Fear mongering from The National Organization for Marriage

The National Organization for Marriage, an institution whose stated mission is, "...to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it", recently deployed an ad full of half-truths and outright lies designed to inspire terror among opponents of same-sex marriage.  During the course of the ad, three actors relay stories that, according to the ad, "are based on real life incidents", a claim that is infuriatingly inaccurate.  

Please watch the video below, and read on for an explanation of the incidents in question.

In the first instance related, the doctor from California laments the notion that she must choose between her faith and her job.  This has absolutely nothing to do with marriage, and the ad cunningly omits this fact.  The situation she describes is her lack of legal protection to discriminate against a patient based on their sexual orientation, which one would hope that everyone recognizes as wrong. 

In the second instance, the man from New Jersey claims that his religious rights are being trampled on by the government, because his church "can't support same-sex marriage".  The incident he is referring to involved The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which is not a church, but a religious ministry.  The OGCMA holds certain properties that are exempt from state taxes on the grounds that they are open for public use and access.  One of these properties was a pavilion that was commonly used for marriage ceremonies of any religion, so long as the ceremony was reserved in advance.  When a lesbian couple sought to reserve the pavilion, however, the OGCMA denied them use, stating that it went against their religious beliefs.  The court ruled against the OGCMA, not because gay rights trump religious rights but because public land has to be open to everyone or else it's not public.

As for the third instance, the woman here expresses her frustration that public schools won't be indoctrinating her children with the claim that homosexuality is immoral.  A federal judge made the following remarks when reviewing a similar case:

"In summary, the court must dismiss plaintiffs' federal claims because this case is not distinguishable in any material respect from Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, 68 F.3d 525 (1st Cir. 1995). In Brown, the First Circuit held that the constitutional right of parents to raise their children does not include the right to restrict what a public school may teach their children and that teachings which contradict a parent's religious beliefs do not violate their First Amendment right to exercise their religion. [page 3]...

In essence, under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy. Diversity is a hallmark of our nation. It is increasingly evident that our diversity includes differences in sexual orientation. Our nation's history includes a fundamental commitment to promoting mutual respect among citizens in our diverse nation that is manifest in the First Amendment's prohibitions on establishing an official religion and restricting the free exercise of religious beliefs on which plaintiffs base some of their federal claims. [page 4]"

More than anything, what the National Organization for Marriage's ad demonstrates is that the group is unable to communicate any arguments of substance against same-sex marriage.  Ads like this one don't encourage reasonable discussion, but instead add to the confusion and misinformation already abundantly prevalent in our national discourse.