The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) tapped Republican Rep. Steve King to spearhead its efforts in
Iowa to repeal gay marriage, the Des
Moines Register reported.
In internal memos unsealed last month
in the course of NOM's ongoing legal challenge to Maine's campaign
reporting laws, the group mentions King's name repeatedly, saying he
would “lay out a plan.”
The group wrote in connection with Iowa
and New Hampshire: “We expect to force presidential contenders to
deal with the issue, and since we know these are generally
pro-marriage states, we anticipate pro-marriage candidates to do well
and thus influence the U.S. presidential races in 2012.”
The paper noted that NOM President
Brian Brown said with a hint of sarcasm: “The mask is off. We want
to elect a president who believes marriage is a union of a man and a
woman.”
Brown added that King “has been a
tremendous voice for marriage.”
King joined NOM in 2010 on its anti-gay
marriage bus tour and has spoken out frequently on the issue,
once saying, “Unicorns, leprechauns, gay marriages in Iowa –
these are things you will never find because they don't exist.”
He also organized last year's
Conservative
Principles Conference, which was co-sponsored by NOM and featured
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint
and presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, all of whom oppose marriage
equality.
The group has drawn heavy criticism for
other memos which detail a strategy to pit minorities against
supporters of gay marriage.
(Related: Maggie
Gallagher defends anti-gay marriage group's race-baiting strategy.)