Don't Support Gay Marriage, But Not Sure Why?

You're in luck! The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has written up some helpful "talking points" to let you simply repeat over and over what it is that a select few in that organization want you to say. Do not think for yourself on this matter. Do not attempt to defend your views no matter how convoluted they may be. Just memorize some simple sentences and a few key talking points and you're ready to defend marriage. From their website:*

I. THE MOST EFFECTIVE SINGLE SENTENCE:

Extensive and repeated polling agrees that the single most effective message is:

"Gays and Lesbians have a right to live as they choose,
they don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us."

This allows people to express support for tolerance while opposing gay marriage. Some modify it to “People have a right to live as they choose, they don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us.”

Language to avoid at all costs: "Ban same-sex marriage." Our base loves this wording. So do supporters of SSM. They know it causes us to lose about ten percentage points in polls. Don’t use it. Say we’re against “redefining marriage” or in favor or “marriage as the union of husband and wife” NEVER “banning same-sex marriage."

This is so laughable. This information is on a publicly viewed website, when it seems almost as if it should be spoken behind closed doors to those who are about to stand in the public spotlight in defense of being against same-sex marriage. This seems rather prevalent in the line "they know it causes us to lose about ten percentage points in polls" and everything thereafter. There is no explicit statement denying that they want to, in fact, ban same-sex marriage. There is, however, a tacit implication that these people will not sleep until there is a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. In fact, I don't think it's even fair to call it "tacit". At least that's how Iowa State Representative Steve King feels:

Now it is the Iowa legislature’s responsibility to pass the Marriage Amendment to the Iowa Constitution, clarifying that marriage is between one man and one woman, to give the power that the Supreme Court has arrogated to itself back to the people of Iowa. Along with a constitutional amendment, the legislature must also enact marriage license residency requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to the Supreme Court’s latest experiment in social engineering.

Perhaps, rather than spending millions of dollars on trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist, these anti-gay groups should spend money trying to fix the problems that do exist: poverty, homelessness, starvation, etc.

*You can read what other talking points and frequently asked questions they have on their website.