The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), which has yet to comment on gay marriage rulings in Colorado
and Florida, on Tuesday criticized President Barack Obama for signing
an executive order that prohibits federal contractors from
discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation
and gender identity.
(Related: Obama
on banning gay discrimination: We're on the right side of history.)
NOM, the nation's most vociferous
opponent of marriage equality, said the order puts Christians at risk
and called on Congress to pass legislation repealing the order.
“The fact is that non-discrimination
rules like the order issued by President Obama can become a weapon
used to punish and harass individuals and groups who support marriage
as the union of one man and one woman,” said President Brian Brown.
“As with the flawed ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act)
legislation that was rejected by Congress, President Obama's order
has the great potential of putting employers in the position of
standing up for their faith values or violating the new order. This
will unnecessarily subject people of faith to harassing complaints
and lawsuits.”
“All manner of frivolous lawsuits
could result from an action like this, and that's a dangerous thing
when the courts have already shown such a lack of restraint when it
comes to the question of the definition of marriage. This is nothing
more than an agenda to create a cultural narrative wherein the belief
in marriage as the union of one man and one woman becomes the legal
and social equivalent of bigotry or hate speech. It is the next step
on a path we've already seen this administration proudly pursuing, a
path toward a new thought-policing state where those who hold
traditional values about marriage and family are to be marginalized,”
he added.
(Related: Richard
Land: Christian conservatives need to stand up to “gay thought
police.”)