The National Organization for Marriage has once again unveiled plans to ask all the GOP presidential candidates to sign an anti-equality pledge. But the specifics of the pledge are so outlandish that there's no way any serious candidate could possibly follow through on them.
The first item on NOM's list: support a constitutional amendment to ban marriage nationwide. That idea has been floating around for more than a decade, but it's never picked up much support. After President Bush endorsed the idea -- and failed to advance it -- it was clear that there was no political will to pass such an amendment. While it's almost certain that a sitting president would never spend their political capital on such a divisive (not to mention unpopular) effort, that hasn't stopped presidential hopeful and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and yet-to-declare candidate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, from advocating for an antigay amendment to the Constitution.
NOM also wants candidates to pledge to nominate anti-equality judges; to reverse the Obama administration's policies recognizing LGBT spouses; to weaken civil rights laws; and to waste time investigating claims of harassment by antigay groups. Some of those requests could actually come to pass -- several states have created new, "religious freedom"-shaped loopholes in civil rights laws in the last few years -- but other demands, like resuming the practice of deporting binational couples, are a tall order.
