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NOM Facebook, blog hacked

Blog post, Facebook status update, and tweet could indicate change of policy, or a rogue employee

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The initial NOM post appeared around 6:00 a.m. April 11, and was followed by several comments that seemed to confirm the change of course. (Screen shot courtesy Jeremy Hooper)

Around 7:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, several sources reported that both the NOM Facebook page and Twitter account posted strange tweets that seemed to indicate a change of heart, but instead it seems the messages were the result of a lapse in security.

According to the Advocate, Elizabeth Ray of CRC Public Relations, who handles media inquiries for the National Organization for Marriage, confirmed to the Advocate Magazine that NOM’s Facebook, Twitter and blog were indeed hacked and that the group was working this morning to restore its online content, however at this time, they seem to have lost complete control over their Twitter account, @Nomtweets.

It was not clear at first whether or not the National Organization for Marriage actually posted the comment on their Facebook wall that caught the attention of prominent National Organization for Marriage watchdog Jeremy Hooper of the GoodAsYou.org blog. The post was made outside of normal business hours, which immediately raised questions as to its authenticity, but as of 10:00 a.m. the post was still live, showing the extent to which NOM had lost control of their own digital presence.

The Facebook post read “We sincerely apologize to anyone we have banned from this page in the past. That is why anyone who was ever banned for simply exercising their right to free speech is now welcome to once again engage with this page. We vow to work on how we address our opponents in the future.”

“The details of NOM’s overtaken web properties are for the organization, its potential in-house detractors, and its web security team to have out,” Hooper told the Blade Wednesday morning, before the hacking was confirmed.. “Personally, I’m focusing on the fact that I, after several years of being banned for doing nothing more than disagreeing with the NOM view, can participate in a fair and free discourse on the NOM Facebook wall. Everyone, on both sides of this so-called culture war deserves that.”

“If this is a hack and NOM responds by again banning commenters who don’t deserve to be banned? To me, that will be lock-solid proof of the [organization’s] desire to host a monologue, not a conversation,” Hooper concluded.

The Facebook post, which has already generated over one hundred comments, most quite supportive of the move, was joined by a similar Twitter postings.

NOM's Twitter account showed similar activity, indicating an actual change of heart, or a rogue employee. (Screen shot courtesy Jeremy Hooper)

After posting additional tweets that confirmed the errant messages did not originate from the organization’s leadership, the Twitter account seemed to go completely offline. However, before 10:00 a.m. the Twitter account reappeared, wiped completely clean of NOM’s old content, and began tweeting pro-gay messages. Apparently the hackers deleted the account, and an industrious LGBT activist was able to secure control over the username before NOM could regain control.

"We were embarrassed by the truth of our racial wedge strategies being made public." (Screen shot courtesy Jeremy Hooper)

Though NOM is now blaming these actions on an industrious hacker, some have wondered aloud in the blogosphere whether they could be the result of another staff defector. In April 2011, Louis Marinelli, who guided NOM’s social media presence to that point, abruptly turned on the organization and deleted its Twitter and Facebook presence in the process. He later came forward to profess he’d lost faith in the organization and that — after meeting and having real conversations with real same-sex couples — had come to support same-sex marriage.

At just 7:51 a.m. A new post to the NOM blog was pushed live, attributed to Brian Brown, that implied NOM was showing contrition, and making a shift in the tenor of public discourse.

“Friends of marriage,

“In the last couple of weeks you’ve heard some pretty bad things about this organization. I must admit that we were angered when our in house documents were released but we’ve since had time to reflect on the strategies we’ve employed to divide Americans against each other on the issue of marriage. Truth be told, marriage is about bringing people together, not pushing them apart and that’s exactly what this organization has been about over the past few years.

“Aside from that on an unrelated matter, we’ve stifled free speech on our social media online properties. We’re rectifying that this morning by removing the bans on the hundreds and hundreds of our opponents our staff imposed. We want to encourage an open and fair discussion about marriage and that can only happen if we welcome our outspoken opponents back into the dialogue.

“We apologize for our transgressions. We’re turning over a new leaf with constitutional and civil rights as our primary focus going forward. We hope you will stand with us as we turn things around for the better.”

"We've banned so many, we're working on unbanning them all but it is a time-consuming process." (Screen Shot courtesy Jeremy Hooper)

NOM’S blog site was soon replaced with a message reading “down for maintenance” after the uncharacteristic post was discovered. This more clearly indicated the post was the result of a hacker or rogue employee, rather than a change is course, however, whether or not this was a defector or someone from outside of the organization still remains to be seen.

In addition to the Facebook post, the blog posting and the Tweet, the hackers of the Facebook page also left several comments on the original post that seemed to apologize for NOM’s race-baiting strategies discovered in the pages of court documents made public by the Human Rights Campaign last month.

“We were embarrassed by the truth of our racial wedge strategies being made public,” read one comment. “So this is a gesture of our good faith to turn things around.”

Jeremy Hooper's comment. (Screen shot courtesy Jeremy Hooper)

“We’ve banned so many, we’re working on unbanning them all but it is a time-consuming process,” read another post several minutes later.

After his Facebook commenting ability was restored on the NOM fan page, Jeremy Hooper was quick to add to the voices on the post, though he was skeptical that this would be a permanent change.

“I’ve never once left a disrespectful comment, yet have been banned for years now (with screen cap proof of the unreasonable banning),” Hooper wrote. “Nice to be back, however temporary.”

The @NOMtweets Twitter account seems to continue to be in the control of the hackers, and continues to push pro-gay messages. No word as to whether or not NOM has found a new home on Twitter.

Originally published 8:05 a.m. Wednesday, April 11, 2012.

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Federal Government

UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House

University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Screen capture: C-SPAN)

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”

The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.

“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”

Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”

Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”

“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”

Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.

Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.

The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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