Brian Brown, the president of the
National Organization for Marriage (NOM), says it's a “slur” to
compare the gay marriage movement to the Civil Rights movement.
Appearing on a Meet The Press
panel discussing two related cases argued last week at the Supreme
Court, Brown disagreed with NBC's Pete Williams' prediction that the
high court was not prepared to rule on Proposition 8, California's
2008 voter-approve constitutional amendment which defines marriage as
a heterosexual union.
“I don't think that the court is
going to punt,” Brown said. “The court is going to answer the
question. The question is simple: Do the people of the state of
California, do the people of the states of this country, have the
right to have their voices heard or is the court going to trash over
50 million votes? The lower court ruling wasn't just about
Proposition 8 and what is being brought forward is this myth that
somehow embedded in our constitution – something our founders
didn't see and we haven't seen up until now – there is a right to
redefine the very nature of marriage.”
When asked his thoughts on comparisons
to the Civil Right movement, Brown answered: “I think it's a slur
on the majority of Americans who stood up to vote for what President
Obama a year ago agreed to, Secretary [Hillary] Clinton agreed to two
weeks ago, that it takes a man and a woman to make a marriage. It's
a slur on them to somehow say that opponents of redefining marriage
are in the same boat as those who opposed interracial marriage. That
is just a slur. It's an assertion.”
(Watch
the entire segment at NBC News.)