FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mary Beth Hutchins, x105 at 703-683-5004
AUGUST 17, 2009

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: HALT YOUR TWO-FACED ATTACK ON THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT
NOM Announces 500,000 Americans have signed up to protect DOMA and pledge two million activists by the end of 2009

“We are well on our way to two million supporters of marriage who are willing to stand up to the President and join the fight,” Brian Brown, executive director, NOM

Washington, DC - Under pressure from gay marriage advocates, President Obama pledged today to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), even as the administration claimed to courts its willingness to defend the law from charges of unconstitutionality.

“In a high-profile interview with Rick Warren, Barack Obama convinced millions of Americans he opposed gay marriage; we are calling on the President to live up to his campaign commitment” said Brian Brown.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) announces today that their 2 Million for Marriage campaign now has topped 500,000 active supporters, part of a planned expansion of its activist base in preparation for fighting to prevent President Obama from overturning DOMA.

“NOM’s activist base is exploding, increasing tenfold in the first five months of this year,” said Brian Brown, “We’ve moved from 50,000 to more than 500,000 Americans pledging to protect DOMA.”

NOM’s goal for 2009 is to build an army of 2 million Americans willing to fight against efforts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. “At this rapid rate of growth, we will meet or exceed our ambitious goals by the end of 2009,” notes Brown.

“The National Organization for Marriage has emerged as the nation’s only major national grassroots organization dedicated to protecting marriage,” notes Maggie Gallagher, president and founder of NOM. “DOMA is the only federal law that protects marriage as the union of husband and wife, and guarantees voters in Georgia or Wisconsin that a handful of judges in Massachusetts will not be able to impose gay marriage on their state.”

NOM’s mission is protecting marriage and the faith communities that sustain it. It is the only single-issue grassroots activist organization that is working to protect marriage in New York, New Jersey, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Iowa, in addition to other states. To learn more about NOM, visit www.nationformarriage.org.

To schedule an interview with Maggie Gallagher, President, or Brian Brown, Executive Director, for the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mhutchins@crcpublicrelations.com, (x105) at 703-683-5004.

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