Press conference reveals Family Research Council deception

Tony Perkins

During his press conference yesterday in which the Family Research Council's head Tony Perkins blamed the Southern Poverty Law Center for the shooting at his organization's headquarters, there was a certain irony which needs to be noted.

On Wednesday, a 28-year-old man came into the group's office pretending to be an intern. After allegedly saying that he didn't agree with FRC's anti-gay policies, he pulled a gun and fought a security guard. The guard was able to take the gun away from him after sustaining a wound in his arm.

During yesterday's press conference and on Fox News, Perkins blamed the Southern Poverty Law Center for incident. In 2010, SPLC labeled FRC as a hate group because of how it spreads lies, distortions, and propaganda against the gay community.

Perkins said the following at the press conference:

Perkins said “reckless rhetoric” helped lead to a man shooting firearms in the office. He “was given a license to shoot an unarmed man by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center,” Perkins said.

For its part, SPLC refused to back down, calling Perkins' claims outrageous. The organization denounced the young man's violence but stood firm in its reasoning for declaring FRC to be a hate group. SPLC's Mark Potok said the following:

The FRC is listed as a hate group because it has knowingly spread false and denigrating propaganda about gay and lesbian people and “not, as some claim, because it opposes same-sex marriage.”

During his media excursion, Perkins was careful not to go into detail as to the claims his group has made in the past about the gay community. During an interview on Fox News, he said that his organization was merely "defending the family."

However, the publication Metro Weekly discovered something during Perkins' press conference:

Perkins claims that FRC was designated a "hate group" for its political stance against marriage equality, even though SPLC and others have long documented the organization's stances and statements on homosexuality, including the consistent linking of gays to pedophilia. Metro Weekly captured the entire press conference on video. Despite some audio issues, what really stands out is, just over Perkins's right shoulder, a man wearing a priest collar and a t-shirt for emblazon with www.tearsforchildren.org, along with quotes about Sodom &Gommorrah and stickers promoting the National Organization for Marriage.

Metro Weekly goes on to say:

On its website, Tears for Children -- led by Maryland's "Minister Leroy" -- lists the Family Research Council as one of its partners, along with other anti-gay groups such as the American Family Association. From the website's home page: "I weep because of sadness in the world. I can not look into the eyes of a child and tell them that they have a choice of being a heterosexual or homosexual. My heart weeps when I think about the wolves and snakes who seek to manipulate innocent minds to believe that sin should be celebrated. We must speak truth in spite of evil and wickedness."

Reverend Leroy is Leroy Swailes, a man who gave what was described as "unhinged" testimony in front of the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics in 2009 about a referendum which would have overturned the law recognizing marriage equality in that area. During his testimony, Swailes connected homosexuality with pedophilia, bestiality, the Anti-Christ, Satanism, and the destruction of humanity:




And there lies the grand irony. If Perkins wants to call out "reckless rhetoric, maybe he should start with FRC's alleged partners.That is if he feels the need to talk about it during his tour of martyrdom.

Related post - Family Research Council exploits shooting to cover up its homophobia

Family Research Council exploits shooting to cover up its homophobia

Just as I thought he would, the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins has exploited the shooting at the organization's headquarters to attack the Southern Poverty Law Center:



Perkins claims that FRC is merely defending the family. Let's see how FRC defends the family:











If this isn't enough for you, then consider the following statements and actions by Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council:

- Says many gays have an "emptiness within them" (:55) because they are "operating outside of nature" (1:09)

- Says that gay young people “have a higher propensity to depression or suicide because of that internal conflict; homosexuals may recognize intuitively that their same-sex attractions are abnormal.”

- Despite what health experts have said, insists that pedophilia is “a homosexual problem.”

- The Family Research Council has distributed a pamphlet that erroneously depicts gay men and lesbians as physically and mentally ill pedophiles who can be cured.

- The Family Research Council has distributed a pamphlet that begins by likening the logic behind same-sex marriage to the logic behind man-horse marriage (complete with horse graphic)

- Compares gay people to terrorists (at 0:31 mark): “[B]ack in the 80s and early 90s, I worked with the State Department in anti-terrorism and we trained about 50 different countries in defending against terrorism, and it’s, at its base, what terrorism is, it's a strike against the general populace simply to spread fear and intimidation so that they can disrupt and destabilize the system of government. That's what the homosexuals are doing here to the legal system.”

- “The truth is that we cannot redefine marriage without opening the door to all manner of moral and social evil.”

- Called the It Gets Better project "disgusting," claiming it tells children "that it's okay to be immoral" and constitutes a "concerted effort to persuade kids that homosexuality is okay and actually to recruit them into that lifestyle."

If Megyn Kelly was any type of true journalist, she would have asked about these things. But we all know that her aim was not to gain truth or start discussion but to give alibis.

The Southern Poverty Law Center called the Family Research Council a hate group because the organization spreads lies and propaganda about the gay community.

 The Family Research Council also deliberately distorts science and legitimate research in its further aim to demonize gays.

SPLC had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting. It's ugly to point this out but I think that Perkins and FRC are exploiting the situation to gain points.

Certainly no one is advocating violence and no one condones what that young man did, but it would be a huge mistake to allow Perkins and the Family Research Council to exploit this near tragedy to get some type of exoneration for its history of propaganda and lies against the gay community.

It's not right and it's not Christian. And no matter how many times Perkins tries to cover up on friendly interviews on Fox News, nothing will change this fact.

Related posts:  16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

'Hate group leader wants photographs showing graphic consequences' of gay sex' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Bryan Fischer Of American Family Association Calls For Photos Showing 'Graphic' Consequences Of Gay Sex To Deter 'Immoral' Act - Just in case folks forget what this debate is all about, Bryan Fischer thankfully reminds us. He wants photographic evidence of the supposed "graphic consequences of gay sex" to be shown.

'Oh, and Tony Perkins and Pete Sprigg are friends'— Erick Erickson demonstrates everything wrong with this debate - Expect to see more of this. "Influential" (which really doesn't give a positive view of the word in this case) Erik Erickson pretends in his tweets not to know why the Family Research Council was declared a hate group.

Understanding ‘Hate’ In The Wake Of The Family Research Council Shooting - Zack Ford of Think Progress lays down what it's all about.

Linda Harvey Attacks Teachers' Unions for Promoting 'Destructive' Gay Rights - And let's not leave out little Linda Harvey.

FRC shooting - LGBT groups show class while NOM tries to score points

Yesterday's violence at the Family Research Council headquarters has garnered many reactions.

 I present to you two of them.

A joint statement by 25 LGBT organizations condemning the violence:

We were saddened to hear news of the shooting this morning at the offices of the Family Research Council. Our hearts go out to the shooting victim, his family, and his co-workers.

The motivation and circumstances behind today’s tragedy are still unknown, but regardless of what emerges as the reason for this shooting, we utterly reject and condemn such violence. We wish for a swift and complete recovery for the victim of this terrible incident.


Michael Adams
Executive Director, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)

Tico Almeida
President, Freedom to Work

Katie Belanger
Executive Director, Fair Wisconsin

Wayne Besen
Founding Executive Director, Truth Wins Out

A.J. Bockelman
Executive Director, PROMO

Sharon Brackett
Board Chair, Gender Rights Maryland

Carly Burton
Deputy Director, MassEquality

Dr. Eliza Byard
Executive Director, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

Jennifer Chrisler
Executive Director, Family Equality Council

Brad Clark
Executive Director, One Colorado

R. Clarke Cooper
Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans

Dwayne Crenshaw
Executive Director, San Diego LGBT Pride

Heather Cronk
Managing Director, GetEQUAL

Jerame Davis
Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats

Emily Dievendorf
Director of Policy, Equality Michigan

James Esseks
Director, ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project

Lynn A. Faria
Interim Executive Director, Empire State Pride Agenda

Jenna Frazzini
Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon

Joshua A. Friedes
Spokesperson, Equal Rights Washington

Herndon Graddick
President, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

Chad Griffin
President, Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

Jody M. Huckaby
Executive Director, PFLAG National (Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbians and Gays)

Mara Keisling
Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality

Kate Kendell
Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)

Abbe Land
Executive Director & CEO, The Trevor Project

Gregory Lewis
Executive Director, True Colors Fund

Eileen Ma
Executive Director, API Equality-LA

David Mariner
Executive Director, The DC Center for the LGBT Community

Ineke Mushovic
Executive Director, Movement Advancement Project

National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs

Darlene Nipper
Deputy Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Donna Red Wing
Executive Director, One Iowa

Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.
President, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC)

Aubrey Sarvis
Executive Director, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network

Josh Seefried
Co-Director, OutServe

Peggy Shorey
Executive Director, Pride at Work

Brian Silva
Executive Director, Marriage Equality USA

Lee Swislow
Executive Director, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders

Rachel B. Tiven, Esq.
Executive Director, Immigration Equality

Shane Windmeyer
Executive Director, Campus Pride

Chuck Wolfe
President & CEO, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute

Evan Wolfson
President, Freedom to Marry


Meanwhile, Brian Brown from the National Organization for Marriage attempted to score points:

"Today's attack is the clearest sign we've seen that labeling pro-marriage groups as 'hateful' must end," said Brian Brown, President of NOM. "The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Family Research Council a 'hate group' for its pro-marriage views, and less than a day ago the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement calling FRC a 'hate group'—they even specified that FRC hosts events in Washington, DC, where today's attack took place."

For now, we are learning that FRC's anti-gay actions was the reason why the young man committed the act. While the violence of his actions should be condemned (all violent actions should be condemned), let's not sugarcoat the fact that FRC is a hate group whose sole reason for existing is to denigrate the gay community through lies and distortions.

That being said, the actions of the lgbt groups was classy and appropriate. And unfortunately, Brown's comments is the main reason why we shouldn't let FRC off the hook on this one.

 Related post - Shooting at the Family Research Council - ALL violence (physical and spiritual) must be condemned

Shooting at the Family Research Council - ALL violence (physical and spiritual) must be condemned

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.

'Lesbian Mother sues religious right, Cheerios arsonists dies' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Minister Found Guilty of Aiding Miller-Jenkins Kidnapping - A tiny bit of closure for Janet Jenkins because of the kidnapping of her daughter, Isabel. Of course a larger degree of closure would be for Jenkins to be reunited with her child. Let's pray that this happens.  

Lesbian Mom Of Kidnapped Daughter Files Organized Crime Suit Against Multiple Christian Organizations - And in the meantime, stick it to those SOBs who caused you so many problems, Ms. Jenkins. They had no right. The Liberty Counsel is one of these groups and check out what Matt Barber tweets. Matt, my dear, you are NOT being persecuted in the name of God.

 Fiery protester outside General Mills dies days later on family errand - THIS is a shock. The Cheerios arsonist has died. My prayers are with his family as he meets the Lord face to face.

 David Barton: Warren Throckmorton's moral compass like that of an adulterous congressman - David Barton - "I lied like a rug but since Warren Throckmorton likes them homosexuals, HE is the one without a moral compass." Okay. 

 Paul Ryan Refuses To Address Questions On Employment Nondiscrimination - It's YOUR move, Log Cabin Republicans. 

NOM turns to chicken instead of facing the truth about its lies

Maggie Gallagher of NOM

Far be it from me to brand the National Organization for Marriage as an organization willing to exploit every perceived advantage to make a new dig against marriage equality (oh who am I kidding), but there is something bizarre about certain items on its blog:

Announcing Chick-fil-A Wednesdays!

Austin Ruse on Why Chick-fil-A is Important for the Pro-Marriage Revolution

Video: Gay Liberation Network Taunts Priest Praying Rosary Outside Chick-fil-A Inbox

Baptist Press: Chick-fil-A May Influence Gay Marriage Votes This Fall

Video: Chicago Chick-fil-A Kiss-In Protesters "Chalk" & Harass Homeless Person

Jerry Newcombe on Chick-fil-A and Orwellian Times

It's been over a week since the "Chick-Fil-A Chronicles," yet NOM seems to continue harping on the situation as if somehow it is seminal moment in American - nay - world history.

Meanwhile, that group of African-American pastors (the Coalition of African-American Pastors) it secretly underwrites (in a plan to sabotage Obama's African-American support) is catching HELL over the lie that it is non-partisan and how its president (William Owens) may have lied about his civil rights leader pedigree.

Also, the anti-gay parenting study it helped to promote continues to catch hell because of bias and new revelations that continues to call its author's credibility into question.

If I was involved with NOM, I would stick to the chicken, too.

It definitely beats facing the truth.