GAME ON: Marriage Equality Opponents Announce $2 Million Pledge to Block Civil Rights // TV Ad War Begins Monday

This morning Maryland Juice received an email blast from Marylanders for Marriage Equality announcing that a donor has pledged $2 million to the anti-civil rights opponents at the National Organization for Marriage (see below). Meanwhile, The Baltimore Sun's Annie Linskey reports that the television ad war over marriage equality (Question 6) is about to begin (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Opponents of same-sex marriage will start their television ad campaign Monday morning, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission. Two days later, the supporters will go up on television, papers show....

It's a safe bet that the Maryland Marriage Alliance, which opposes same-sex marriage, will put up an ad similar in tone to one that is now airing in Minnesota, another state with marriage on the ballot. The spot features a number of good looking and happy heterosexual couples while an female narrator notes the significance of marriage - particularly in child rearing.

Juice -

Here it comes. The National Organization for Marriage - which has provided most of our opponents' reported resources so far - announced they have a donor ready to give $2,000,000 to stop marriage equality.

If you think this money wont be directly used here in Maryland to "drive a wedge between blacks and gays" as their strategy document so infamously outlined, you're wrong.

It's a harsh reality, but we have Marylanders on our side.  People just like you, who care about fairness and equality in the Free State.  Will you donate $25, $100 or more today to ensure that when The National Organization for Marriage swoops in last minute, we have the funds to go head to head with them?

They said:

"A gracious pro-marriage supporter has just created an extremely generous matching grant fund to help the National Organization for Marriage demonstrate your commitment to marriage as the unique union of one man and one woman. This new $2 million matching grant challenge will help us compete even more effectively with Obama's billionaire gay marriage activists and wealthy Hollywood celebrities who are determined to impose homosexual marriage as the law of the land."

MORE ON THE MARRIAGE EQUALITY BATTLE SOON!

SHADY: Anti-LGBT Group Hides Contributors in Fight Against Maryland Marriage Equality // 7 of 10 Donors from Outside MD

Maryland Juice has received a copy of the campaign finance report from the Maryland Marriage Alliance (MMA). The anti-civil rights group is leading the effort to overturn the Free State's newly signed marriage equality law.

Race-Baiting Group Funds Anti-Marriage Equality Petitions // Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake & Black Leaders Speak Out

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that anti-marriage equality advocates have announced they have gathered twice as many signatures as needed to subject civil rights to a majority vote this November. Marylanders for Marriage Equality has revealed, however, that the race-baiting organization "National Organization for Marriage" has financed most of this operation.

Anti-Gay Group "NOM" Spent $10K on Anthony Muse's Senate Race, Pledges $1 Million to MD GOP Marriage Repeal Efforts

NOM DROPS $10,000 FOR ANTHONY MUSE: On Monday, Maryland Juice readers reported that the anti-gay extremist group NOM ("National Organization for Marriage") was robo-polling voters trying to turn out marriage equality opponents for State Senator Anthony Muse's failed U.S. Senate campaign. Yesterday the nonprofit Human Rights Campaign reported that NOM reported spending $10,000 on the effort:

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: Just filed FEC reports show that NOM spent $10,000 in last night's Maryland state primary hoping to push anti-equality Democrat C. Anthony Muse, a current state senator who voted against the marriage bill, above incumbent U.S. Senator Ben Cardin:

MD GOP CHAIR ALEX MOONEY ACCEPTS $1 MILLION FROM NOM: Notably, recent media reports indicate that the Maryland GOP is also planning on accepting this tainted money. Last Friday, The Gazette reported that MD GOP Chair Alex Mooney had admitted NOM pledged $1,000,000 to help the Republicans overturn marriage equality:

GAZETTE: Mooney expressed concern about the sustainability of petition efforts. The party got a $1 million commitment from the National Organization for Marriage and money from several other groups for the effort to overturn same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, advocates around the nation see signs that NOM is becoming a political liability. The Chicago GoPride blog noted:

REPORT FROM THE FIELD: A Sign of Questionable Tactics from Anti-Marriage Equality Petition Gatherers

Rockville City Councilmember Tom Moore posted the following disturbing report on his Facebook page today. He mentions that a petition-gatherer at his polling location was gathering signatures to repeal marriage equality, but may have used questionable tactics to get LGBT-rights supporters to sign the haters' petition for repeal. The extreme right is spending massive resources trying to subject Maryland's newly passed marriage equality law to a repeal effort on November's ballot. See the irritating note below:

The report from Mr. Moore comes on the heels of yesterday's report that the anti-gay "National Organization for Marriage" (aka NOM) was robo-polling voters to try and identify marriage equality opponents to steer toward Anthony Muse's U.S. Senate campaign. NOM was also recently condemned by a Maryland NAACP leader for getting caught red-handed trying to stoke racial divisions by exploiting African American and Latino figures.

Anti-Gay Group "NOM" is Robo-Polling Voters on Behalf of State Senator Anthony Muse // MD NAACP Leader Condemns NOM

WILL MUSE CONDEMN THE HATER-ADE? - Maryland Juice readers are reporting that the anti-gay "National Organization for Marriage" (aka NOM) is robo-polling voters on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Anthony Muse. They are calling Free State voters in an attempt to identify marriage equality opponents who they can push to support Mr. Muse in the Democratic Primary. A reader alerts us to the news:

NOM is doing robocalling for Muse today.  They ask you two questions after announcing the call is from NOM: (1) are you a registered voter in MD, (2) do you believe marriage should be believe a man and a woman.  If you answer yes to both, you get anti-marriage equality appeal to vote for Muse.