US: NOM claims 10,000 people attended failed anti-gay rally
The National Organisation for Marriage has told supporters that 10,000 people attended their failed anti-gay rally – five times higher than other estimates.
The March for Marriage event, which took place in DC on Thursday, failed to attract a large crowd despite promotion in some churches, bussed-in supporters, and a raft of high-profile headline speakers.
The highest independent estimates for attendance were under 2000, but the group has claimed to World Mag that around 10,000 people were there.
The event did not even come close to filling the grass in front of the Capitol.
What the crowd actually looks like at today’s #March4Marriage: pic.twitter.com/dNpbkfyPXR
— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 19, 2014
In an email to supporters, Brian Brown claimed: “Several thousand Americans — people from across the spectrum of America (…) stood together in defense of marriage between one man and one woman.
“Besides those gathered at the Capitol for the exciting rally, there were thousands more who tuned in to watch the live stream from their own hometowns, making this a truly national event.”
Blogger JoeMyGod, who monitored the NOM live stream, says the viewcount did not exceed 1,000 while the event was live.
Before the event, Brian Brown had sent an email “begging” members to show up to the rally on the day, to avoid embarrassing him in front of the media.
