Family Research Council defends persecution of gays in African countries

For Tony Perkins, it's not persecution unless it happens to evangelicals.

In a show of absolute hypocrisy, as the Family Research Council pushes the false notion that marriage equality is causing the persecution of evangelicals in American, the organization is simultaneously defending anti-gay persecution in Kenya.

From FRC President Tony Perkins in a recent email message:

When the President travels abroad, there's one thing he never leaves at home: his radical social agenda. Since day one, the Obama administration made it clear that this isn't your parents' version of diplomacy. Instead, the White House has dispatched an army of liberal ambassadors -- all with strict instructions to use their influence to force acceptance of the President's extreme sexual priorities.Now, after seven years of aggressive bullying, the President's crusade hasn't exactly improved relations with America's neighbors (not that it's an administration priority). From Hillary Clinton to John Kerry, the State Department has repeatedly violated the first rule of the diplomatic process: to respect the traditions and beliefs of other countries. In most cases, this forceful approach has made more enemies of nations than friends -- especially in countries as profoundly religious as Kenya.

Like other African and South American nations, they don't appreciate the administration's decision to openly demonize their beliefs and promote homosexuality and abortion as international "human rights." And when the President Obama visits Kenyans this month, they intend to tell him so. Dozens of lawmakers are planning protests during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, where White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says the President will once again call for "equality" for LGBT Kenyans. "It is important for us as Kenyans to know that the U.S. is not God," one church leader told CNSnews.com. Lawmaker Irungu Kangata was more candid. "We are telling Mr. Obama when he comes to Kenya this month and he tries to bring the abortion agenda, the gay agenda, we shall tell him to shut up and go home." The Speaker of the National Assembly echoed that resolve. "Liberal thoughts are being entertained in some countries under the guise of human rights. We must be vigilant and guard against it. We must lead an upright society and now allow obnoxious behavior as we have a responsibility to protect our children."

I guess it wouldn't mean anything to Perkins to know that gays are persecuted in Kenya. And when I say "persecuted," I am not talking about the lying dross Perkins and his allies in the religious right conjure up about lgbts to scare their ignorant supporters.

We are talking actual persecution.  Being gay is illegal in Kenya. Sex acts between men carries a maximum penalty of 14 years.  According to a 2004 article in the UK Independent, Kenyan gays and lesbians are shunned by their families, kicked out of schools, or even attacked by groups looking to either rape or kill them.

Public officials are very vocal in their attacks on gays. In May of this year, Kenya's deputy president, William Ruto, said that there is no room for gays in his country.

Perkins also made a vague mention about how other African nations don't like the so-called "promotion of homosexuality." While he didn't list any names, one nation which comes to mind is Uganda, where the climate there is so homophobic that there was a push to pass an infamous bill which could have led to the death penalty for that country's gays; a bill which Perkins and the FRC came under fire for allegedly supporting.

Even though FRC disavowed any support of the bill, which the country is still attempting to make into law,  the organization continues to defend Uganda's homophobic climate. This year, FRC senior fellow Peter Sprigg accused the Obama Administration of attempting to "force" homosexuality on Uganda.

It's interesting how FRC's tune would change it were evangelicals  being kicked out of their homes or chased down by bloodthirsty mobs, but it shouldn't make any difference. Whether Christian, gay, or both, no one deserves to fear for their lives. And especially not in one's own country.

For me, FRC's hypocrisy speaks to its bigotry and the bigotry of anyone employed there. It's one thing for an organization to lie about acts of persecution. It's quite another if the organization creates notions of false persecution for one group while defending acts of actual persecution against another.

And the nauseating topper? Members of the media will continue to cite Perkins and FRC as a credible voice for the American evangelical Christian community.