Anti-LGBT Group Ready to Repeal Marriage Equality Under President Trump

The right-wing National Organization for Marriage spelled out its wish list for a Trump presidency on Tuesday.

The National Organization for Marriage has outlined its wish list for Donald Trump’s presidency following the Republican’s shocking upset win during the Tuesday election.

In a Wednesday press release, the anti-LGBT group referred to Trump’s victory as a “bright and exciting time” for the organization. Founded in 2007, the organization was formed to oppose marriage equality around the nation, and in 2008 it supported California's Proposition 8, which repealed marriage equality in the Golden State before being overturned in the courts.

NOM hopes to do the same thing during Trump’s tenure in the White House — but instead on a national level. Beginning in 2017, its goal is to “restore marriage, uphold gender, protect religious liberty and promote families.”

First on its agenda is the repeal of marriage equality through the Supreme Court. The group plans to work with the president-elect to appoint justices who would overturn the Supreme Court’s historic 2015 ruling, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide Calling the decision “anti-constitutional,” NOM claims that equality was “imposed” on America.

That decision, however, has been widely popular with the American public. In 2016, Gallup found that 61 percent of the American public supported the right of all couples to wed, a record high. In 2010, just 44 percent of respondents said the same.

NOM also stated that the group will push Trump to “rescind the illegal, over-reaching executive orders and directives issued by President Obama,” which he has previously claimed that he will do on his first day in office. That would include a 2014 order prohibiting companies with federal contracts from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexuality or gender identity.

The organization also called out the Obama administration's guidance on trans students, issued to schools in May. The 50-page document advises school administrators and faculty to allow youth to use restrooms and locker rooms that most closely correspond with their gender identity.

NOM called the policy “dangerous,” arguing that the president was “attempting to redefine gender just as he sought to redefine marriage.”

The right-wing organization also said that it will do everything in its power to “reverse policies of the Obama administration that seek to coerce other countries into accepting same-sex ‘marriage’ as a condition of receiving U.S. assistance and aid.” The false claim that foreign aid is conditional on the acceptance of LGBT rights, however, has been debunked.

Lastly, the group affirmed its support for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act under a Trump presidency, a bill the politician has already stated that he supports. That bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Raul Labrador, would allow businesses and individuals to discriminate against LGBT people in the name of religious beliefs. A similar bill was signed into law by Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president, in Indiana before being amended.

“FADA is critical legislation to protect people who believe in marriage from being targeted by the government for persecution,” NOM argued.

The past few years have been devastating ones for NOM, as the country appeared to be moving toward a more tolerant view of LGBT rights. The group, widely known for its “Gathering Storm” video opposing same-sex marriage, had turned its attention abroad, focusing on Mexico’s same-sex marriage protests.

All that has changed, the organization said.

“We are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity we have,” NOM wrote. “Our voice and our views matter to the incoming administration, and that means your voice and views matter. … We’re excited about the future.”