HRC Blog

GOP Senator Hits Back At NOM Threat: “My Vote Won’t be Bought”

February 25, 2013 by Trevor Chandler, Regional Field Organizer

Today the National Organization for Marriage vowed it would spend $500,000 to defeat any Republican who votes in favor of marriage equality, a position they were forced into after the GOP Senate Minority leader David Hann said there would be no retribution in his caucus for those who vote "yes" and the chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party said the same for the entire state.

They focused on GOP Senator Branden Petersen, who recently indicated he would be coming out in support of the soon-to-be introduced marriage equality bill. Sen. Petersen wasn’t impressed.

"Whether it's $500,000 or $50 million, my vote is not going to bought either way," he said to the Pioneer Press. "I'm going to do what's right."

NOM’s failure to unseat lawmakers hasn’t stopped them from attempting to intimidate them against doing the right thing. But to put it in the words of Sen. Petersen, "If they want to throw away $500,000, then that's their decision."