NOM's John Eastman Predicts 'Eruption' If Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage

John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), has predicted an “eruption” if the Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage nationwide.

“If they don't let it be fought out in the states, there is going to be an eruption,” Eastman is quoted as saying by the AP in a story considering the possibility of a backlash to recent marriage rulings in two red states.

Last month, a federal judge knocked down Amendment 3, Utah's 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from recognizing any union other than a heterosexual marriage. More than 1,300 gay couples rushed to marry during the 17 days before the Supreme Court put the ruling on hold. A second ban fell Tuesday in Oklahoma. Both cases are being appealed to the 10^th Circuit Court in Denver.

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, warned against relying too heavily on the courts to expand gay rights.

June's Supreme Court ruling knocking down a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which led to the federal government's recognition of same-sex marriage, ignited new calls for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a heterosexual union. GOP lawmakers have also introduced bills which seek a religious exemption for opponents of marriage equality (The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act) and prohibit the government from recognizing the marriages of gay couples who live in states where such unions are not allowed (The State Marriage Defense Act).

“We have learned the lesson that political organizing and public education must accompany” court wins, Wolfson said.

Wolfson said that his group was working on campaigns in Utah and Oklahoma to put a human face on the issue.

But Scott J. Hamilton, executive director of Oklahoma's the Cimarron Alliance Equality Center, brushed off the possibility of a backlash.

“It will go away eventually,” Hamilton said. “I'm frankly not worried about equality coming through the courts. … If we relied on popular opinion in Oklahoma to grant marriage equality it probably wouldn't happen for generations.”