NOM Will Never Go Away, Says NOM

The leader of the National Organization for Marriage, a group hell bent on banning marriage equality in the U.S., said in an interview with the Guardian this week that his group will never go away -- even if the Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage.

"We're not going away," Brian Brown, president of the NOM, told the U.K. newspaper. "We've been hearing about our demise for the last 15 years. It hasn't happened, and it's not going to happen, even if the [US supreme] court is to do the unthinkable in an attempt to redefine marriage and the law."

His comments come as the sixth U.S. circuit court of appeals in Cincinnati hears oral arguments covering six gay marriage rulings in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

NOM, and groups like NOM (like the Family Research Council), are facing with a changing America as new polls show more Americans are in favor of marriage equality.

The Supreme Court has not taken a case about gay marriage since it struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8 in June 2013. It is likely, however, that the high court will hear a case out of Utah or Virginia. The Guardian notes the earliest the Supreme Court would make a decision is 2015.

Though attitudes are undergoing a sea change, Brown isn't buying it, saying the research is faulty and the media is spinning facts.

"I'm sure, probably, there's been some increase in support for that agenda since 2008," Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at Family Research Council, told the Guardian. "If the question is worded as a question of civil rights, constitutional rights, equality and so forth, those are broad principles Americans tend to sympathize with and so, framing it in that way is going to inevitably lead to higher polling numbers in support of that position."

Springg added: "We do not accept the theory that same-sex marriage is inevitable or that defeat in the Supreme Court is inevitable. If that were to occur, we would respond to it at that time. I can say with certainty that we would continue to promote marriage between one man and one woman as the family form of greatest benefit to children."

This story is part of our special report: "Gay Marriage". Want to read more? Here's the full list.