Be warned: Those new National Organization for Marriage anti-GLBT actor auditions videos Wayne reported about this week are gone. NOM noticed that its evil ruse had been exposed and demanded that YouTube take them down. Even a clip of a recent MSNBC Rachel Maddow clip that included the audition tapes is gone. NOM’s reason: copyright infringement.
YouTube has to develop a bigger pair. The fact that a national organization is working to deny equality under law to millions of certain citizens makes the story newsworthy. Showing at least excerpts is fair use — under law.
Why are people so afraid of the anti-equality crowd? It’s so obvious that the organized fundies are the ones to fear. NOM was willing to lie, manipulate, and terrify the ignorant segment of the public, low-info types who can be compelled en masse to do what is right for their brand of Christianity, but wrong for anyone who really believes in basic American ideals. The tactic is cynical, selfish, immoral, and destructive. And it works: Remember Proposition 8?
At HuffPo, Lambda Legal’s Evan Wolfson provides a description opf the ads and refutes their vicious claims, so that at least some of those unable to view the outrage can see clearly the threat with which we are dealing. It’s a long excerpt, but it is an important one:
Consider what the actors in the NOM ad pretend to be:
A doctor who wants to discriminate against her patients, despite civil rights laws and medical ethics that the California Supreme Court upheld – in a case having nothing to do with marriage.
An officer of a New Jersey group that for years voluntarily operated a beachside pavilion with special tax-breaks that required it be open to the public – but then tried to turn down a lesbian couple. The case did not turn on marriage, since New Jersey doesn’t yet allow gay couples to marry, but, rather, basic civil rights laws about open access to public accommodations.
A Massachusetts parent who sought to dictate public school curriculum about the diverse families children will need to be aware of to thrive in a diverse world, and then wanted to remove her child from classes in a way that would have disrupted class and imposed unreasonable burdens on the school and other kids.
The law in California, as elsewhere, is that doctors can’t discriminatorily refuse to treat patients — Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, gay or non-gay; that has nothing to do with marriage, and yet NOM incites fear. The law in New Jersey, as elsewhere, says that organizations running public accommodations such as restaurants or rental halls cannot discriminatorily exclude people — African American, Latino, or Asian, gay or non-gay; that has nothing to do with marriage, and yet NOM says that the discriminators are somehow the victims. The law in Massachusetts, as elsewhere, of course allows parents to teach their kids whatever they want, and even to send them to private schools or do home-schooling. The law also rightly sets rules for determining public school curriculum without having every parent, or special interest with an agenda, coming in and imposing their views on everyone else’s kids — yours or mine, gay or non-gay.
I encourage you to read Wolfson’s entire piece — he has worked on the front lines of this fight and knows the terrain. And he’s a lawyer.
National Organization for Marriage may believe that its copyright trumps our right to know the truth, but the group is wrong. Here is an opportunity to dtake action and do some good: Anyone with a thirst for a truly equal US will share descriptions of the ad — along with the truth about marriage equality and the fact that is is no threat to anyone, save those who need legal supremacy — with everyone they know. It is particularly urgent that we talk with those who question the need for civil-marriage equality. If we can’t trust YouTube to stand up to transmit the truth, we must do it.
Here is a debate between NOM’s Maggie Gallagher and Human Rights Campaign Joe Solmonese on CNN’s “Hardball,” where the HRC chief handily obliterates his opponent’s position using truth and fact.
HRC\’s Joe Solmonese on Hardball 04/08/09
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I’ve still seen the audition and commercial on youtube. I hope people keep posting it everytime it gets pulled. These hooligans need to be exposed.
Comment by adam kautz — April 12, 2009 @ 12:03 pm
Thanks Adam! A little guerilla work for the greater good seems just the ticket.
Comment by Natalie Davis — April 12, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
Why aren’t LGBT groups putting out commercials with real same-sex couples and the inequality they face under the law and which civil unions or same-sex marriage is important?
Why not run the stories about a couple not being able to make medical decisions for a partner or a partner not being able to be in the room when their deceased partner died?
I will gladly donate $ to a group that will run ads to counter these stupid ads.
Comment by Courtney — April 14, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
Courtney, I encourage you to contact organizations such as Freedom To Marry, and offer to financially support ads featuring real couples and the anti-marriage obstacles that are created by religious-rightists.
Comment by Michael Airhart — April 15, 2009 @ 3:35 am
Me and my friends will start boycotting stonewall inn and the the makers of the products which they carry. We will eventually start an organization to sustain our efforts.
Comment by len — April 17, 2009 @ 8:46 pm
Good Len – go for it. A boycott against a gay bar taking a stand against the most homophobic place on earth. I’m sure you’ll have a huge following.
Comment by Wayne Besen — April 17, 2009 @ 10:44 pm
Yes, Len, Wayne’s right. More power to your elbow. Let us know how you get on.
Comment by William — April 18, 2009 @ 3:17 pm