Should NOM president Maggie Gallagher be called a bigot?

KKK rally, Fred Phelps, Tim Hardaway, Father Coughlin (clockwise, left hand corner)

Main Entry: big·ot
Pronunciation: \ˈbi-gət\
: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.

To the Editor:

I believe that marriage matters because children need a mother and a father, and I have spent the last five years warning that opposition to gay marriage will be treated as bigotry. Now Frank Rich describes the National Organization for Marriage’s “Gathering Storm” ad as “The Bigots’ Last Hurrah” (column, April 19).

I am not the only one Mr. Rich is calling a bigot. In a March CBS News poll, only a third of Americans said they supported gay marriage.

I am proud of the “Gathering Storm” ad precisely because it lets the American people know the truth: Gay marriage has consequences. Name-calling will not change that.

Maggie Gallagher President National Organization for Marriage Ossining, N.Y., April 20, 2009

That's the Letter to the Editor from Gallagher that The New York Times printed last Friday. 

Ah, poor Maggie doesn't like being called a bigot. I'm sure Father Coughlin, the KKK and the rest of the bigots now resting on the ash heap of history didn't like it either. Sorry, Maggie, but if the white hood fits...

But as Maggie points out, the majority of the country still doesn't support same-sex marriage. Obviously, our rights shouldn't depend on the support of the majority (a fact obviously lost on, say, a bigot like Gallagher). So is it a smart for Frank Rich (and, frankly, me) to call Gallagher a bigot?

I'd argue yes, as it was Gallagher and her NOM ilk who put out that horribly offensive and bigoted ad (we're taking away their freedoms!) and I'd like to think most Americans, even those against our right to marry, see that ad for the nasty piece of propaganda it is. And since most Americans don't like to see themselves as intolerant or to be associated with those who are, I believe it's up to us to call out bigots like Gallagher. 

What do you think, though? Does Rich just make Gallagher look more sympathetic? Or does he help people see her for what she is?