NOM Spends $200K on Minn. Marriage Ads

By Julie Bolcer

Minnesota State Sealx390 (House.gov) | Advocate.com

The antigay National Organization for Marriage is spending at least $200,000 toward TV advertisements against same-sex marriage in Minnesota and promises more to come.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, NOM views Minnesota as the next marriage battleground, given a recent marriage equality lawsuit and hearings in the state legislature.

“The ad appears to address the constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman and features photos of candidates for governor but it does not ... make clear that in Minnesota governors do not have the chance to 'guarantee' the right to vote on constitutional amendments. To get on the ballot, amendments require support from the majority of the Legislature but no sign off from governors,” reports the Star Tribune.

NOM president Brian Brown said the ad buy is the first step in a longer campaign.

Watch the ad below.

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Reader Comments

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Name: Josh
Date posted: 5/20/2010 3:09:22 AM
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

Comment:
When people say "Why do you have to flaunt your 'lifestyle'" I ask them as a gay man to a straight man, "why do you flaunt your heterosexual lifestyle?" "I want the chance to be able to experience what you have but people like you aren't allowing me to." The only difference between same sex and straight marriage is the partners. You still have a loving committed couple wanting to express their love in a societal recognized way. The dynamics in a same sex relationship are none different than a straight relationship, we still argue, complain, have fun, and support one another. Organizations like NOM are just threatened by GLBT people, not by us directly but because we represent a different part of society that they don't agree with. same sex marriage is the same debate as inter-racial marriage many years ago. Society will not be negatively impacted, people will not be negatively impacted, if anything the divorce rate will improve because gay partners last longer than opposite partners.
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Name: Daniel
Date posted: 5/20/2010 2:56:08 AM
Hometown: Christchurch

Comment:
The video proclaims, "31 states have voted to protect marriage, and Minnesotans deserve the same right." Deserve the right to what? The right to snatch away the rights of someone else? What twisted logic.
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Name: Stephen
Date posted: 5/19/2010 10:40:11 PM
Hometown: Dayton

Comment:
Brad is right. There is nothing we can do to stop these horrible people from attacking our progress and rightdss. All we can hope for is that the courts do their job eventually and protect our rights. I am done fighting these people and losing my money over it. Ive lost all hope except I pray the courts will not let us down. But I even doubt that. Discrmination is alove and well in America, and why even waste time fighting it anymore? Let them win. HIstory will judge their nasty little souls in the end.
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Name: Brad Bailey
Date posted: 5/19/2010 8:42:38 PM
Hometown: Fayetteville, AR

Comment:
Mark, "we" are not letting NOM do anything---the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights are. They also have the financial and legal backing of every fundamentalist religious group in the country. "We" represent only 2% to 5% of the population of this country. Knowing all this, please tell me how you plan to fight them.
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Name: Scott
Date posted: 5/19/2010 8:22:37 PM
Hometown: Portland

Comment:
National Organization of Morons
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Name: Mark
Date posted: 5/19/2010 4:42:42 PM
Hometown: WF

Comment:
NOM goes after our civil rights because we are the only minority group who will let them. When will we finally wise up and fight back on the offensive rather than the defensive?
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Name: Ed
Date posted: 5/19/2010 3:46:31 PM
Hometown: South Bend

Comment:
200K could have fed how many homeless people? 200K could go a long way in helping the unemployed. 200K could help battered partners in abuse cases. I'm just saying.....
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Kevin
Date posted: 5/19/2010 3:45:48 PM
Hometown: Ft. Myers, FL

Comment:
John, what did they say about the ad?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: John
Date posted: 5/19/2010 1:47:37 PM
Hometown: Minneapolis

Comment:
When I woke up this morning i had already seen 3 Facebook status updates about people that had already seen the AD aired on TV. I about threw up.
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Name: Zachary
Date posted: 5/19/2010 1:30:31 PM
Hometown: Atlanta

Comment:
I highly suspect that members of organized hate groups such as this one are UNEMPLOYABLE in the real world. No doubt their strange, eccentric, personalities and behavior make them unemployable. Do these organized hate groups welcome top-notch, independent auditors auditing their books? These organized hate groups are all about power, money, and control. These creeps will always be around because hate can often times be a lucrative business. And make no mistake: Hate is a business. The object of their hate changes from generation to generation. Today, the object of their hate is the GLBT community. Tomorrow, it will be some other disenfranchised group. Shame on the TV stations for airing their commericals. I hope the TV stations realize that they're taking a big risk by alienating their viewers. And when profit margins are slim, they should be mindful of the fact that almost every family has a gay member.

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