Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), says he's “confident” the
Supreme Court will uphold state gay marriage bans.
Reacting to the news that the high
court will hear cases challenging marriage bans in four states, Brown
predicted a win for marriage equality opponents at the Supreme Court.
(Related: Supreme
Court agrees to hear four cases challenging gay marriage bans.)
“We are confident that the Supreme
Court has chosen the 6th Circuit case in order to affirm the finding
of the appeals court, just as it did in the cases of Windsor v.
United States and Sabelius v. Hobby Lobby,” Brown said
in a statement. “We will be watching this case closely and
anticipate an eventual victory for the democratic process, religious
liberty, and the cherished institution of marriage which forms the
very bedrock of our society.”
Windsor is the 2013 case which
struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
leading to federal recognition of the legal marriages of gay couples.
The case has been widely cited by state and federal judges in cases
challenging state bans. Brown has previously accused judges of
“twisting” the decision.
“This activist judge is grossly
twisting the Court's ruling in the DOMA case in order to justify a
ruling that is completely at odds with the law,” Brown said of US
District Judge Timothy Black's reasoning in striking down a portion
of Ohio's ban as unconstitutional.
At the end of 2013, Brown predicted
victories for opponents of marriage equality in the new year. At the
time, gay couples could marry in 16 states plus the District of
Columbia. That number climbed to 35 in 2014 with Florida becoming
the 36th state in the first week of January, 2015.
“[O]ne year of slight victories does
not make a myth reality. Next year we'll show that history – and
not myths – is what finally matters. And history is on our side!”
he
said.