The socially conservative Summer for Marriage Tour hits Madison, Wisconsin

Dan82 · Jul 30, 2010

http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/29/dueling-protests

Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which opposes same-sex unions, has brought his 23-city bus tour here in hopes of drawing a crowd. He has succeeded, but not in the way you might expect.

On a warm weekday, with the university students mostly on vacation and the legislature in recess, the state Capitol grounds have a placid midsummer air. But with the appointed time of noon at hand, that is about to change.

As Brown stands at the foot of the Capitol, watching a few sympathizers gather around a lectern, a distant rumble intrudes on the quiet. Marching up State Street are 200 or 300 demonstrators, carrying signs and chanting slogans, all attracted by the chance to repudiate the NOM message as noisily as they can.

On first glance, this may look like a fine place to hold a rally on behalf of what NOM calls "traditional marriage." It's the seat of government in a socially conservative state whose voters voted by a 59 percent majority in 2006 to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.

On second glance, though, it looks like the worst possible venue. Madison and the University of Wisconsin campus have long been famous as a hotbed of counterculture lifestyles and left-wing activism. Green Party candidates have been elected to several city and county offices. The same-sex marriage ban lost overwhelmingly here.

So why would NOM hold a rally where it is sure of being badly outnumbered by motivated and well-organized critics? Maybe because that's what it wanted. The Summer for Marriage Tour could have been called the Come Shout Us Down Tour.
http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/29/dueling-protests
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The socially conservative Summer for Marriage Tour hits Madison, Wisconsin

Dan82 Full Member

Dan82
Full Member