Ex-NOM Official Launches Gay Rights Org

Louis Marinelli, the former tour organizer and social-media expert for the antigay National Organization for Marriage, has gone one step further than denouncing his former employer and calling for same-sex marriage -- he's created a gay rights group.

Marinelli has launched the National Organization for Marriage Equality (or NOME) with a stated mission "to educate the public on the issue of civil marriage equality. Specifically, the organization is dedicated to the following objectives: to protect marriage equality in states where it exists; to educate the public about the importance of marriage equality in states where it does not exist; to grow support for civil marriage equality among conservatives, Republicans and Independents; to separate misinformation about the LGBT community from the facts."

Marinelli's nascent organization applauded the White House's recent support for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"Today's announcement from the White House tells us what we already know -- more and more Americans across the country are coming around on the issue of marriage equality and we applaud the White House for finally lending its support to the effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act," Marinelli said in a statement. "Frankly, if I, a conservative-Republican can change my mind and evolve from opponent to advocate of marriage equality, it's about time President Obama does, too. This announcement, while an important step forward, is a situation of 'better late than never' and I certainly hope it doesn't take him too much longer to lend his full support to marriage equality."