Friday, October 07, 2011

Tony Perkins comments on SPLC press conference



Today is the beginning of the dreary religious right "Values Voters" conference which will see - amongst other things - GOP presidential candidates mingling with folks who seem to think that God gave them the patent on the words "morality," "family," and "values."

In anticipation of this, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Truth Wins Out will be holding a press conference today highlighting the venomous anti-gay rhetoric of two groups involved in this conference - the Family Association and the American Family Association.

The press conference is the latest salvo in very public fight between SPLC and various "values" organizations designated as hate groups by the organization because of their tendency to demonize the gay community through propaganda, inaccurate rhetoric, or junk science.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council weighed in on the SPLC's press conference:

Perkins said the SPLC news conference reflected an attempt to prevent free discussion of ideas and noted that he doesn’t show up at SPLC events to protest the civil rights organization’s beliefs.

“Southern Poverty Law Center is obviously desperate to try to shut down public debate,” he said.

Perkins is again casting FRC and AFA as the victims, which is what he and others affiliated with these groups have been doing since last year when the controversy began. However, SPLC is not seeking to shut down anyone. If anything, the organization wants to have a conversation as to why the FRC uses junk science - such as the work of the discredited researcher Paul Cameron (a man who claims that gays stuff gerbils up their rears) - to demonize the gay community.

Or why the organization has made the following other inaccurate claims:

  • Homosexuals molest children at far higher rates than heterosexuals.
  • Same-sex parents harm children.
  • Homosexuals don’t live nearly as long as heterosexuals.

It would be in FRC's best interest to answer these charges. However  there will be no conversation as long as FRC double down on the "we are being attacked because of our faith" and "SPLC is trying to shut down the debate" whines.

The organization has YET to come out with a detailed response to SPLC's charges even after claiming earlier this year that it would.


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1 comment:

Sage said...

*sigh*