When ESPN’s Chris Broussard condemned NBA player Jason Collins for being gay, his comments spoke only to his beliefs about homosexuality, not about marriage. That didn’t stop the National Organization for Marriage from claiming him as their own. Jennifer Roback Morse, who heads up NOM’s Ruth Institute, told Lutheran Public Radio’s Issues, Etc. that Broussard “required more courage” to share his Christian beliefs than Collins did for being the first professional athlete in one of the country’s major sports to come out as gay:

MORSE: I think he required more courage than the basketball player did. I mean, it requires no courage at all today to say “I’m gay.” It’s my understanding [Collins] got a phone call from the president congratulating him on his courage. Well how much courage can it take if the president’s going to pick up the phone and give you a personal phone call, you know? But in the meantime, this fellow who says, you know, ‘I’m a Christian, and I believe that sex belongs in marriage and it belongs in man-woman marriage,’ to say that, now that will bring the whole wrath of society down upon your head. So that’s the guy that really required the courage and I give him a lot of credit for it.

Listen to it (via Equality Matters):

Morse’s insensitivity to the coming out process is not surprising. She believes that gay people can simply “stop acting in a gay way,” and that same-sex couples merely have “friendships.” In the interview, she added that Broussard might as well be a Ruth Institute spokesman “because he’s there saying all of these sins are sexual sins,” confirming that her mission is a religious one, not one with society’s best interests in mind.

The National Organization for Marriage’s Jennifer Roback Morse has been one of the most outspoken opponents of not only marriage equality, but of gay people themselves. Whether she’s claiming that same-sex couples’ children resent them or reiterating her belief that homosexuality is a chosen behavior and so gays and lesbians should be celibate for life, she always finds a creative way to demonstrate how little she understands the lives of LGBT people, and this weekend was no exception. Speaking before a few dozen attendees at an anti-equality rally in Montevideo, Minnesota, Morse claimed that marriage equality has so little to do with “marriage” that it would simply be a “government registry of friendships”:

MORSE: When Vaughan Walker overturned Prop 8, he came up with a purpose of marriage that was completely gender-neutral. He said something like, “It’s the state recognition for two people who want to share their commitment with one another, and share resources, and take care of any dependents, if any,” you know? If you look at that purpose, there’s nothing there about children. It doesn’t even have to be a sexual relationship… It’s nothing but a government registry of friendships.

Now why would we need a government registry of friendships? We don’t! We don’t need that. No one needs that. And so the next step after removing the gender requirement from marriage will be — must be — to say, “Who needs marriage at all? Let’s get rid of it. It’s stupid. It doesn’t do anything.”

Watch her full remarks:

It’s unclear how Morse defines family. Walker’s definition, as paraphrased, suggests family units that share resources, take care of each other, and raise children. Those seem like really important reasons to marry, not to mentions protections that marriage can guarantee for all families. Same-sex couples are just as capable of making loving life commitments to each other and just as capable of raising families. By reducing them to “friendships,” Morse proves that she either doesn’t know what she’s even talking about or, more likely, doesn’t care.

The National Organization for Marriage has once again been caught lying about public support they do not have. NOM’s Ruth Institute is publicizing its “It Takes A Family” (ITAF) conference, which reaches out to college students to encourage them to oppose same-sex marriage, with blatant condemnations of homosexuality and promotion of ex-gay therapy. This year’s conference features, for example, fraudulent anti-gay researcher Mark Regnerus and ex-gay advocate Robert Gagnon. NOM promoted the conference this week by bragging that the Chicago Bears had donated two autographed pieces of memorabilia, with a special thank-you to the team for “supporting our message“:

For now, you should know that we have two fabulous raffle items from the Chicago Bears Organization (and a huge THANK YOU to the Bears for supporting our message).

Unfortunately, both the support of the Chicago Bears Organization and the Bears’ supposed endorsement of NOM’s message were outright lies. In a statement provided to ThinkProgress and numerous other outlets, the Bears made clear the team had no connection to NOM or the conference:

The two items featured in The Ruth Institute gala invitation were personal donations to Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse.  Neither was a club donation, nor do they represent the team’s view on any social issues.  Any remarks stating otherwise are false.

One of the two items was an official jersey autographed by former linebacker Brian Urlacher, but Urlacher clarified he had nothing to do with its inclusion in the conference raffle, explaining that he signs “a lot of stuff for charity,” but “if I would have known it was for this cause, I wouldn’t have done it.”

The Chicago Tribune reached Ruth Institute head Jennifer Roback Morse for comment, and she eventually conceded that the site had lied. She refused, however, to explain why she claimed to have the support of the Bears, stating simply that NOM regrets “any confusion”:

The Ruth Institute is not working with the Chicago Bears organization or any of its players past or present to promote our upcoming auction. The memorabilia we are auctioning off was acquired by me personally, not through the team or players. We understand that the Chicago Bears organization takes no position on social issues, and we regret any confusion we may have caused on this point.

The ITAF conference page now clarifies that the two items were “donated by individuals, not the team or the players.”

It’s unclear which is more pathetic, that NOM had to lie about having the support of an NFL team, or that NOM has to use NFL memorabilia to attract students to its anti-gay conference in the first place.

Among the speakers at Tuesday’s anti-gay Marriage March was National Organization for Marriage spokesperson Jennifer Roback Morse, who heads up NOM’s Ruth Institute. Morse has a reputation of saying horrid things about gay people and young people’s perceptions of LGBT issues, and she did not disappoint at the rally. Stoking fears that same-sex marriage has some kind of unforeseen experiences, she attempted to speak on behalf of the children of same-sex couples, claiming they would resent their parents for depriving them of a parent of the opposite gender:

MORSE: Eventually, young people are going to see that redefining marriage sets aside the interests of children for the convenience of adults. Now in the unhappy event that the Court should redefine marriage, which we pray that they will not — we pray that they will allow us to continue this nationwide conversation and discussion that we desperately need to have. But if they do redefine marriage, 40 years from the young people of that generation will have one simply question for our generation, “What were you thinking?”

They’re going to say, “Dad, you and your partner are lovely guys, I love you Dad, but did you really think I would never need a mom? What were you thinking?” “Mom, I know you love me, you and your partner are nice ladies, but the biological connection that was so important to you — did you think it would never be important to me? What were you thinking? What were you thinking?” That’s what they’re going to ask us.

Watch it (via RightWingWatch):

Actually, same-sex marriage is in the best interest of the many children already being raised by same-sex couples. And usually, they call both dads “Dad” or both moms “Mom,” and they wouldn’t have to say “partner” to describe a husband and a wife. Morse clearly demonstrates that she has little understanding or empathy for same-sex families. Oddly, NOM does not actively campaign against same-sex adoption even though the well-being of children is supposedly at the core of the arguments against marriage equality.

The National Organization for Marriage’s Jennifer Roback Morse has been one of the most outspoken opponents of not only marriage equality, but homosexuality itself over the past year. Once again, this week, she used a radio interview to reiterate conservatives’ belief that homosexuality is a behavior, not an identity, and that ex-gay therapy works — all framed around NOM’s tactic about driving a wedge between the black and gay communities:

MORSE: When I was in Illinois a couple weeks ago testifying up there in Springfield about [same-sex marriage], there were quite a few African Americans there who who were speaking  on our side of the issue, and just very clear that this is not a civil right — that it’s a behavioral-based thing. A person can stop acting in a gay way, but they can’t stop being black.

She went on to highlight the testimony of Linda Jernigan, who not only claims to be ex-gay, but believes that homosexuality is “rooted in Satan.” Listen to it (via Equality Matters):

It’s important to note that Morse has no business speaking on behalf of African Americans; a poll earlier this week found that people of color support marriage equality at even higher rates than whites (61 percent and 57 percent respectively). Morse, more than almost any other anti-equality talking head, embodies the reality that theirs is a campaign not against marriage, but against homosexuality itself.

Speaking to a group of Catholic students at Iowa State University last month, Jennifer Roback Morse, head of the National Organization for Marriage’s Ruth Institute, said that Tyler Clementi’s suicide was influenced by a sexual encounter he had with an older man and that gay activists are manipulating young people for “some sort of political vision.” She unsurprisingly didn’t mention the invasive webcam spying his roommate did on more than one occasion nor the taunting Clementi endured online as a result. The Clementi family responded by demanding an apology from Morse for exploiting Tyler’s name “to advance an anti-equality agenda.”

Now, Morse has released a statement in which she not only refuses to apologize, but doubles down on the very duplicitous claims that got her in trouble in the first place:

MORSE: The media and activists groups are mischaracterizing my remarks, in which I urged students to befriend gay students, and also urged them all to adhere to the traditional standards of sexual morality. I believe that engaging in uncommitted sex hurts people of both genders and all sexual orientations. I would be happy to meet with Tyler Clementi’s mom and dad to try to move forward and go beyond the highly charged rhetoric that doesn’t help anyone. I don’t think the Clementis know me or what I believe or think or said. Reaching out across lines of moral difference in a spirit of love is my mission. In the meantime, I would invite anyone to come to the Ruth Institute website and listen to the entire podcast for themselves.

There is no evidence whatsoever that “uncommitted sex” did anything to “hurt” Tyler Clementi. Furthermore, Morse is continuing to encourage young people to engage in the very kind of anti-gay condemning of their peers that clearly did have a profound effect on Clementi’s sense of security and well-being.

It seems unlikely the Clementi family is convinced by this statement that NOM’s agenda is any less “cruel” than they described it. Besides, they still haven’t received an apology.

Tyler Clementi

In November, Jennifer Roback Morse, head of the National Organization for Marriage’s Ruth Institute, warned parents that they shouldn’t let their children in college have gay friends or else they’ll learn tolerance. But speaking to a group of Catholic students at Iowa State University earlier this month, she reversed on that position and encouraged the students to make gay friends so they can help save them from being “confused and lonely.” In doing so, she evoked the story of Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after his roommate violated his privacy with a webcam, and claimed that somehow Clementi’s struggle was more related to the gay relationship he had than the way he was bullied:

MORSE: What happens I think for people who have some gender confusion or some gender issues, is that they think they’re going to be lonely if they can’t get married, if they can’t be just like everyone else that they’re going to have a lonely life, they’re going to be isolated in some way, they’re going to be so different that their life is going to be terrible… I think that what you can do that would be helpful is to be friends with people. You don’t have to agree with what they’re saying they want, but you can still be a good friend to them. [...]

In friendship, as friends, you can support them and say, ‘maybe this person is trying to exploit you.’ Sometimes you hear about these things and you don’t hear the whole story in the media. That kid Tyler Clementi who killed himself, who threw himself off the George Washington Bridge? Do you know this story? Okay, then I’m not going to tell it. There was a much older man in the picture. There’s usually more to the story, right? And so I think friendship is what you have to offer. There are a lot of situations where people are doing something sexual that’s probably not the best thing for them and that would be better if they had somebody who would be friends with them without coming onto them or without judging them and that kind of stuff.

Morse went on to claim that gay activists are manipulating gay youth for “some sort of political vision.” Listen to it (via Equality Matters):

Morse refuses to acknowledge the reality that the sense of rejection LGBT youth experience is the rejection she promotes, not some sort of inherent consequence to have same-sex attractions or a different gender identity. The evidence shows that Clementi was upset because his roommate had violated his privacy, and he even requested a room change just a day before he committed suicide. For Morse to impose her own interpretation of events without any evidence is a gross distortion of events and an insult to every gay youth who has ever been bullied for his sexual orientation. Of course, she won’t even acknowledge they have a different sexual orientation.

Earlier this month, Jennifer Roback Morse of the National Organization for Marriage’s Ruth Institute spoke at a Catholic Women’s Conference in Venice, Florida. Equality Matters noticed some sweeping generalizations about how gay men are all ashamed of their homosexuality because they know that it’s “deeply wrong”:

MORSE: I’ve noticed in my encounters with men who are same-sex attracted particularly that they have a sense of shame. Have any of you ever noticed this? … I’ve noticed that a lot of the people who are very active in the movement to redefine marriage will describe that when they were teenagers that they had a sense of wrongness — of being wrong — and of God thinking they were an abomination, like they all knew that verse. [...]

So they have this sense of wrongness and I think that many of them believe that redefining marriage is going to make them feel better. I think they think that if all of us will approve of them that they will feel better… Making yourself feel good about doing something that is deeply wrong for you is not in the end going to work.

Listen to it:

Morse is actually kind of right, but for the exact wrong reasons. When everybody in a gay adolescent’s family and community are telling him that he’s “wrong,” of course he’s going to absorb those messages. That doesn’t mean he believes those ideas — it just means he has to navigate a situation where everybody else around him does. It’s not surprising that such a young man might then want to encourage people to support him instead of condemning him. Indeed, seeking affirmation is a sensible way of counteracting years of shame.

What Morse is really doing is abdicating any sense of responsibility. She’s reinforcing this sense of internal shame by proclaiming that it’s a natural part of being gay, when in fact it’s quite obviously the result of the very messaging she promotes.

Jennifer Roback Morse of the National Organization for Marriage’s Ruth Institute testified against marriage equality Tuesday night before the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee and delivered a doomsday list of outlandish consequences to the bill’s passages. The Ruth Institute has dubbed her testimony the “New Gettysburg Address of the Marriage Movement,” which she described as her “duty to God.” Looking much farther down the imaginary slippery slope, Morse envisioned a world without sex differences in which equality opponents like her represent a ragtag group of “refugees”:

I predict that none of it will make you happy.  Not redefining marriage. Not the attempts to smother sex differences and biological connections. Not the further suppression of churches, religious organizations, and faith-filled private citizens. If normalizing homosexual activity were going to make you happy, it would have done so long ago.  You would not be so desperate today for affirmation from strangers.

And if any of you come to realize that the Sexual Revolution has been one empty promise after another, we will embrace you.  We will welcome you to our ragtag  ranks of refugees, defectors and displaced persons from the great social civil war of our time.

Perhaps I will be mistaken, and you will never have a moment’s doubt for the rest of your lives.  In that case, we must continue to oppose you, to try to contain the damage we believe you are doing.

Morse’s rhetoric has achieved a new level of extreme. It’s telling that her testimony does not once mention the existence of gays and lesbians or their families, but instead reduces those relationships to “homosexual activity.” Her arguments are now so far detached from reality that they do not warrant a research-based debunk. Instead, simply exposing her brash paranoid ego is enough to defame one of the  largest anti-equality organizations in the country.

Over the past year, Jennifer Roback Morse of the National Organization for Marriage’s Ruth Institute has become increasingly vitriolic in her anti-gay comments. She has openly endorsed ex-gay therapy and lifetime celibacy for gay people, she has warned parents not to let their kids have gay friends, she has suggested marriage equality will destroy society, and she has claimed same-sex couples can’t be monogamous because they can’t have children. In a new interview captured by Equality Matters, Morse blatantly suggests that lesbian couples who seek out sperm donors — or who are “buying sperm on Craigslist” — “should be in jail” because they treat their children like property and “chattel.” Zinnia Jones has the transcript:

MORSE:  And what we’re doing now, Todd, as a result of the sexual revolution and all its fruits, is that we are in full-on retreat from human relationship between a man and a woman in order to create that child. So going online to buy sperm from a stranger is about as far as you can possibly get from the participation in divine love and divine creation. The fact that these two women want to have sex with each other has no bearing whatsoever on whether this should be permitted or not.You know, buying sperm on Craigslist should be abolished. Buying sperm at all should be abolished. And furthermore, these people should be in jail, I’m afraid.

I mean, you know, honestly, I just can’t even imagine where people think this is going to lead. You know, because the child is no longer a gift from God and a fruit of human love participating in God’s love. The child is now a product, manufactured by adults, and therefore the child cannot be fully the equal of its parent. The object cannot be the equal of its producer or its maker, you know. And so the further we go down this path, the further away we are going from the true ideal of equality before God, of equality before one another, of treating one another with dignity. And the child becomes a kind of chattel. So the legal complications and the sort of ick factor of all of this, it’s important to sort all that out and look at it, but let’s not take our eye off that ball, which is that we have defaced the creator’s plan and intention here by this behavior.

Listen to it:

Morse’s point is a galling insult not just to the millions of same-sex couples raising children, but to any couple who’ve sought assistance in having a child, whether through surrogacy, sperm donation, fertility treatments, or even adoption and foster care. Her implication is that any children being raised by parents who are not biologically related will receive an inferior amount of love and support. Morse has a degree in economics; she has no business casting judgment about which children are “gifts from God” and which aren’t.