The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is holding its “March for Marriage” Thursday, busing in people from around the Northeast to rally on the National Mall against same-sex marriage. Among the sponsors of the march is the conservative Washington Times, which ran a special 16-page insert filled with articles opposing marriage equality and ads from Christian groups that are anti-gay.
Here are 10 highlights from the insert that demonstrate how the opponents of marriage equality are running out of arguments to support their case:
1. The president of a Christian university claiming marriage equality will destroy society:
Dr. Mark A. Smith, president of Ohio Christian University (OCU), believes that if same-sex couples are allowed to marry, it will lead to the destruction of civilization:
Additionally, a study of history cor-relates traditional marriage and biblical principles with a nation’s well-being. One does not need to look far to discover that the destruction of civilizations has followed the corruption of the family unit through sexual sins and inappropriate relationships. From a sociological point of view, Pitirim Sorokin, Harvard founding sociologist, suggests that civilization is only possible when marriage is normative and mother and father accept responsibility for their offspring. Humankind, left to its own devices, is quite adept at destroying culture. Do we Americans understand that our society is creating many problems by embracing a culture that destroys the traditional family unit?
OCU also runs a full page ad boasting that it “supports traditional marriage!”
2. The president of a world peace organization claiming marriage equality will destroy society:
The Universal Peace Federation International is “dedicated to building a world of peace for all the world’s peoples,” but its president, Thomas Walsh, also fears that society cannot survive with marriage equality:
Can a civilization prosper when its family foundation is crumbling? Can a society that forsakes age-old traditions of marriage, family and parenting thrive, or even survive? It is unlikely.
3. This conservative pundit also believing marriage equality will destroy society:
Robert Knight is a senior fellow of the conservative American Civil Rights Union and a regular columnist for the Washington Times. He also helped draft the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages until the Supreme Court overturned it last year. Like Smith and Walsh, he also believes the “delusion” of letting same-sex couples marry will destroy civilization:
Marriage is not just any relationship. It predates the law and the Constitution, and is an anthropological reality, not primarily a legal one. No civilization can survive without it, and those societies that allowed it to become irrelevant have faded into history.
It’s one thing to have the idea that a cow is now a horse. It’s another to use the power of the law to impose this delusion on everybody else. Same-sex “marriage” is a direct at-tack on freedom of conscience for millions of people.
4. This odd comparison between marriage equality and the freedom to vote:
In a separate piece, Knight expressed his concern that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) refused to appeal two different cases: the marriage equality suit, and the challenge to the state’s voter photo-ID law. He attempts to draw a comparison, demanding: “How did we come to a place where judges think that marriage certificates don’t need a bride and groom, and that it’s racist to ask someone to prove who they say they are before they cast a ballot?” These, he claims, are the consequences of “when man — instead of God — becomes the measure of all things.”
5. This campaign strategist’s admission that polling does favor marriage equality:
Frank Schubert has been NOM’s campaign strategist for many years, designing ads and talking points against marriage equality that have largely failed since California’s Proposition 8 passed in 2008. He dedicates a significant column to the Times insert by cherry-picking polls on same-sex marriage to show how they can be biased by who is sampled or how the questions are asked. But he concludes with this concession: “I raise these issues with polling on the same-sex marriage issue not to pretend that there has not been movement among the population to be more accepting of same-sex marriage. Surely, there has been. My main point is that the issue remains a hotly-divided one with the country essentially split right down the middle.”
6. This NOM spokesman then claiming that a majority oppose marriage equality:
NOM Chairman John Eastman is “cautiously optimistic” that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule against nationwide marriage equality. Contrary to Schubert’s admission, he explained that “the March for Marriage is designed to keep the Court on notice that the American people do not want such basic policy judgments taken away from them.”
7. This 4-month old editorial:
Among the articles in the insert is a Washington Times editorial called “Legislating ‘Morality,’” referring to the ruling against Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage, which it claims was issued “last week.” Virginia’s case was decided back in February.
8. This pro-gun tea party ad:
An event called “The Gathering of the Eagles” has an ad in the insert promoting “a coalition of tea party groups that meets in Oregon.” Not only does the group support “Biblical, traditional marriage between a man and a woman,” it also proclaims, “We do not need more gun laws; we just need our schools, families, and churches to start teaching the Bible again!”
9. This cartoon of a rainbow gavel about to crush a heterosexual couple whose private parts are censored by a Jesus fish:
10. This NOM ad implying harm to children of same-sex couples:
