View source for Maggie Gallagher

{{Short description|American writer (born 1960)}}
{{About|the conservative commentator|the researcher and writer|Margaret Gallagher}}
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{{Update|date=August 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox person
|name        = Maggie Gallagher
|image       = MaggieGallagher.JPG
|caption     = Gallagher in 2010
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1960|9|14}}
|birth_place = [[Lake Oswego, Oregon|Lake Oswego]], [[Oregon]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|death_date  = 
|death_place = 
|education   = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
}}
'''Margaret Gallagher''' (born September 14, 1960) is an American writer, [[Social conservatism in the United States|socially conservative]] [[Pundit (expert)|commentator]], and activist. She wrote a syndicated [[Column (periodical)|column]] for [[Universal Press Syndicate]] from 1995 to 2013<ref name=MGRetiredColumn>{{cite news|title=Maggie Gallagher and Universal Uclick Announce The Retirement of Gallagher's Column Read more: The Gilmer Mirror – Maggie Gallagher and Universal Uclick Announce The Retirement of Gallagher's Column|url=http://www.gilmermirror.com/view/full_story/21294791/article-Maggie-Gallagher-and-Universal-Uclick-Announce-The-Retirement-of-Gallagher%E2%80%99s-Column?instance=secondary_stories_left_column|access-date=January 4, 2013|newspaper=The Gilmer Mirror Online|date=January 2, 2013|archive-date=September 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918054329/http://www.gilmermirror.com/view/full_story/21294791/article-Maggie-Gallagher-and-Universal-Uclick-Announce-The-Retirement-of-Gallagher%E2%80%99s-Column?instance=secondary_stories_left_column|url-status=dead}}</ref> and has written several books. Gallagher founded the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, a small, socially conservative think tank.<ref name="salon">{{cite news|last=Oppenheimer|first=Mark|title=The Making of Gay Marriage's Top Foe|url=http://www.salon.com/2012/02/08/the_making_of_gay_marriages_top_foe/|work=Salon.com|access-date=May 21, 2014}}</ref> She is also a co-founder of the [[National Organization for Marriage]] (NOM), an advocacy group which opposes same-sex marriage and other legal recognition of same-sex partnerships;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/03/22/175064250/as-support-for-gay-marriage-grows-an-opponent-looks-ahead|title=As Support For Gay Marriage Grows, An Opponent Looks Ahead|first=Maggie|last=Gallagher|website=NPR.org}}</ref> she has served as president and as chairman of the board of NOM.<ref name="salon" />

== 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]], where she attended [[Lakeridge High School]]. She has three siblings: Kathleen, William Jr., and Colleen.<ref name="ancestry1">{{cite web
 | url = http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=86401&id=I00629
 | title = Amos, Capron, Carnes family
 | access-date = October 5, 2009
}}</ref> 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]] and [[Robert A. Heinlein]].<ref name="salon" />

In 1982, Gallagher earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in religious studies from [[Yale University]], where she belonged to the [[Party of the Right (Yale)|Party of the Right]] in the [[Yale Political Union]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portsmouthinstitute.org/image_lib/pi_program.pdf|title=Schedule of Events|date=June 2009|publisher=Portsmouth Institute|access-date=June 27, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name="salon" />

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.<ref name="salon" /> Gallagher married Raman Srivastav, a [[Hindu]], in 1993.<ref name="salon" /><ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://indiana.bilerico.com/2009/09/maggie_gallagher_-_raman_srivastav.php
 | title = Maggie Gallagher's husband not welcome at NOM event?
 | author = Donna Pandori
 | date = September 30, 2009
 | access-date = October 5, 2009
 | archive-date = October 9, 2009
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091009040445/http://indiana.bilerico.com/2009/09/maggie_gallagher_-_raman_srivastav.php
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref> They have one son together.<ref name="salon" />

Gallagher attended the premiere reading of ''[[8 (play)|8]]'', [[Dustin Lance Black]]'s play about the trial surrounding California's Proposition 8, where a depiction of her was performed by [[Jayne Houdyshell]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.towleroad.com/2011/09/anti-gay-nom-activist-maggie-gallagher-attends-staged-broadway-benefit-for-team-challenging-proposit.html |title=Anti-Gay NOM Activist Maggie Gallagher Attends Staged Broadway Benefit for Team Challenging Proposition 8&#124; Gay News |publisher=Towleroad |date=September 20, 2011 |access-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref> She expressed the opinion that most people would find the work "kind of dull".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://berkshireonstage.com/2012/01/17/8-dustin-lance-blacks-marriage-equality-play-to-be-part-of-williamstown-theatre-festival-2012/ |title=The Story Behind "8" – the Courtroom Drama about Marriage Equality |publisher=Berkshire On Stage |date=January 17, 2012 |access-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

==Career==
Early in her career, Gallagher wrote for ''[[National Review]]''. 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.<ref name="salon" /> She later left IAV and founded the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy,<ref name="salon" /> a conservative [[think tank]] whose slogan is "strengthening marriage for a new generation."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.marriagedebate.com/about.php| title = About IMAPP| publisher = Institute for Marriage and Public Policy| access-date = February 16, 2009}}</ref> As of May 2011, Gallagher was president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/weekinreview/01gay.html|title=A Tipping Point for Gay Marriage?|first=Adam|last=Liptak|newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 30, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="salon" /> In 2013, the ''[[Huffington Post]]'' described Gallagher as a "leading gay marriage opponent".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maggie-gallagher-pope_n_3963205|title=Maggie Gallagher, Leading Gay Marriage Opponent: 'I Would Love Nothing More Than To Be Wrong'|first=Lila|last=Shapiro|date=September 21, 2013|website=HuffPost}}</ref>

In 2011, Gallagher founded the Culture War Victory Fund<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/2/11/1063935/-NOM-s-Maggie-Gallagher-loses-her-cool-on-MSNBC-s-Up-With-Chris-Hayes|title=NOM's Maggie Gallagher loses her cool on MSNBC's Up With Chris Hayes|website=Daily Kos}}</ref> and served as the fund's director.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/abortion-bill-would-allow-prosecution-providers/238516 |title=Abortion bill would allow prosecution of providers &#124; Campaign 2012 &#124; Washington Examiner |publisher=Campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com |date=December 5, 2011 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205034309/http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/abortion-bill-would-allow-prosecution-providers/238516 |archive-date=February 5, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On January 2, 2013, she announced the retirement of her syndicated column, then distributed by [[Universal Uclick]].<ref name=MGRetiredColumn />

Gallagher later worked for the [[American Principles Project]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://world.wng.org/2017/02/pledges_of_protection|title=Pledges of protection - WORLD|first=J. C.|last=Derrick|website=world.wng.org}}</ref> In 2017, she was hired at the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/national-organization-marriage-founder-san-francisco-post|title=National Organization for Marriage founder to San Francisco post|date=July 28, 2017|website=National Catholic Reporter}}</ref> She has authored several books.

==Views==
Gallagher is a [[Roman Catholic]] and a [[social conservative]].<ref name="Conservative Chronicle">{{cite web |url=http://www.conservativechronicle.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=94&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2048&hn=conservativechronicle&he=.com |title=Conservative Chronicle |publisher=Conservative Chronicle |date=July 15, 2009 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328130443/http://www.conservativechronicle.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=94&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2048&hn=conservativechronicle&he=.com |archive-date=March 28, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  She is a signatory of the [[Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-declaration/read.aspx |title=Read the Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience |publisher=Manhattandeclaration.org |access-date=February 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706023913/http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-declaration/read.aspx |archive-date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref>

===Views on abortion===
Gallagher opposes [[abortion]] and believes that ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' should be overturned. She believes that most people who support legal abortion do so reluctantly because they think it is a necessary evil.<ref>{{cite web |author=Maggie Gallagher |url=http://townhall.com/columnists/MaggieGallagher/2003/01/27/failed_promises_of_abortion |title=Failed promises of abortion |publisher=Townhall.com |date=January 27, 2003 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-date=May 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509001737/http://townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/2003/01/27/failed_promises_of_abortion |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Roe v. Wade'' was overturned in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-27 |title=Now that Roe v Wade has been overturned, what are the consequences? |url=https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2022/06/27/1384828?slug=now-that-roe-v-wade-has-been-overturned-what-are-the-consequences |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Monash Lens |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Views on assisted suicide===
Gallagher is opposed to the legalization of [[assisted suicide]] such as the [[Oregon Death with Dignity Act|Death with Dignity Act]] or [[voluntary euthanasia]]. Gallagher believes that state-approved suicide diminishes the value of life, especially for the elderly, sick, or vulnerable.<ref>{{cite web | first= Maggie | last= Gallagher | url= http://townhall.com/columnists/MaggieGallagher/2004/06/02/assisted_suicide_gives_medical_credence_to_self-destruction | title= Assisted suicide gives medical credence to self-destruction | publisher= Townhall.com | date= June 2, 2004 | access-date= February 27, 2012 | archive-date= May 9, 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120509001444/http://townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/2004/06/02/assisted_suicide_gives_medical_credence_to_self-destruction | url-status= dead }}</ref>

===Views on marriage and same-sex relationships===
[[File:NOM speaker (4834663221).jpg|thumb|Gallagher speaking at a July 2010 [[National Organization for Marriage]] event at the [[Wisconsin State Capitol]]]]
[[File:Bishop Morlino (4834659109) (1).jpg|thumb|Gallagher at the Wisconsin State Capitol in July 2010]]
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,<ref name="whymarriage">{{cite magazine|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/269352/the-stakes/maggie-gallagher |title=Why we need marriage |author=Gallagher, Maggie |date=July 14, 2003 |access-date=April 4, 2010 |magazine=[[National Review]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806085511/http://article.nationalreview.com/269352/the-stakes/maggie-gallagher |archive-date=August 6, 2010 }}</ref> 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."<ref name=whymarriage />

Gallagher advocates litigation against spouses who commit adultery and opposes laws which facilitate [[no-fault divorce]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://townhall.com/columnists/MaggieGallagher/2010/03/17/the_right_to_adultery?page=full |title=The Right to Adultery? |publisher=Townhall.com |date=March 17, 2010 |access-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanvalues.org/html/r-unhappy_ii.html |title=Does Divorce Make People Happy? Findings from a Study of Unhappy Marriages |publisher=Americanvalues.org |date=June 27, 1997 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005110146/http://www.americanvalues.org/html/r-unhappy_ii.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Gallagher has written that "[w]e 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."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/633 | title=Economist Debates: Single-sex marriage | newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=49572
 | title = Why is gay marriage an issue in this campaign?
 | author = Maggie Gallagher
 | work = Human Events
 | publisher = Eagle Publishing, Inc.
 | date = February 17, 2012
 | access-date = February 23, 2012
 | archive-date = February 19, 2012
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120219180421/http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=49572
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

In October 2006, Gallagher suggested that gay rights groups stop promoting same-sex marriage and start vigorously advocating for civil unions.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/2006/10/24/state_marriage_amendment_and_gay_rights_new_dilemmas/page/full | title = State marriage amendment and gay rights: New dilemmas | author = Maggie Gallagher | work = Townhall | date = October 24, 2006 | access-date = December 22, 2013 | archive-date = December 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114148/http://townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/2006/10/24/state_marriage_amendment_and_gay_rights_new_dilemmas/page/full | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 2010, she expressed her support for certain kinds of civil unions for same-sex couples but not available for opposite-sex couples.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/why-maggie-gallaghers-argument-against-same-sex-marriage-is-wrong/discrimination/2011/03/07/17853 | title = UPDATED: Why Maggie Gallagher's Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage Is Wrong | author = David Badash | work = The New Civil Rights Movement | date = March 7, 2011 | access-date = December 22, 2013 | archive-date = December 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112921/http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/why-maggie-gallaghers-argument-against-same-sex-marriage-is-wrong/discrimination/2011/03/07/17853 | url-status = dead }}</ref> However, in 2012, she supported [[North Carolina Amendment 1|North Carolina's Amendment 1]], a state constitutional amendment that banned recognition of both same-sex marriages and civil unions.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://m.nationalreview.com/corner/299350/apologies-rod-sort-maggie-gallagher | title = Apologies to Rod (Sort Of) | author = Maggie Gallagher | work = National Review | date = May 8, 2012 | access-date = December 22, 2013 | archive-date = December 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114606/http://m.nationalreview.com/corner/299350/apologies-rod-sort-maggie-gallagher | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://m.nationalreview.com/corner/299350/apologies-rod-sort-maggie-gallagher | title = The Margin of Victory in North Carolina | author = Maggie Gallagher | work = National Review | date = May 9, 2012 | access-date = December 22, 2013 | archive-date = December 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114606/http://m.nationalreview.com/corner/299350/apologies-rod-sort-maggie-gallagher | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Gallagher believes that many people in the [[LGBT]] community, specifically gay men, choose to oppose what they label as the "[[heteronormative]]" constraints of a [[monogamy|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".<ref name=steve>{{cite magazine|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZGNmODNiMjI0MTQ1MTQwNGM4N2YyNmVhY2UyZTE0OWY= |title=Redefinition Revolution |magazine=[[National Review]] |date=June 17, 2008 |access-date=August 13, 2010 |first=Maggie |last=Gallagher |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629075454/http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZGNmODNiMjI0MTQ1MTQwNGM4N2YyNmVhY2UyZTE0OWY%3D |archive-date=June 29, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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."<ref name=whymarriage /> She has also written that "once the principle [of same-sex marriage] is 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.<ref name=steve/>

On April 8, 2009, Gallagher appeared on the NBC television show ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews]]'' 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30135702|title='Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Wednesday, April 8|date=April 9, 2009|website=msnbc.com}}</ref>

Gallagher has stated that she will not attend a same-sex wedding if she is ever invited to one.<ref>Maggie Gallagher (April 17, 2015) [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417062/why-i-unlike-senator-rubio-would-not-attend-gay-wedding-maggie-gallagher Why I, Unlike Senator Rubio, Would Not Attend a Gay Wedding]. nationalreview.com</ref>

===Views on sexuality and sex education===
Gallagher believes that teaching [[abstinence-only sex education|abstinence]] (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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gallagher |first=Maggie |url=http://townhall.com/columnists/MaggieGallagher/2010/02/03/about_that_new_abstinence_study?page=full&comments=true |title=About That New Abstinence Study (archived) |access-date=November 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209125714/http://townhall.com/columnists/MaggieGallagher/2010/02/03/about_that_new_abstinence_study?page=full&comments=true |archive-date=February 9, 2010 }}</ref>

Gallagher has stated that "[s]exual 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/395223/redefining-religious-liberty/maggie-gallagher |title=Redefining Religious Liberty |publisher=Article.nationalreview.com |date=May 27, 2009 |access-date=February 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809220727/http://article.nationalreview.com/395223/redefining-religious-liberty/maggie-gallagher |archive-date=August 9, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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]]'' editor Richard Kim about her support of [[conversion therapy|gay reparative therapy]]. Gallagher denied having ever supported ex-gay therapy and claimed that Kim was "making stuff up".<ref name=Whitman>{{cite news
 | url = http://www.thenation.com/blog/166218/w-chris-hayes-richard-kim-challenges-noms-maggie-gallagher-her-support-ex-gay-therapy
 | title = Fixing Sexual Orientation
 | author = Elizabeth Whitman
 | work = The Nation
 | date = February 13, 2012
 | access-date = February 27, 2012
}}</ref> Kim subsequently quoted from a 2001 column written by Gallagher praising [[Robert Spitzer (psychiatrist)|Robert Spitzer]] for his research on the possibilities of ex-gay therapy and calling on then-President [[George W. Bush]] to support federal funding for research into ex-gay therapy.<ref name=Townhall>{{cite news
 | url = http://townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/2001/05/10/fixing_sexual_orientation/page/full/
 | title = Fixing Sexual Orientation
 | author = Maggie Gallagher
 | work = Townhall
 | date = May 10, 2001
 | access-date = February 27, 2012
 | archive-date = February 24, 2012
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120224091733/http://townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/2001/05/10/fixing_sexual_orientation/page/full/
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref> In 2013, after blogging her support for [[Charles LiMandri|Chuck Limandri's]] representation of [[JONAH]] (a Jewish organization that offered support to persons with unwanted same-sex attraction),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/chuck-limandri-vs-splc-maggie-gallagher//|work=NationalReview.com|title=Chuck Limandri vs. the SPLC|last=Gallagher|first=Maggie|date=2013-07-15|access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref> Gallagher made the following comments<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/record-its-not-conversion-therapy-im-backing-maggie-gallagher/|work=NationalReview.com|title=For the Record: It's Not Conversion Therapy I'm Backing|last=Gallagher|first=Maggie|date=2013-07-18|access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref> regarding conversion therapy:
{{Quote
|text=I don’t back something called "conversion therapy."  I don’t even really know what conversion therapy is, and I’m not qualified to express an opinion on a particular kind of therapy.

I back the right of gay people to seek the kind of counseling help they want, not the kind the [Southern Poverty Law Center] lawyers want them to have, including help to live their sexual lives with integrity, according to their own values, not the SPLC’s values. That’s all.
}}

===Views on single parenting===
When then-[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Dan Quayle]] in 1992 criticized the fictional television character [[Murphy Brown]] for being an unwed mother, Gallagher wrote an op-ed for ''[[The New York Times]]'', "An Unwed Mother for Quayle", in his defense.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/marriage/mf0006.html |title=An Unwed Mother For Quayle |publisher=Catholiceducation.org |access-date=February 27, 2012}}</ref>

===Views on the 2012 presidential election===
Gallagher's endorsement of candidate [[Rick Santorum]] in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries was promoted by the Santorum campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2012/01/santorum-paul-doesnt-stand-for-life-071435 |title=Rick Santorum: Ron Paul doesn't stand for life – James Hohmann |date=January 13, 2012 |publisher=Politico.Com |access-date=February 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Bill Fox |url=http://data.greenvilleonline.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/13/former-chairman-of-the-national-organization-for-marriage-endorses/ |title=Former Chairman Of The National Organization For Marriage Endorses Santorum – Politics |publisher=Data.greenvilleonline.com |date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717053844/http://data.greenvilleonline.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/13/former-chairman-of-the-national-organization-for-marriage-endorses/ |archive-date=July 17, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Federal contracts==
Gallagher received tens of thousands of dollars from the [[Department of Health and Human Services]] during 2002 and 2003 for helping the [[George W. Bush administration]] promote the President's Healthy Marriage Initiative.<ref name=Kurtz /> Gallagher testified before Congress in favor of "healthy marriage" programs but never disclosed the payments.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washblade.com/2005/2-4/news/national/hrcseek.cfm |title=HRC seeks investigation of columnist Gallagher – Writer failed to disclose grants in congressional testimony |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422032717/http://www.washblade.com/2005/2-4/news/national/hrcseek.cfm |archive-date=April 22, 2009 |work=[[Washington Blade]] |date=February 4, 2005 |first=Joe |last=Crea}}</ref> 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."<ref name=Kurtz>{{cite news
 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36545-2005Jan25.html
 | title = Writer Backing Bush Plan Had Gotten Federal Contract
 | author = Howard Kurtz
 | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]
 | date = January 26, 2005
 | access-date = March 25, 2010
}}</ref>

After ''[[The Washington Post]]'' revealed this information on January 26, 2005, Gallagher claimed significant differences between her situation and that of conservative columnist [[Armstrong Williams]]. 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."<ref name="response">{{cite web |first=Maggie |last=Gallagher |year=2005 |title=A Question of Disclosure |url=http://www.uexpress.com/printable/print.html?uc_full_date=20050125&uc_comic=mg |publisher=uexpress |access-date=December 30, 2010 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720103406/http://www.uexpress.com/printable/print.html?uc_full_date=20050125&uc_comic=mg |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.<ref name="Kurtz" />

== 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). {{ISBN|0-929387-00-7}}.
* ''The Abolition of Marriage: How We Destroy Lasting Love'' (1996). {{ISBN|0-89526-464-1}}.
* ''The Age of Unwed Mothers: Is Teen Pregnancy the Problem?: A Report to the Nation'' (1999). {{ISBN|0-9659841-5-X}}.
* ''The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially'' with Linda J. Waite (2001). {{ISBN|0-7679-0632-2}}.
* ''The Case for Staying Married'' with Linda J. Waite (2005). {{ISBN|0-19-516929-8}}.
* ''Debating Same-Sex Marriage'' with [[John Corvino]] (2012). New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-975631-5}}.

== See also ==
* [[Michael McManus (columnist)|Michael McManus]]
* [[Armstrong Williams]]
* [[Bush administration payment of columnists]]

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.nationformarriage.org The National Organization for Marriage]
* [http://www.marriagedebate.com Institute for Marriage and Public Policy]
* [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/archive.shtml Archive of Gallagher's editorials] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830135003/http://www.townhall.com/columnists/maggiegallagher/archive.shtml |date=August 30, 2005 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050829233029/http://www.americanvalues.org/index.html Institute for American Values]
* {{C-SPAN|44105}}

{{Universal Press columns}}

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