Maggie Gallagher
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Margaret Gallagher (born September 14, 1960) is an American writer,
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...
commentator, and activist. She wrote a syndicated
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
for
Universal Press Syndicate Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger ...
from 1995 to 2013 and has written several books. Gallagher founded the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, a small, socially conservative think tank. She is also a co-founder of the
National Organization for Marriage The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Propos ...
(NOM), an advocacy group which opposes same-sex marriage and other legal recognition of same-sex partnerships; she has served as president and as chairman of the board of NOM.


Biography

Maggie Gallagher was born on September 14, 1960, to William Walter Gallagher Sr. and the former Darrilyn Doris Stenz. She is originally from
Lake Oswego, Oregon Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Population in 2020 was 40,731, an 11.2% increase since 2010, making it the ...
, where she attended
Lakeridge High School Lakeridge High School (LHS) is a four-year public secondary school in Lake Oswego, Oregon, a suburb south of Portland. The school is within the Lake Oswego School District. Academics In 2008, 90% of the school's seniors received a high school d ...
. She has three siblings: Kathleen, William Jr., and Colleen. Her parents were initially active in their local Catholic parish, but her mother left the Catholic Church when Gallagher was eight years of age. As a young person, Gallagher was influenced by the works of
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
and
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
. In 1982, Gallagher earned a B.A. in religious studies from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where she belonged to the Party of the Right in the
Yale Political Union The Yale Political Union (YPU) is a debate society at Yale University, founded in 1934 by Alfred Whitney Griswold. It was modeled on the Cambridge Union and Oxford Union and the party system of the defunct Yale Unions of the late nineteenth an ...
. Shortly before she was due to graduate, Gallagher became pregnant after a relationship with a fellow party member. She gave birth to a son out of wedlock. She initially planned to put the baby up for adoption, but then changed her mind. Neither of the parents thought they should marry. According to Gallagher, her son's father eventually abandoned her and became uninterested in their child. In her twenties, Gallagher reverted to Catholicism because her experience as a single mother made her consider the necessity of fathers and the link of sex to procreation. Gallagher married Raman Srivastav, a
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, in 1993. They have one son together. Gallagher attended the premiere reading of '' 8'',
Dustin Lance Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk'', for which he won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2009. He has also subsequen ...
's play about the trial surrounding California's Proposition 8, where a depiction of her was performed by
Jayne Houdyshell Jayne Houdyshell (born September 25, 1953) is an American actress. Known for being a prolific character actor in theater, film, and television, Houdyshell has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, two Obie Awards, and a Drama Des ...
. She expressed the opinion that most people would find the work "kind of dull".


Career

Early in her career, Gallagher wrote for ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
''. She later worked at the '' City Journal'', a public policy magazine and website. In 1995, she began writing a nationally syndicated column. Gallagher joined the Institute for American Values (IAV) in 1996. She later left IAV and founded the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, a conservative
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
whose slogan is "strengthening marriage for a new generation." As of May 2011, Gallagher was president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy. Gallagher also co-founded the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). She was President of NOM from its founding until 2010, and she remained on the organization's board until August 2011. In 2013, the ''
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
'' described Gallagher as a "leading gay marriage opponent". In 2011, Gallagher founded the Culture War Victory Fund and served as the fund's director. On January 2, 2013, she announced the retirement of her syndicated column, then distributed by
Universal Uclick Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various oth ...
. Gallagher later worked for the American Principles Project. In 2017, she was hired at the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship. She has authored several books.


Views

Gallagher is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and a social conservative. She is a signatory of the Manhattan Declaration, a November 2009 ecumenical statement calling on Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians not to comply with rules and laws permitting abortion, same-sex marriage and other matters against their religious consciences.


Views on abortion

Gallagher opposes
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
and believes that ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
'' should be overturned. She believes that most people who support legal abortion do so reluctantly because they think it is a necessary evil. ''Roe v. Wade'' was overturned in 2022.


Views on assisted suicide

Gallagher is opposed to the legalization of
assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...
such as the Death with Dignity Act or
voluntary euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia is the purposeful ending of another person's life at their request, in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in the 21st century, ...
. Gallagher believes that state-approved suicide diminishes the value of life, especially for the elderly, sick, or vulnerable.


Views on marriage and same-sex relationships

Gallagher is a strong opponent of the legal recognition of same-sex unions and has written books toward that end. Gallagher holds that one of the purposes of marriage is always procreation and rearing children exclusively by heterosexual parents, and argues that same-sex unions diminish the value of heterosexual marriages. Gallagher has compared winning the fight to ban same-sex marriage with the fall of communism and believes that if same-sex marriage is made legal, it will mean "losing American civilization." Gallagher advocates litigation against spouses who commit adultery and opposes laws which facilitate
no-fault divorce No-fault divorce is the dissolution of a marriage that does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party of the marria ...
. Gallagher has written that " need a social institution, endowed with public authority, that teaches young men and women ..that they need to come together in love to raise the children their bodies make together. If this is a core purpose of marriage, then same-sex unions are not marriages. If gay unions are marriages, then this is no longer what marriage is about." Further, Gallagher has written that same-sex marriage is "rooted in a false equation: Loving a man is not the same as loving a woman; a sexual union that can give rise to children is fundamentally different in kind than a union not so freighted, for good and for ill, with the fact of procreativity." In October 2006, Gallagher suggested that gay rights groups stop promoting same-sex marriage and start vigorously advocating for civil unions. In 2010, she expressed her support for certain kinds of civil unions for same-sex couples but not available for opposite-sex couples. However, in 2012, she supported North Carolina's Amendment 1, a state constitutional amendment that banned recognition of both same-sex marriages and civil unions. Gallagher believes that many people in the
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community, specifically gay men, choose to oppose what they label as the "
heteronormative Heteronormativity is the definition of heterosexuality as the normative human sexuality. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between peo ...
" constraints of a monogamous relationship, with reference to Eric Erbelding's assertion that the married gay couples he knows are "for the most part monogamous, but for maybe a casual three-way". Gallagher has asserted that same-sex marriage is worse than polygamy, which "for all its ugly defects, is an attempt to secure stable mother-father families for children." She has also written that "once the principle f same-sex marriageis in the law, the next step will be to use the law to stigmatize, marginalize, and repress those who disagree with the government’s new views on marriage and sexual orientation." As an example, she has cited efforts by LGBT advocates to revoke the tax-exempt status of churches that oppose same-sex marriage. On April 8, 2009, Gallagher appeared on the NBC television show ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' is an American television talk show hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving to CNBC, and then to M ...
'' to debate the issue of same-sex marriage. During that appearance, Gallagher said, "Marriage is the only institution we have that‘s about bringing together the two great halves of humanity, male and female, so that children can know and be known by and love and be loved by their own mother and father." Gallagher has stated that she will not attend a same-sex wedding if she is ever invited to one.


Views on sexuality and sex education

Gallagher believes that teaching
abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...
(encouraging celibacy until legally married) should be the sole curriculum. She does not believe in instructing students in birth control or how to prevent STDs through use of condoms or safe-sex techniques and has advocated discontinuing all safer-sex education in public schools. Gallagher has stated that " xual orientation is almost certainly unchosen", but that the decision to act on that desire and to incorporate it into one’s identity is a choice that bears moral reflection. She believes that "sexual desire is not its own justification" for acceptance or legal recognition of same-sex relationships. On a February 2012 edition of '' Up with Chris Hayes'' on which Gallagher appeared for a segment on the revival of the "culture wars", Gallagher was asked by ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'' editor Richard Kim about her support of gay reparative therapy. Gallagher denied having ever supported ex-gay therapy and claimed that Kim was "making stuff up". Kim subsequently quoted from a 2001 column written by Gallagher praising Robert Spitzer for his research on the possibilities of ex-gay therapy and calling on then-President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
to support federal funding for research into ex-gay therapy. In 2013, after blogging her support for Chuck Limandri's representation of
JONAH Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...
(a Jewish organization that offered support to persons with unwanted same-sex attraction), Gallagher made the following comments regarding conversion therapy:


Views on single parenting

When then-
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
in 1992 criticized the fictional television character
Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...
for being an unwed mother, Gallagher wrote an op-ed for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "An Unwed Mother for Quayle", in his defense.


Views on the 2012 presidential election

Gallagher's endorsement of candidate
Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...
in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries was promoted by the Santorum campaign.


Federal contracts

Gallagher received tens of thousands of dollars from the
Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
during 2002 and 2003 for helping the
George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college vict ...
promote the President's Healthy Marriage Initiative. Gallagher testified before Congress in favor of "healthy marriage" programs but never disclosed the payments. When asked about that situation, she replied, "Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it? I don't know. You tell me…frankly, it never occurred to me." After ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' revealed this information on January 26, 2005, Gallagher claimed significant differences between her situation and that of conservative columnist
Armstrong Williams Armstrong Williams (born February 5, 1962) is an American political commentator, entrepreneur, author, and talk show host. Williams writes a nationally syndicated conservative newspaper column, has hosted a daily radio show, and hosts a nationa ...
. She went on to add, "I should have disclosed a government contract when I later wrote about the Bush marriage initiative. I would have, if I had remembered it. My apologies to my readers." Gallagher received an additional $20,000 from the Bush administration for writing a report, titled ''Can Government Strengthen Marriage?'', for the National Fatherhood Initiative, a private organization.


Bibliography

Listed by original publication date: * ''Enemies of Eros: How the Sexual Revolution Is Killing Family, Marriage, and Sex and What We Can Do About It'' (1989). . * ''The Abolition of Marriage: How We Destroy Lasting Love'' (1996). . * ''The Age of Unwed Mothers: Is Teen Pregnancy the Problem?: A Report to the Nation'' (1999). . * ''The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially'' with Linda J. Waite (2001). . * ''The Case for Staying Married'' with Linda J. Waite (2005). . * ''Debating Same-Sex Marriage'' with John Corvino (2012). New York: Oxford University Press. .


See also

* Michael McManus *
Armstrong Williams Armstrong Williams (born February 5, 1962) is an American political commentator, entrepreneur, author, and talk show host. Williams writes a nationally syndicated conservative newspaper column, has hosted a daily radio show, and hosts a nationa ...
* Bush administration payment of columnists


References


External links


The National Organization for Marriage

Institute for Marriage and Public Policy

Archive of Gallagher's editorials


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Maggie 1960 births Living people American anti-abortion activists American columnists Catholics from Oregon Christian mass media Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Female critics of feminism Lakeridge High School alumni National Organization for Marriage people People from Lake Oswego, Oregon American women columnists Writers from Portland, Oregon Yale University alumni 21st-century American women American anti-same-sex-marriage activists