NOM Ad Campaign Mugs Traditional Biblical Values

I don't have time for this today. Seriously. I have a ton on my personal and professional plate and Advent looms and Diocesan Convention is just around the corner and ... well, you know.

But here it is ... from a blog posted this morning in Salt Lake...

Anti-Gay Group Defends Manipulated Photos

The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage says it’s justified for stealing photos of other, much larger, rallies to post on their website because gays are threatening society.

NOM is fighting to have same-sex marriages repealed in New Hampshire and has been caught using two fake photos on their website to make it appear that there is more support for their cause. In fact, the recent rallies and events NOM has held in New Hampshire have attracted less than 100 people and their photos make it appear thousands are in attendance. Recent polls indicate only 27 percent of New Hampshire residents support the repeal of marriage equality and 50 percent strongly oppose it.

The first photo NOM used was posted on the site, NewHampshireForMarriage.org with the caption, “Who we are.”


In fact, this photo was taken at a rally supporting President Barack Obama in Columbus.


And the second was like unto it ... this one mispresenting a crowd at an Obama rally in St. Louis (pictured below) in this "Get Involved" ad.




And here's what the NOM leadership had to say when they got their fingers caught in the PhotoShop Jar:

“They object to us using a photo of a crowd scene, which symbolizes the tens of thousands of New Hampshire voters who are part of our effort. They’re upset that the photo was not taken at a NOM rally. Seriously?! NOM using a common use photo in the public domain is considered a great scandal, yet they can redefine marriage,” Brown wrote in a blog post. “It’s as if the institution of marriage gets mugged, and they complain about speeding in the neighborhood when someone rushes it to the hospital!” Brown finished his post by asking for financial contributions to fight against marriage equality.

BEEP!!!

HERE'S what's getting mugged, Mr. Brown: Traditional Biblical Values.

You don't get to argue that you're defending traditional values when you steal pictures of other people's rallies and then misrepresent them as your own.

Those actions alone violate 20% of the Ten Commandments (#8 and #9 in case you lost track: stealing and bearing false witness ... AKA "lying through your teeth.") And don't even get me started on the "love your neighbor as yourself" core Biblical Value ... a core value, BTW, that does not have an * after it that says "unless your neighbor is lesbian or gay, bisexual or transgender."

Nope. It's LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. And you don't love your neighbors by taking away their fundamental right to the equal protection guaranteed all Americans. You don't love your neighbors by denying them the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage.

So here's Rev. Susan's Remedial Reading Assignment for the Biblical Values Bunch:

■ Start with the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20)
■ Work up to the Greatest Commandment. (Matthew 22:36-40)
■ Finish with Matthew 25 ... noting that "at the last day" Jesus' criterion is not "inasmuch as you've kept gay and lesbian couples from living happily ever after" ... it's "inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these."

And then go find some "least of these" to do it unto ... feed some hungry, clothe some naked, visit some sick.

Quit stealing other people's pictures to misrepresent the numbers of those who share your bigotry and homophobia -- the bigotry and homophobia you project onto the God whose quality is always to have mercy and who loves each and every member of Her Big Fat Human Family equally.

OK. I'm done now.