Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), says that a postponed vote on a bay
marriage bill in Illinois disproves its inevitability.
After passage of the bill in the Senate
on Valentine's Day, the measure's champion in the House, Rep. Greg
Harris, surprised proponents on the last day of the spring
legislative session when he announced that he would not call the bill
for a vote. Harris choked back tears as he explained that he had
assurances from colleagues that they would support the measure in the
fall and pledged to call a vote on the bill in November.
In a National Review blog post, Brown
credited the defeat to African-American pastors, calling them “heroes
for marriage.”
“Many groups worked hard to defeat
this attempt to redefine marriage, including the Illinois Family
Institute, Illinois Catholic Conference, Illinois Family PAC and the
National Organization for Marriage,” Brown
wrote. “But African-American clergy who would not be dissuaded
from speaking out for truth made the difference.”
“There are many heroes in this
battle, including former Democratic state senator Reverend James
Meeks, Bishop Lance Davis, Bishop Larry Trotter, and the members of
the African-American Clergy Coalition.”
“Together these heroes for marriage
did what few thought possible – defeating gay-marriage advocates
and their supporters in the legislature in the bluest of blue
states.”
“Let that be a lesson to all the
politicians and journalists (and the occasional dispirited
pro-marriage advocate) out there who are tempted to buy the lie of
'inevitability.'”
However, the so-called inevitability of
marriage equality is not related to the present tense. Instead, it
relates to the next generation, which overwhelmingly supports its
legalization.
(Related: Gay
group Equality Illinois launches $500K “Fight Back for Marriage”
campaign.)