National Organization for Marriage Late Again With Federal Tax Returns

December 29th, 2010
by Fred Karger

WASHINGTON, DC – The four year old National Organization for Marriage (NOM), and the National Organization for Marriage Foundation (NOMF) has once again failed to file its required Federal Income Tax Returns. Their IRS 2009 returns for both of these non-profits, their 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 were due on May 15, 2010. If they received an extension, then they were due October 15, 2010. Now they are 2½ months LATE!

I recently visited their new National Office in Washington, DC twice during regular office hours to view the returns. No one was there. They must make them available to anyone during regular business hours. We also have checked online repeatedly for their 2009 returns, and again, nothing. What is NOM trying to hide? Why do they not file their tax returns every year?

Déjà Vu


I went through the identical exercise in 2009 when I attempted to view NOM’s 2007 and 2008 990’s, but they never filed those either. We visited their then National Office in Princeton, NJ many times and no one was ever there either.

One set of 990’s was 5 months late. The other set was 17 months late, when finally, the night before NOM President Brian Brown was to testify in front of the Maine Ethics Commission last year, all of their delinquent tax returns magically appeared on the NOM web site.

It was too late to stave off a State of Maine investigation of NOM, because in spite of threatening to sue the State of Maine (which NOM eventually did), the Maine Ethics Commission voted to investigate the National Organization for Marriage for election “Money Laundering.”

NOM is not above the law. They need to file their Income Tax Returns like everyone else and every other organization. We are entitled to see just how much money they raised and spent in 2009. Whom are they trying to protect?

NOM has sued 14 states to invalidate those state’s campaign finance laws. 12 of those lawsuits were in 2010 alone. NOM hopes to invalidate those state’s election laws, so when they spend their millions in those 14 states, it would not have to be reported.

NOM goes into these states and attacks anyone and everyone viciously that dares to support marriage equality in this country, and they do it without obeying election laws. They even subpoenaed me last year as soon as I filed the complaint against them in Maine. They are relentless.

Read more at Rights Equal Rights and NOM Exposed.

Pictured:

How do you say, “Front Group?” I went again to the NOM National Office at 2029 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 to see their 2009 Tax Returns. Notice the UPS delivery slip on the doorknob. Neighbors said they never see anyone there, yet they are leading the fight against gay marriage in 14 states.

NOM President Brian Brown getting questioned by reporters right after Maine Ethics Commission voted to investigate his organization for alleged money laundering.

DAMU, I Thank You

Paying homage to online friends during this holiday season with some heartfelt silliness:



(Alt link in case the embedded vid loads too slow)

My inspiration, my energy, my wisdom, my gratitude, my vision, my laughter ... my knowledge.

From me to you: I'm so glad I'm you're here.

And, yes, if there'd been more than four cues, I would've included more of my favorite sites. :-)

x-posted at Main Street Plaza

Shout outs to:

Life After Mormonism
PostMormon.org
exmormon.reddit.com
Mormon Expression
Further Light and Knowledge
I am an ExMormon

The Mormons invite "Big Love" writer Dustin Lance Black & Friends to MoTab X-mas Concert

Gay activists are VIPs at MoTab Concert:



Headlines:

KTVX (ABC 4 Utah) - LDS Church invites gay activists and Dustin Lance Black to Christmas Concert

Towleroad - Gay Activists Attend Mormon Xmas Concert in Salt Lake City

Politico - A Mormon, gay detente?

just|out - Gay Activists Attend Mormon Christmas Concert As Invited Guests

LDS Living - LDS Church invites gay activists to Christmas Concert

The Shallow End of the Pool - The LDS Church Inviting Gays to Concerts?

Background:

OUT Magazine - Dustin Lance Black: "Pillars of Salt"

My two cents:

The folks who ought to be getting the VIP treatment are all the faithful gay and lesbian Mormons who follow their church's awful advice and sacrifice companionship and love in order to remain temple worthy in the eyes of their leaders. I wonder how it makes LGB Mormons feel to see gay activists fêted by the same LDS leadership that places such disproportionate demands on its own gay membership. Doesn't seem quite fair that it's the gay Mormons who decided to leave the church that get the red carpet rolled out for them. How about a VIP section for all the active LDS who diligently attend Evergreen International conferences, and General Conference, and all their weekly church meetings, and try so hard to follow the counsel of the Brethren? Where's their red carpet? What about all the North Star LDS striving to live the Gospel in their mixed-orientation marriages? In addition to VIP tickets, that crew should get medals, too.

Or not.

At the end of the day, the takeaway is that bravery pays. Those who chose to bravely walk away from the LDS church and fight the good fight for equality and dignity are the same ones now treated with respect by the institutional LDS leadership. This should be a lesson for all LGB Mormons who've chosen to remain on the inside and bear unfair and unequal treatment at the hands of their church. Take a good, long look at the happy crew of activists shown in this report, and then ask yourself: Where is your invitation to the MoTab? What is your reward for your faithful solitary service? How is it that those who left the church behind are now celebrated by LDS leaders, while those members who've remained loyal and true earn only exhortation and caution? How can that be right? Where is the justice in that? If there were any justice on offer, or even simply a modicum of mercy, those of you who've already sacrificed so much for the Brethren and the Mormon church would already top the list of candidates for next year's VIP tickets.

At the very least, couldn't the Brethren quietly instruct your bishops to show a little appreciation by passing along a few complimentary tickets to "Donny & Marie – A Broadway Christmas" ??

Tee hee.

P.S. Check out these gems from MADB (Mormon Apologetic & Discussion Board):

"This isn't outreach, this is just placation of your idiot neighbors so they stop protesting on your front lawn."

"It is just putting on a show of kindness for the sake of the puppet theater. The homosexual lifestyle will never be accepted by the Church."

"Leave the Sodomites in Sodom."

Wow. Some of these Mormon apologists seem to take a a more cynical view of their own leadership than many LDS critics.

Jimmy Carter: Is the country ready for Fred Karger?

Transcript:

Well, I think the entire population of America has come tremendous strides forward in dealing with the issue of gays, and I would say that the answer is "Yes" ... I don't know about next election, but I think in the near future -- because step-by-step we have realized that this issue of homosexuality has the same adverse and progressive elements as when we dealt with the race issue fifty (or forty) years ago. So, I would say that the country is getting acclimated to a president who might be female, who might (obviously now) be black, and who might be, as well, a gay person. Yes, I would say the answer is "yes."

My name is Jean Bodie and I’m an Ex Mormon.

I am a wife, mother of 5 children and grandmother to 12 – soon to be 13. I adore my family and love spending time with them whenever I can.

My life in the Mormon Church began when two missionaries knocked on my door in Dorset, England. I felt their sincerity and desperately wanted to have that strong testimony and peace that their gospel seemed to deliver. After praying for this testimony and receiving no answer, I doubled my efforts and read and prayed some more. Despite being taught that an adulterous generation sought after signs I felt that I sorely needed just one sign to help me make the decision to join the Church. I wanted to believe what the young missionaries taught me, and wasn’t a ‘burning in the bosom’ a sign? One night as I knelt in prayer – still having received no answer, I asked God to cause some physical discomfort that would be strong enough to let me know that this was a definite answer and sure enough, a pain began in my leg and I arose from my knees in grateful assurance that joining this church was God’s plan for me (the leg pain was completely understandable considering that I had been kneeling for a very long time). I now look at this as simple confirmation bias; I wanted to believe that I had received communication from God. I was baptized on September 3rd 1967 and from that time forward I began; line upon line; precept upon precept in my journey to becoming what I hoped was a model Mormon.

Read the rest of Jean's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.

"Disciples" explores three exmormon lives

Disciples from Jordan Currier on Vimeo.

From the director:

"Disciples" explores the lives of three openly gay exmormons who all left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in pursuit of equality, sometimes at great personal cost. The film documents the unique experiences and challenges that gay men face in a religion that places a premium on so-called "traditional marriage." The Mormon church, through its staunch support of Proposition 8 -- California's gay marriage ban -- has demonstrated its inability to help gay mormons bridge the gap between their sexual identity and their belief system.

JMC437 Films presents

A production of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Executive Produced by John Booth
Produced by Desiree Salazar
Shot and edited by Alexander Rosen
Directed by Jordan Currier

Hi, my name is Sarah and I’m an Ex Mormon.

It was on my mission that I began to have questions. I loved meeting people and sharing with them what I considered to be a message of love and hope. But I was troubled by so many aspects of mission life, including:

· Training in techniques that seemed like sales tactics (Did the ‘good news’ have to be sold?)
· The contrast between the emotional maturity and stability of those interested in our message versus those who were not interested (Were the faithful of other religions and the secular, loving families really less deserving of exaltation?)
· Missionaries who were verbally abusive, mentally ill, or struggling with eating disorders (If the gospel couldn’t “solve” such problems for members, how could it resolve the challenges of others?)
· General sadness among the missionaries, particularly the sisters (If we were living after the manner of happiness, why did it seem like we were always trying to cheer ourselves up?)
· The contrast between super-obedient missionaries who seemed self-righteous, numbers-oriented and sometimes sexist versus less-obedient missionaries who actually seemed to love and connect with the people and respect sister missionaries (I thought the obedient were the ones able to learn how to love unconditionally, not the other way around?)

It didn’t make sense. I had been taught that “by their fruits ye shall know them,” but I became less and less convinced that our side had a corner on the good fruits.

Read more of Sarah's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.

Fred Karger joins Marc Ambinder to talk GOP debates, DADT, and shaking things up

December 2, 2010: Fred Karger and Marc Ambinder discuss Fred's campaign for the White House,
GOP presidential debates, Iowa caucus hurdles, independent voters, progressive Republican politics,
Obama, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and shaking things up:



Fred Karger Presidential Exploratory Committee: www.fredkarger.com
Fred's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/fredkarger
Twitter: twitter.com/fredkarger

“Hi, my name is Mike and I’m an Ex Mormon.”

Growing up in the church I believed most everything I was taught, from time to time something wouldn’t make sense and I would think about it for a moment then discard my concern to keep my mind pure. I remember wondering at a young age why we didn’t kill adulterers or blasphemers; the same person that god would have stoned ages back can now with a little time get a temple recommend and pursue an eternal partnership. I didn’t understand so I pushed it aside because I had a feeling that it was all true and I wasn’t going to let a little concern sideswipe my deep feelings. I served an honorable full time mission and sometimes people would talk to us missionaries about this fact or that fact that contradicted church teachings and I briskly ignored evidences levied at the church. I remember one fellow told me that the Smithsonian museum had evidence or information that proved The Book of Mormon false one way or another. I assured this misguided fellow that Heavenly father will reveal the evidence of The Book of Mormon’s truth at the second coming and that all the contrary evidence in the world will not overturn gods work.

Read more of Mike's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.