The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) on Wednesday announced it was considering whether to intervene
in a federal case challenging Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage.
With Wednesday's announcement that
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett – who has said he's personally
opposed to marriage equality – would not pursue an appeal in the
case, Pennsylvania became the 19th state, in addition to
the District of Columbia, to allow gay couples to marry.
(Related: Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett says he won't appeal gay marriage ruling.)
NOM President Brian Brown accused
Corbett of “selling out his principles precisely when it is most
necessary to stand by them!”
“Governor Corbett claims to be a man
of principle and a supporter of marriage,” Brown wrote in a blog
post. “But Governor Corbett is abandoning marriage with this
choice.”
“The fact is that if Governor Corbett
stood by the principles he claims, he'd have chosen to defend
marriage to the very end,” Brown
added. “The Supreme Court has indicated that they believe
marriage should be left to the states and it is within states' rights
to decide the matter. The Court very recently indicated as well a
favorable view of the democratic role of the popular referendum
process. In short, the challenge that the Governor is running away
from today is one he most certainly could have won. So someone must
step in and work to win.”