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02/19/2014
IN: Desperate pro-discrimination group NOM seeks activist judge willing to thwart people-elected legislature
As you likely know, the Indiana legislature all but killed the chances of ever passing a discriminatory marriage amendment in that state when it altered the language in a way that will necessitate at least a two year waiting period before such a bill could ever find its way to the ballot. It was one of the weirdest wins in our community's recent memory, since the GOP-led legislature did, in fact, pass a marriage ban. But it was a win nonetheless, since the changed language delayed the whole process, and it's almost certain that the times (and perhaps the state legislature) will change so much over the next two years that the very idea of writing a marriage amendment into the constitution will seem ludicrous in 2016. Not to mention, smart GOP thinkers might not be so quick to put this kind of get-out-the-vote measure on a presidential ballot in this reddish-purple state, particularly if the Democrats run the expected candidate.
So yeah—good developments in Indiana. Which of course means that the National Organization For Marriage, a special interest group that is far more defined by losing than it is by any of the ultimately invalidated (and some would say Pyrrhic) "victories" it once won, has to step up and show its desperation. And just like our win was a novel one for us, NOM's sore loserdom is particularly novel for that pro-discrimination group. Bilerico's John Becker reports:
When it comes to HJR-3, a proposed constitutional marriage inequality amendment in Indiana, Hoosiers are sick of it and lawmakers clearly don't want to deal with it anymore. But an outside group, the National Organization for Marriage Discrimination, is now hinting that it may try and sue to force the measure onto the ballot in November.
KEEP READING: NOM to Indiana: Put Marriage on the Ballot Or We'll Sue [Bilerico]
Yup, that's right—they're threatening to sue. What, why, where, and whom, you ask? Well, that's all as clear as mud. But for some reason (hubris, primarily), NOM thinks that it has a legal case against the duly elected legislature of the Hoosier State.
We should note that NOM actually has tight legal ties in Indiana. Terra Haute lawyer James Bopp, a conservative superstar, served as NOM's counsel in the past. Now NOM's ActRight Legal spinoff, which was built off of Bopp's team and presumably resources, has set up shop in Plainfield, IN. So proximity and what they see as an opportunity for a local team's personality-driven persuasion might be what's driving this. They might think they have enough legal heft in the state to intimidate the right people. Who knows?
Whatever the motivator, the idea of suing someone or something because a legislative vote didn't go your way is absurd, even for NOM. But when you lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose the way NOM has been losing and losing and losing and losing and losing and losing, I guess you gotta try something.