The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, lost
thousands of Facebook fans after its online strategist reclaimed the
group's profile.
On Friday, Louis
Marinelli posted on his website that he supports “full civil
marriage equality.”
“The constitution calls for nothing
else,” he concluded.
After
the news broke of Marinelli's defection, he took a swipe at
President Barack Obama, who supports civil unions for gay and lesbian
couples. “Mr. Obama: I've come out for marriage equality and I'm a
conservative Republican. Now, it's your turn #DOMA #LGBT #SSM,” he
messaged on Twitter.
Marinelli said he was behind the
group's Summer for Marriage Tour 2010, a nationwide bus tour to rally
opposition to gay marriage. NOM President Brian Brown disagreed,
saying his role in the tour was limited to driving the bus.
“Louis Marinelli worked in a
volunteer capacity as a bus driver during our summer marriage tour,”
Brown said.
He also helped the group expand its
reach on the Internet. Brown acknowledged Marinelli worked in this
capacity: “NOM began to pay him as a part-time consultant for
helping us expand our Internet reach.”
Volunteer or mastermind, Marinelli
controlled NOM's official Facebook page, which he shuttered, throwing
off the lights on more than 219,000 fans.
“We wish him well,” Brown said on
the group's new Facebook page, which had attracted 219 fans.