The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on
Thursday predicted the demise of the National Organization for
Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay
marriage.
In
a post titled National Movement Opposing Same-Sex Marriage Is
Done, the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate wrote: “HRC is
highlighting a new milestone in the march toward full marriage
equality: the fall of the empire opposed to same-sex marriage.”
“Widespread losses, sagging poll
numbers, and poor investments make it difficult to see how national
groups like the so-called National Organization for Marriage remain
viable.”
NOM burst on the scene in 2007,
mounting a successful campaign to repeal marriage equality in
California. It the years since, it has thwarted gains in several
states, including New Jersey and Minnesota, helped repeal a law in
Maine and backed a constitutional amendment in North Carolina.
HRC notes that groups which have
traditionally opposed such unions, including Republicans,
African-Americans and Latinos, are reversing course.
“Opponents' financing is drying up,”
HRC added. “They were outspent almost three to one last year, $12
million to $34 million in the campaigns.”
Additionally, NOM rarely talks about
reversing gains in states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and New York.
“NOM promised, for instance, that it
would spend $2 million to defeat the four Republican State Senators
in New York who backed the legislature's same-sex marriage bill in
2011. NOM then backpedaled, saying it would spend $250,000 in the
primary fights. According to NOM PAC NY's campaign finance reports,
it only raised $45,000 and only spent $40,000 in 2012 – nowhere
near what it claimed it would spend.”