NOM Claims Victory in Rhode Island, New Hampshire Primaries
A national organization advocating for marriage being defined as between one man and one woman has declared victory in the political primaries of Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
The National Organization for Marriage sent out a statement on Wednesday referring to the defeat of several pro-same-sex marriage candidates in the Democratic primary as a "massacre."
"A massive last-minute surge of money from pro gay marriage millionaire Tim Gill couldn't drown out the voice of the people, who defeated five out of six pro gay marriage state senators," read the statement from Brian Brown, president of NOM.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"The media and pro gay marriage millionaires want to overwhelm us with their money and influence. But we know in every race where we have the resources to share our pro-marriage message-and in every race where the people get to vote and decide-we can win."
On Tuesday, Rhode Island held its primary wherein local media focused strongly on the differing positions Democratic candidates had on possibly legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.
Current Rhode Island law allows for civil unions, but maintains a marriage definition of one man and one woman.
Of the six closely watched races for the primary only one same-sex marriage supporter, Adam Satchell of West Warwick, was victorious.
"I feel that as a state created on the basis of individual freedoms, all Rhode Islanders should have equal marriage rights regardless of sexual orientation," says Satchell on his campaign website.
Ray Sullivan, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, told the Providence Phoenix that despite the losses he felt the fight to legalize same-sex marriage was still alive and pointed to some races in November where pro-same-sex marriage candidates could win.
In the New Hampshire primary, held on Tuesday, Republicans Peter Bolster and David Welch both lost their primary races.
The New Hampshire Legislature passed a bill in 2007 legalizing civil unions in the state. In 2009, a bill legalizing same-sex marriage was passed.
Bolster and Welch voted against House Bill 1590. Introduced in the 2010 session, HB 1590 would have overturned the legislature's previous legalization of same-sex marriage.
Rhode Island and New Hampshire are not the only states where support for same-sex marriage has correlated with losses at the ballot box for politicians.
In March, New York State Senator Ruben Diaz released a statement arguing that New York Democrats' successful push to legalize same-sex marriage in the Empire State had "backfired."
Diaz pointed to several special elections that had taken place since New York legalized same-sex marriage that resulted in a Democratic defeat, even in seats they had previously expected to win.
"You can spin this any which way you want, but the fact of the matter remains that gay marriage has played a major role in the outcome of each of these elections," said Diaz.
"For a time, the Democratic Party was key in New York City politics, and it was virtually impossible for a Republican to win a seat in the State legislature in New York City. That was before gay marriage."
Come November, several states will be considering referenda on the issue of same-sex marriage. Further, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have taken opposite positions on the marriage definition debate.
