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Fred Karger wants proof of NOM’s Maggie Gallagher’s elusive husband

Fred Karger wants proof of NOM’s Maggie Gallagher’s elusive husband

Republican presidential hopeful Fred Karger on Thursday issued a press release speculating that Maggie Gallagher — the co-founder and former chair of the National Organization for Marriage — has either divorced her husband of 18 years or was never married to him at all.

via BuzzFeed
Maggie Gallagher and Fred Karger

Following a recent appearance with Gallagher on MSNBC to discuss the recent discovery of confidential NOM document, which revealed NOM’s “strategic goal … to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies.,” Karger wondered:

“I asked Maggie if she was still living in New York, and she told me that she moved to Washington, DC nearly three years ago. What about her husband Roman Srivastav? She allegedly married this East Indian man 19 years ago after living as an unwed mother for 11 years. No one has ever seen Maggie with Raman. Wonder if they really did get married? If so, maybe so he could get a green card?

“For the past 15 years Maggie has written books, columns and talked to anyone who would listen about the necessity of kids having a mother and a father (even though she didn’t follow her own advice for over a decade). According to WikiAnswers only 9.3% of American women don’t wear a wedding ring, a pretty small number. Certainly this national champion of marriage whose twitter name is @MaggieMarriage would wear a wedding ring if she was really married.

“I first became suspicious when you spoke in Rhode Island two years ago at NOM’s ‘Celebrate Marriage & Family Day.’ If ever there was a day to appear with your husband that was it. I even scoured Google images, not one photo of you and Raman. NOM’s Brian Brown is all over Google. There are lots of photos of Brian with his wife and family.

“I smell a rat, Maggie. Put up, or Shut up. Let’s see your marriage license, Maggie. Better yet, let’s see your husband!”

Karger also points to the fact that Gallagher does not wear a wedding ring.

In response, Gallagher had this statement:

“We are still married and living together. He’s a very private person. They just make up all kind of stuff about me,” she said. It doesn’t really matter. I could be divorced and I still could not be for gay marriage. I don’t really see that it’s relevant. It is a fact — I am in fact married. I’ve only been married once. I am not about to get a divorce.”

Gallagher, who was a single mother for years after college, says she married her husband Raman Srivastav in Arizona in 1993, although there are no known photographs of him or them together.

Karger, who is openly gay, filed an ethics complaint in 2009 with the state of Maine against the NOM for contributing $1.8 million to “Stand For Marriage Maine” without revealing its donor’s names. Based on that complaint, the Maine Ethics Commission launched a formal investigation into NOM’s fundraising tactics.

Following is the debate between Karger and Gallagher that appeared on MSNBC:

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