinely aimed at preserving religious liberty, but just at advancing anti-LGBT discrimination wherever they can.
Their offensive statements don't stop there. They also promoted this from Graham:
I pray that the church will return to its calling to stand on God’s principles, not wavering, but steadfast, discerning the evil times in which we live.
I'm disgusted, but not shocked. They have previously
referred to marriage equality as a "culture of death". But with their efforts to halt marriage equality in Oregon having just been
rebuffed by the Ninth Circuit, and the Maine Ethics Commission
recommending fining NOM $50,000 for campaign finance violations in 2009, disgusting tactics must be all they have left.