Idiot of the Week ~ Brian Brown of NOM

Brian Brown and the desperate folks from the National Organization for Marriage are at it again, spreading misinformation in attempt to turn back the clock of progress. But they're starting to get caught in their lies. MSNBC's David Shuster has little patience for Brian's blather (see first video above), particularly when he trots out the debunked examples of how allowing gay couples to marry will allegedly discriminate against religious organizations. First of all, the examples they cite time after time (they don't have many to choose from, thus are forced to repeat) are not related to marriage equality, they're related to discrimination laws, as Rob Tish points out in his dissection of false claims of religious discrimination on Waking Up Now (see second video above). Churches do and should have the right to marry or not marry whichever couples they choose. But, when religious organizations place their services in the secular public arena, it is their responsibility to either justify violating anti-discrimination laws, abide by them, or take their business out of the public square.

Brian Brown also claims that Americans "overwhelmingly oppose same-sex marriage." Really? Funny, then, that a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week found that forty-nine percent said it should be legal for gay people to marry, and 46 percent said it should be illegal. That support is only going to grow since young people overwhelmingly support marriage equality. The acceptability of not including gay couples in civil marriage is sliding out of the homophobes' grasp, and they cannot stand it.

But Brian and Maggie will keep on spouting their bigotry because their lives are centered on it. As is Miss California's now, the poor, bubble-headed thing. Her nonsensical answer to Perez Hilton (we can choose between same-sex and opposite marriage!) is now the shaky foundation for her post-pageant career as the 2009 reincarnation of Anita Bryant. (Carrie made a cameo appearance in a NOM ad this week. Small world!) Remember Anita? What happened to her career after she tried to hitch stardom to homophobia? It blossomed briefly and died. And that was 30 years ago. Miss CA might want to rethink her current direction. Even the Republicans are starting to jump off the anti-gay ship. Best to put that non-Biblically-approved boob job to better use, Carrie. Unless you want to pair up with the likes of Stephen--God wrote the Bible--Baldwin.

Expect more from NOM. They spout nonsense, but they are skilled media whores. The fact that gay couples marrying will not impact their lives one iota doesn't seem to dissuade them from their crusade. Imagine spending your life fighting against love and inclusion.