This past Sunday, March 4, I attended the meeting at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Owatonna where Maggie Gallagher spoke on the proposed marriage amendment in Minnesota. The title of her talk was “Defending Marriage in the Age of Confusion.”

Maggie Gallagher, now in her 50s, states that she grew up as an atheist and that her first-born child was born out of wedlock, odd facts considering that she’s the co-founder of the National

Organization for Marriage. Fast forward to the year 2012 — she’s now a member of the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church is a strong financial supporter of her endeavors. How convenient when you realize that she’s drawing an annual salary of $160,000 plus health insurance benefits — that’s more than what the governor of Minnesota makes.

Ms. Gallagher uses the podium as a soapbox to further the sales of two previously published books on marriage with another on the way. For someone who speaks about the virtues of marriage, it’s almost as if she knows next to nothing about love itself. The very things that she speaks and writes about that are good and desirable in a traditional marriage are also true for those in a same-sex relationship.

After an hour of speaking, the group took a break for 20 minutes and then returned for a question-and-answer session. One would expect a civil and respectful response to all inquiries, considering that it was a roomful of self-righteous church-goers, a priest and a bishop — but no. When a member of the LGBT community presented a handwritten question on one of the provided cards, her condescending response in a Rush Limbaugh-like way stated: “The gay guy asks the following question …”

I remember seeing her in a TV interview awhile ago with Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, and every time Joe spoke Maggie would interrupt and try to out-shout him — it was a very unprofessional display of conduct on her behalf.

If the Catholic Church is going to conduct a debate about the marriage amendment, then it should invite speakers on both sides of the aisle, both pro and con.

Brad Trom

Blooming Prairie