March for Marriage Organizers 'More Hopeful' With Trump as Ally in the White House
Organizers of the annual March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. say they have a renewed enthusiasm with the election of President Donald Trump, whose administration they view as more favorable to their ideals and support for traditional marriage and religious liberty than his predecessor.
Joseph Grabowski, spokesman for the National Organization for Marriage, told The Christian Post that this year's march, which will be held on Father's Day weekend, will have a "more hopeful" tone due to Trump being president.
"We have potentially better allies in Washington, compared with the antipathy shown toward religious freedom and traditional values by the former [Obama] administration," said Grabowski.
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"Trump, as a candidate and since taking office, has made repeated promises to people of faith to protect their interests and values — one of the major reasons that Christians and other faith constituencies turned out in large majorities to support his election."
Grabowski also spoke positively of the nomination and successful appointment of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court, which Grabowski saw as an indicator that "the Obergefell decision might already be on its way to being overturned."
In June of 2015, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage, including constitutional amendments that NOM successfully campaigned for, were unconstitutional.
The March for Marriage is held each year around the anniversary of the controversial decision. This year's themes will be centered on advocating for traditional marriage and religious liberty.
"In a particular way we are rallying to express concern over the threats to religious liberty that have followed in the wake of redefining marriage, as well as in conjunction with the subsequent push to redefine gender," explained Grabowski.
"We are trying to send a message to the Administration and leaders in Congress that they need to act to protect those who believe in traditional marriage and traditional values about family and sexuality from the kinds of onerous lawsuits and discriminatory targeting by government that we have seen with increasingly frequency and intensity."
Falling on a Saturday, the march will begin with a rally on Capitol Hill that will go from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. After the rally, participants will march to the Supreme Court building.
For his part, Trump has sent mixed messages about his administration's plans regarding same-sex marriage legalization.
During the Republican primary season, Trump told Fox News' Chris Wallace that he would "strongly consider" nominating judges to the Supreme Court who would overturn Obergefell.
However, days after being elected president, Trump explained to CBS' Lesley Stahl that he considered the marriage definition debate "settled" thanks to the Obergefell decision.
