Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), has criticized Alaska Senator Lisa
Murkowski's endorsement of gay marriage.
On Wednesday, Murkowski became the
third Republican senator to make such an endorsement, saying that
allowing gay couples to marry was consistent with her values as a
“lifelong Republican” who believes in “promoting freedom and
limiting the reach of government.”
“Senator Murkowski has sealed her
political fate,” Brown
said in a blog post. “Alaskans voted by an overwhelming
majority (68%-32%) to protect marriage in their Constitution when
given the opportunity, and an even stronger majority of Republicans
in Alaska supported that move; thus, her betrayal of marriage is
tantamount to political suicide.”
Brown added that Murkowski had “fallen
for the lies of same-sex 'marriage' activists” and threatened a
campaign against her reelection.
“NOM will be active in educating
Alaskan voters about Senator Murkowski's choice to betray marriage
and disrespect the convictions of a majority of her constituents.”
Alaska was one of the first states to
pursue a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual
couples. Nearly 15 years have passed since voters approved Ballot
Measure 2 in 1998. According to statistician
Nate Silver, Alaskan voters would reject such an initiative
today.
Ohio Senator Rob Portman was the first
GOP senator to make such an endorsement. Portman said in March that
the issue had become personal for him after his son came out gay.
Roughly two weeks later, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk followed suit,
saying that after suffering a major stroke he realized that “our
time on Earth is limited.”