Maryland Marriage Coalition Issues Warning on NOM
As the campaign to pass the Maryland marriage referendum nears its final seven weeks, the coalition working to approve Question 6 wants media to be advised of the “misinformation, race baiting and negativity” that characterize the “playbook” of opponents such as National Organization for Marriage.
Marylanders for Marriage Equality sent a memo Thursday morning to “Maryland reporters, editors, anchors, producers” with the subject line, “What to watch out for”. The document is intended as a preemptive strike against opponents, who in past statewide campaigns have shown a tendency to make significant investments at the last minute.
“This memo outlines the playbook that marriage equality opponents have used since 2008,” reads the message, which cites Frank Schubert, political director of NOM, who is now “leading the charge” to defeat Question 6. “The misinformation, race baiting and negativity have worked to great effect in states like California and Maine,” continues the memo. “Marylanders should brace themselves for what is about to hit our state.”
The memo reviews three strategies that media should expect from opponents, who work under the coalition, Maryland Marriage Alliance. Those strategies include exploiting race, promoting the false charge that same-sex marriage will be taught in public schools if the law is upheld, and convincing voters that marriage equality advocates have “duped” them. The latter refers to recent calls by the Maryland Marriage Alliance for voters to be “inherently suspicious” of the religious exemptions language in the ballot measure and the law signed this year by Governor Martin O’Malley.
http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2012/09/13/maryland-marriage-coalition-issues-warning-nom