The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) is promoting two anti-gay marriage billboards in Tennessee.
NOM is the nation's most vociferous
opponent of gay marriage. The group played a critical role in
repealing gay marriage laws in California and Maine.
At
its blog, the group is promoting the efforts of an unnamed
grassroots group from Cookeville, Tennessee, which has erected two
billboards denouncing gay marriage.
Each billboard includes the words “Man
+ Woman = Marriage God's Way; Genesis 2:24” accompanied by a
photograph of a young man and woman.
The King James version of the Biblical
passage quoted talks about a man leaving his family: “Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife, and they shall be one flesh.”
One billboard appeared in September and
the second in October.
“I just thought this billboard was a
marvelous idea,” Lois Irby said. “You hear so much about
same-sex marriage on TV, and it's so readily accepted by the public.
Children, unless they have some kind of religious training at home,
are taught to accept it and not question it or feel that it's wrong.
I think God's word needs to be inserted as often as possible to
reaffirm that homosexuality is wrong. It doesn't need to be
presented in a glorified light.”
Roland Advertising produced the
billboards and its owner has offered to put up another billboard free
of charge.
“We are glad to participate in this
project because of our belief in marriage God's way,” Dave Roland,
owner of Roland Advertising, said. “Our conservative values are
under attack every day, and outdoor advertising is one way we can
speak to the masses for very little cost. We want to make sure our
messages are positive and promote the right things. We believe this
message is one of them.”
“Our hope is that God-fearing people
will be encouraged by these 'marriage God's way' billboards in
Cookeville, Tenn.,” Kerry Duke, a supporter of the effort and dean
of the Tennessee Bible College, said. “On a bigger scale, we hope
people from other parts of the nation who drive by these signs will
go home and put up similar ones. Our dream is that it will grow
into a nationwide effort.”