By now, you have probably heard what happened today at the headquarters of the Family Research Council.
Earlier today, a 28-year-old man came in pretending to be an intern. On his person, he had two guns. The security guard fought him and kept him from fully using these guns, at the expense of getting wounded.
According to reports, the young man committed this act because he disagreed with the Family Research Council's anti-gay stance.
First of all, let me say that I totally condemn what this young man did. Violence is never the answer. The security guard, who is in stable condition, is also in my prayers. He is a hero for what he did. Finally, I am glad that the situation did not get worse.
However, let me also say that while I condemn physical violence, I also condemn spiritual violence.
And in that respect, something must be said about the Family Research Council.
For years, many have said that stances and the language used by organizations like the Family Research Council against the gay community to defend these stances had the danger of empowering violent anti-gay behavior from those on the fringes of the right.
Now comes this new dynamic. It can also empower violent behavior from the fringes of the other side too.
The Family Research Council will have people to believe that it is an organization which simply stands up for family and morality. But we all know not to be true.
Somehow, consistently comparing gays to pedophiles or terrorists, claiming that gays in the military will molest their fellow officers, expressing a desire to deport gays or put them in jail, distorting studies to demonize gays, and all around falsely branding members of the gay community as the "dreaded other" which must be kept away from doesn't strike me as standing up for morality and truth.
Yet, these are the things which the Family Research Council has done. And it is also why the Southern Poverty Law Center called them an anti-gay hate group.
Of course now in the conservative circles, there seems to be a call for SPLC to rescind this designation.
I have to ask why.
Will the Family Research Council do some soul searching after what happened today? Will it publicly apologize for all the lies it has told on the gay community? Will leaders of the organization realize that their tone does more to inflame hatred from all sides rather than spread respect and understanding? Will they realize that maybe they should stop using junk science or distorting legitimate science against the gay community?
I doubt it. And it is for that reason that while I will freely pray for the organization after this awful incident, I will not give the Family Research Council the satisfaction of me forgetting all of the things it has said and done to unfairly demonize me and my brothers and sisters in the name of its God.
As far as I am concerned, the Family Research Council is still a hate group. And that won't change in my mind unless the organization changes.
Earlier today, a 28-year-old man came in pretending to be an intern. On his person, he had two guns. The security guard fought him and kept him from fully using these guns, at the expense of getting wounded.
According to reports, the young man committed this act because he disagreed with the Family Research Council's anti-gay stance.
First of all, let me say that I totally condemn what this young man did. Violence is never the answer. The security guard, who is in stable condition, is also in my prayers. He is a hero for what he did. Finally, I am glad that the situation did not get worse.
However, let me also say that while I condemn physical violence, I also condemn spiritual violence.
And in that respect, something must be said about the Family Research Council.
For years, many have said that stances and the language used by organizations like the Family Research Council against the gay community to defend these stances had the danger of empowering violent anti-gay behavior from those on the fringes of the right.
Now comes this new dynamic. It can also empower violent behavior from the fringes of the other side too.
The Family Research Council will have people to believe that it is an organization which simply stands up for family and morality. But we all know not to be true.
Somehow, consistently comparing gays to pedophiles or terrorists, claiming that gays in the military will molest their fellow officers, expressing a desire to deport gays or put them in jail, distorting studies to demonize gays, and all around falsely branding members of the gay community as the "dreaded other" which must be kept away from doesn't strike me as standing up for morality and truth.
Yet, these are the things which the Family Research Council has done. And it is also why the Southern Poverty Law Center called them an anti-gay hate group.
Of course now in the conservative circles, there seems to be a call for SPLC to rescind this designation.
I have to ask why.
Will the Family Research Council do some soul searching after what happened today? Will it publicly apologize for all the lies it has told on the gay community? Will leaders of the organization realize that their tone does more to inflame hatred from all sides rather than spread respect and understanding? Will they realize that maybe they should stop using junk science or distorting legitimate science against the gay community?
I doubt it. And it is for that reason that while I will freely pray for the organization after this awful incident, I will not give the Family Research Council the satisfaction of me forgetting all of the things it has said and done to unfairly demonize me and my brothers and sisters in the name of its God.
As far as I am concerned, the Family Research Council is still a hate group. And that won't change in my mind unless the organization changes.
