The antigay National
Organization for Marriage, which has been slow to gain traction
in New York and other Northeast states, vowed to spend $500,000
on a primary campaign against any Republican who votes for
marriage equality in the New York state senate, Ben Smith at
Politico.com reported on Wednesday.
The antigay National
Organization for Marriage, which has been slow to gain traction
in New York and other Northeast states, vowed to spend $500,000
on a primary campaign against any Republican who votes for
marriage equality in the New York state senate, Ben Smith at
Politico.com
reported on Wednesday. NOM also pledged general election
assistance to Democrats who vote against the bill, with all
help coming from its newly formed NOM PAC New York.
"The first half
million dollars will be used in GOP primaries," NOM
executive director Brian Brown said in a press release,
"but we are also looking to aid Democratic candidates who
want to buck the establishment on the marriage issue, and to
help in general election contests."
NOM claims that it has
raised more than $6 million since it was created in 2007, with
nearly $2 million devoted to Prop. 8 in California.
A bill to legalize
same-sex marriage passed the New York assembly in May and
awaits consideration in the senate, where all legislation
currently is stalled due to an unresolved leadership crisis.
The delay aside, the fate of the legislation is widely
acknowledged to depend on bipartisan support in the 62-member
chamber, where majorities are narrow. No senate Republicans
have announced they would vote for the marriage equality bill,
but leader Dean Skelos told his members in April that they
would be free to vote their conscience on the issue.
The challenge from NOM
would seem to defy recent history, as every assemblymember --
Democrat and Republican -- who voted for marriage equality when
it first passed that chamber in 2007, then ran for reelection,
was returned to office.
Log Cabin Republicans of New York spokesman Gregory Angelo
e-mailed Advocate.com with the following response to news of
the NOM challenge.
"To date 58
Republican state legislators have voted for marriage equality
across the country -- and not a single pro-marriage legislator,
of either party, has ever lost reelection because of their
vote. Log Cabin is proud to support Republican legislators who
stand up for equal rights and we will continue to do
so."
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