Ding Dong, The Witch Is... Resigning

The news broke today that one of the foremost visible opponents in the fight for LGBT equality, Maggie Gallagher, is stepping down as chairwoman of the National Organization for Marriage, the secretive yet outspoken group credited with the passage of Proposition 8 in California and defeating marriage equality in the state of Maine.

*cue applause*

She is slated to be replaced by John Eastman, a professor of law who has participated in numerous high-profile cases addressing social issues, to include the Boy Scouts controversy over their anti-gay policies.  From NOM blog:

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) announced today that John Eastman, a distinguished Constitutional law scholar, is taking on the role of Chairman of the Board for NOM. 

Dr. John Eastman is the former Dean of Chapman University Law School in California and is the Founding Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm associated with the Claremont Institute. He has participated in over 50 cases in our nation’s highest courts, including such landmark cases as the Pledge of Allegiance case, the Boy Scouts of America case, the Ohio school vouchers case, the Kelo case involving property takings, and the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act case. Dr. Eastman is a former clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in government and political philosophy from Claremont Graduate School. 

Brian Brown, President of NOM, stated, “John Eastman is one of America’s foremost constitutional scholars and has distinguished himself as a fierce advocate for families and religious liberty. As a legal scholar, he has participated in dozens of cases before our nation’s highest courts, including the United States Supreme Court. When important constitutional principles are on the line, people frequently turn to John Eastman to advocate a conservative, pro-family position. He will be a great asset to NOM.”

LezGetReal notes that John Eastman was a failed candidate for California's Attorney General, something not lost on many liberal readers assessing the situation.  With Maggie's tenure as chairwoman being characterized as combative and negative to her cause, has NOM picked a loser to replace a loser?  Only time will tell.  

Maggie says she will continue on NOM's board and will continue to be involved in the fight against marriage equality, but one has to wonder... did she just get tired of being lambasted for her idiosyncrasies?  She recently attended Dustin Lance Black's star-studded staged reproduction of the Proposition 8 trial, in which her involvement in the case and the press storm surrounding it was scripted with her laughable and oh-so familiar tactics of "bulldoze the opposition."  It drew laughs from the crowd, and one has to wonder if maybe this signified that it was time for Gallagher to go?

Whatever the reason, she's going, and good riddance.  I can only hope that with her departure as their chairwoman and spokesperson NOM will hasten its slide into irrelevance.