National Organisation for Marriage (NOM)

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a group that seeks to prevent the legal recognition and acceptance of same-sex marriage. NOM's stated mission is "to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it."

The organization was founded in 2007 by the group's original president Maggie Gallagher, along with Robert P. George, a professor at Princeton University, who serves as chairman of the board. Brian Brown currently serves as NOM's president.

Classification as a Hate Group
In November 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a list of 18 anti-gay groups that "have continued to pump out demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals". Although not officially listed as a hate group at this time, SPLC report suggested that 13 of the 18 groups listed would be classified as a hte-group next year.

Behaviour of Supporters
In a mostly unsucessfull effort to maintain the illusion of a reputable and trustworthy lobbying organisation, NOM and its staff are careful not to publicly say anything that could be regarded as hate-speech. Its supporters on the other hand portray the message of hate quite violently, which reflects on the organisation's reputation as a hate group.

A noteable example of this was seen in Indianapolis, Indiana when the organisation stopped there as part of its "Summer of Marriage" campaign against equality. A NOM supporter was spotted with a placard that clearly suggested lynching homosexual people as a "solution" to gay marriage.

NOM's staff are not always so dilligent in keeping their true feelings hidden from the public. NOM's Summer of Marriage bus driver, Louis Marinelli, has been quoted claiming that gays want "prostitution, pedophilia, and polygamy"

2007 Massachusetts constitutional amendment
The group first met with failure during a campaign in support of a 2007 Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage un Massachusetts. The campaign included a billboard comparing representative Angelo Puppolo to Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold after he changed his position to oppose the amendment, however the amendment failed to pass and same-sex marriage is still legal in the state. Puppolo responded stating, "Tactics like this reinforce my belief that I did the right thing. I voted to keep discrimination off the ballot and out of the Massachusetts constitution." Puppolo also said the billboard is 'hateful and offensive'.

California Proposition 8
In 2008, The National Organisation for Marriage supported the now failed and unconstitutional Proposition 8 in California, which attempted to amend the state Constitution to define marriage as "the union between one man and one woman."