ST. PAUL, Minn. — The National Organization for Marriage on Monday said it will spend $500,000 to defeat Republican lawmakers in Minnesota who vote to legalize same-sex marriage.
The NOM previously contributed more than $2 million to last fall’s failed campaign to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota’s constitution.
Bills to legalize marriage equality are likely to be introduced at Minnesota’s Capitol this week.
One Republican senator, Branden Petersen, already says he’ll support it. But the National Organization of Marriage says that’s a “career-ending” vote for Republicans.
NOM has previously helped fund conservative primary challengers to Republicans in other states who voted in favor same-sex marriage.
“Republicans like Branden Petersen don’t realize that not only is voting to redefine marriage a terrible policy, it is also a career-ending vote for a Republican,” said NOM President Brian Brown, in a statement.
Petersen, 27, admitted last week that his decision to support a marriage equality bill could be politically damaging in the next election cycle.
“I think the time has come,” Petersen told The Associated Press, and said he said he hoped his support would sway not just his fellow Republicans wavering on the issue, but Minnesotans in general that it’s OK to support gay marriage.
NOM says it will also financially support Democrats who vote against legalizing gay marriage.
Last year, the NOM spent upwards of $5.7 million to defeat marriage equality initiatives in Maine, Maryland, and Washington, in addition to the Minnesota marriage amendment; voters in all fours states soundly rejected NOM’s anti-gay messaging.
“NOM’s threats to kick Republicans out of office – whether in New York two years ago or in Illinois earlier this month – are empty,” said Kevin Nix, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement last month.
“It’s nothing but bluster aimed to instill fear in lawmakers. NOM’s become nothing but a paper tiger,” said Nix.
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I hate it when big government gets in the way of my private decisions.
NOM=Hateful Trolls
STdmyaCTb, I hate it when ANY government gets in the way of my personal decisions
^Also valid. Woah an acronym, I gotta try that one sometime.
I hate it when bigots get in the way of my private decisions.
Well, I guess it is time to see if the Ron Paul republicans in my state have a back bone
500,000 really, in a political campaign isn’t that really just a drop in the bucket?? and honestly, “a change is gonna come” to quote Sam Cooke, so why fight it anyway.
Get with it folks……marriage equality is the only way to go!
This is like a fan trying to blow a hurricane back to where it came. You have to have supporters to pledge money like that. An empty gong.
Ooooh! Scary NOM, which, like most GOP sponsor groups in 2012, saw its money wasted, is gonna challenge those who vote for equality….
Yawn, wake me when they fail again!
NOM= national organization of malarky! National organization of misfits! National organization of morons!
Begin to tremble!! ROFLMAO
Oh please they are so childish, if you can’t win an argument without threats of imtemidation, you don’t have a good argument then do you NOM.
NOM is a handful of wealthy donors. They represent zero percentage points of the US public.
intimidation.
Keep wasting your money NOM
NOM should be encouraged just to go on and expose how irrelevant they are … and waste their funds … money that could have been spent to meet REAL needs in society.
NOM…Not Of sound Mind
Big deal ;-{P}