Brian Brown, the president of the
National Organization for Marriage (NOM), argued Wednesday that
opponents of gay marriage are winning.
In
a blog post published on the same day that Queen
Elizabeth II signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Britain
and Wales, Brown pointed to 5 recent wins to make his point.
“Our opponents and those in the
biased media say, 'It's inevitable. You can't win. Give up ...'”
“I couldn't disagree more!”
“In 2008, I heard the same things
when we worked on Prop 8 in California … and we WON! In 2009, I
heard the same things when we worked on Question 1 in Maine … and
we WON! In 2010, I heard the same things when we worked in Iowa to
oust state Supreme Court justices … and we WON! In 2011, I heard
the same things when we worked in New York to oust legislators who
flipped on marriage and betrayed their constituents … and we WON!
And last year, I heard the same things when we worked in North
Carolina to pass an amendment to the state constitution protecting
marriage … and we WON!”
“Let's not forget one crucial thing
about the Supreme Court's opinions: they did NOT constitutionalize
gay 'marriage.' They specifically said that it's the states that get
to define marriage. That's good news for us, because 38 states say
that marriage is between one man and one woman. And as more and more
states see challenges to their marriage laws, I intend, as I always
do, to give it my all!”
However, many of Browns' so-called wins
have since been erased. For example, voters in Maine reversed course
last year and approved marriage equality. And Proposition 8 has been
relegated to the ash heap of history.
Additionally, as
lawyer David Boies recently explained, had the Supreme Court
intended to send the message that states get to define marriage, then
the court would have found a way to uphold Proposition 8. That is,
given that California was not allowed to keep its unconstitutional
marriage ban, why would any other state?