Family Research Council's anti-lgbt stance built on distortions

 Editor's note - bear with me this week, folks. I've got training at my job in addition to my usual duties. My postings will continue but a little off schedule.

In a post on ThinkProgress, the anti-lgbt history of the Family Research Council was recently examined due to an email sent out by the organization claiming that President Obama is trying to "impose homosexuality" via ENDA:

In a four-page solicitation letter mailed to supporters this month, which was obtained by ThinkProgress, the conservative organization went even further in its rhetoric, claiming that President Obama wants to “impose homosexuality and silence Christianity in workplaces”

It's the usual balderdash from Tony Perkins and company but it's good that ThinkProgress is devoting attention to FRC.

The ThinkProgress piece links to a Media Matters Action post which also looks at the Family Research Council's history of being anti-lgbt by including the many extreme and totally anti-Christian comments and stances taken by the group.

But I want to add a little more.

The Media Matters Action post did an excellent job breaking down just how anti-lgbt the Family Research Council is, but I think some specific attention should be paid to just how deceptive they have been in pushing their anti-lgbt stance. The following posts by me and others demonstrate few instances in which the group have distorted facts to make the case against lgbt equality:

November 23, 2009 - Family Research Council caught falsely accusing Congresswoman of religious bigotry - While not lgbt-oriented per se, this post demonstrates just how the Family Research Council will truncate a quote to push a false image of religious persecution.

November 18, 2009 - Video: FRC invited Chai to speak; now slicing both her footage and her back - Goodasyou.org shows how FRC used spliced footage to make the case against EEOC nominee Chai Feldblum. 

October 27, 2009 - Family Research Council's coldhearted attack on lgbt senior citizens -In an ugly attack on lgbt seniors, the Family Research Council uses the work of the discredited researcher Paul Cameron (Editor's note - the Media Matters Action post inaccurately says that Cameron started the Family Research Council. While this is not true, the organization has a history of using his work, irregardless of his dubious history.)

Family Research Council: Obama program to help gay elderly is wasted since gays die young anyway. Is FRC again using "science" of known hate group? - Americablog Gay added another view of the FRC/lgbt senior controversy.

October 26, 2009 - It's just good for FRC that crimes against truth aren't tracked - From Goodasyou.org comes  another FRC distortion. This time, it's about hate crimes statistics.

October 21, 2009 - Family Research Council brags about ability to fool 80,000 people - FRC pushes the lie that hate crimes legislation will "silence" Christians.

October 1, 2009 - Family Research Council head misrepresents credible information to hurt ENDA  -  In testimony against ENDA, FRC head Tony Perkins uses anecdotes and distorts a study on lgbt health.

June 9, 2009 - More attacks on GLSEN'S Kevin Jennings - Now the Family Research Council gets in the act - During the attacks on Obama appointee Kevin Jennings, FRC distorted incidents about his life.
  
May 20, 2009 - Another flawed piece of work courtesy of the Family Research Council - Making an awful comparison between unmarried lgbt couples and married heterosexual couples, FRC pushes the study Comparing the Lifestyles of Homosexual Couples to Married Couples.

January 13, 2009 - The Family Research Council continues to use 'outdated' work - via communication with an employee of the Family Research Council, I discovered that the organization eliminated several anti-lgbt studies from its webpage due to "outdated sources." However, I also learned from the same employee that while the studies were eliminated, the information contained in the studies (and a lot of it can be considered "outdated" i.e. studies from the early 1970s) were included in future studies.

World AIDS Day, Hilary Clinton shows gumption, and other Tuesday midday news briefs

What you need to do and what you can do for World AIDS Day - self explanatory

U.S. Warns against International Efforts to Criminalize Homosexuality - Hilary Clinton shows the courage that Rick Warren SHOULD HAVE shown.

Southern Baptists oppose health insurance for gays - And we should be surprised because?

DC City Council votes to approve marriage equality - BAM!

'Declaration' of militi-pendence - More immoral signers of that Manhattan Declaration.

The AFA Turns on Huckabee - I would have preferred attention to be focused on Huckabee's love of anti-gay hate groups rather than because of this tragic incident.

Hate group leader joins Manhattan Declaration

Don't be fooled by the Manhattan Declaration. It's creators would like for you to think that it's a document that is the last line of defense in the so-called spread of anti-Christian bigotry.

But like so many public things, what is said should be judged by those those making the statements.

In this case, the motivations behind the Manhattan Declaration is best served by observing who signed it.

A while back, it came out that one of the signers, Rev. Peter J. Akinola of the Anglican Church of Nigeria supported laws that would imprison lgbts or anyone who would support lgbt rights.

According to the blog Goodasyou.org, there is another person signing the document whom attention should be paid - Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition.

I've talked about Sheldon and his phony group many times, most recently about how the group distorted marketing statistics to make a case against ENDA.