Who's attacking marriage, Brian Williams?

On last night's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams introduced a story about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip's wedding anniversary in a rather strange way. Williams declared:

"In an era when marriage is under attack, the united Kingdom these days is celebrating a 60th wedding anniversary, the longest marriage of any monarchy"

We're in an era when "marriage is under attack," Brian? As Good As You noted, that phrase is pretty commonly used by anti-gay forces to frame arguments against same-sex marriage in their favor. It's not something that should be used on a news program claiming neutrality, especially in a segment that has nothing to do with politics or civil rights.

Two years ago, media watchdog group Media Matters noted that Williams was named "the go-to network anchor" by Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster whose success is largely built on an effective use of creating terminology to frame political discourse (Daily Show fans might recognize him for his frequent appearances, including one where Samantha Bee declared him her "amoral Yoda"), so hearing Williams use a phrase like that should ring some alarms.

Now, I have heard gay friendly speakers make a mention of marriage being under attack. They're typically being facetious and trying to turn the phrase around to say that heterosexuals who take the right to marry for granted - who feel free to get married impulsively to people they barely know and end those marriages just as quickly. So, there's a potential exit for Williams - he can just say that he was referring to Britney Spears 12-hour marriage to Jason Alexander.