The secular extremism characterizing much of the contemporary political scene sometimes makes it hard to realize Christianity was once the primary motivating force behind the great human rights movements of America.
The LGBT movement is a cult.
A basic definition of a cult is an organization whose beliefs are so far separated from the real world, that if society were to incorporate those beliefs, it too, would go mad. Therefore, insane beliefs completely divorced from the ground of being can only be established by force of law and strategies utilizing persecution aimed at eventual elimination of entities in opposition to those beliefs.
The result is that open war has been declared on Christianity in America.
As the attacks ratchet up, Christians urgently need to understand continued capitulation to the demands of the radicals who are pushing for the fringe demands of the LGBT movement means the death of religious freedom in America. It also means a cult’s radical doctrines replace Christian mores.
Articles: Killing Christianity in America
Isn't it religious freedom when Christian churches choose to stop persecuting gays?
Give an example of a Christian Church persecuting a gay.
List of anti-LGBT groups[edit]
Anti-LGBT, against
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
transgender, and
queer/
questioning (
LGBTQ) people, or anti-gay can refer to activities in certain categories (or combination of categories): attitudes against or discrimination against LGBTQ people,
violence against LGBT people, LGBTQ rights opposition and
religious opposition to LGBTQ people. In its Winter 2010
Intelligence Report the SPLC noted that for thirty years going back to Anita Bryant's
Christian fundamentalists Save Our Children campaign, the first organized opposition to the
gay rights movement defeating an ordinance banning discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation based on
sexual orientation, "hard-line elements of the religious right have been searching for ways to demonize gay people — or, at a minimum, to find arguments that will prevent their normalization in society."
[22] These groups utilize anti-gay myths to "form the basis of its claim that homosexuality is a social evil that must be suppressed — an opinion rejected by virtually all relevant medical and scientific authorities."
[22] The SPLC notes these anti-gay myths "almost certainly contribute to
hate crime violence directed at the LGBT community, which is more targeted for such attacks than any other minority group in America."
[22]
Abiding Truth Ministries[edit]
Abiding Truth Ministries is a
conservative Christian organization located in
Temecula, California.
[23] Their president,
Scott Lively, is an American author, attorney and activist, noted for his
opposition to LGBT rights and his involvement in the
ex-gay movement. Lively has called for the criminalization of "the public advocacy of homosexuality" as far back as 2007.
[24][25] He is also directly linked to pending
anti-gay legislation in
Uganda, which would, if passed, make homosexual conduct punishable by a lengthy prison sentence or
death.
[26]
Along with Kevin E. Abrams, he co-authored the book
The Pink Swastika, which states in the preface that "homosexuals [are] the true inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities."
[27] In fact, under Nazi Germany, gays and lesbians were
sent to concentration camps and several historians have questioned the book's claims and selective use of research.
[28][29][30][31][32] Lively is the former state director for the California branch of the
American Family Association and formed
Watchmen on the Walls based in
Riga,
Latvia.
[33] According to a January 2011 profile, Lively "has not changed his view that gays are 'agents of America’s moral decline' but has refocused his approach to fit his flock in Springfield, Massachusetts" and "is toning down his antigay rhetoric and shifting his focus to helping the downtrodden."
[34]
The
Southern Poverty Law Center regards Abiding Truth Ministries as a
hate group.
[35] Lively has responded with his blog.
[36]
American Family Association[edit]
The
American Family Association (AFA) is a United States
non-profit organization that promotes
conservative fundamentalist Christian values.
[37][38][39][40][41][42] They oppose
same-sex marriage,
pornography, and
abortion;
[43][44] and back
public policy goals such as
deregulation of the oil industry and lobbying against the
Employee Free Choice Act.
[45] It was founded in 1977 by
Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in
Tupelo, Mississippi.
The AFA defined itself as "a Christian organization promoting the
Biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on television and other media," later switching their stated emphasis to "moral issues that impact the family."
[46][47][48] It engages in activism efforts, including boycotts,
buycotts,
action alert emails, publications on the AFA's web sites or in the
AFA Journal, broadcasts on
American Family Radio, and
lobbying.
[49] The organization has an annual budget of US$14 million and owns 180 American Family Radio stations in 28 states.
[50]
As of November 2010
[update] AFA has been listed as a
hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center for the "propagation of known falsehoods" and the use of "demonizing propaganda" against
LGBT people.
[51][52]
American Vision[edit]
American Vision is a United States nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by Steve Schiffman. It operates as a
Christian ministry, and calls for "equipping and empowering Christians to restore America’s biblical foundation."
Gary DeMar has been the organization's president since 1984. The group has published over 175 books, DVDs, CDs, and MP3s. The group also publishes a daily newsletter and podcast and is active in the
creation science movement. The site promotes
Christian Reconstructionism and
Postmillennialism, and opposes
dispensationalism.
The Southern Poverty Law Center labels American Vision an anti-gay hate group due to its support of the "
death penalty for practicing homosexuals."
[53][54][55]
Americans for Truth About Homosexuality[edit]
Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH) is an organization founded by
Peter LaBarbera, which describes itself as "dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda".
[56] In 2010, AFTAH was designated an anti-gay
hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which said "AFTAH is notable for its posting of the utterly discredited work of Paul Cameron (of the
Family Research Institute), who has claimed that gays and lesbians live vastly shorter lives than heterosexuals".
[55][57]
Bethesda Christian Institute[edit]
Bethesda Christian Institute, based in
San Antonio, Texas, and led by John Vernon Foster, was listed as a hate group by the SPLC in 2011.
[58][59] It was one of the first 17 groups in the new category.
[60] Foster (born in 1934) began studying the Bible while he served in the
United States Navy on
Guam during the
Korean War. He became an
evangelist for several years after leaving the military. He founded the Bethesda Temple of San Antonio when he was 26. The church was renamed the Bethesda Christian Institute. In 2007, he published
The Insanity of Christianity, which contains a chapter called "The Gay Community." In it, he argues that the "
gay lifestyle" is not simply an
alternative lifestyle, but the
sin of
sodomy according to the Bible. He says gay people should not be Christian church leaders for the same reason adulterers should not. Foster asks if we accept the gay lifestyle "why wouldn't a person have a right to sexually seduce their own children as a lifestyle? Is rape just another lifestyle? Is incest just another lifestyle? Is stealing just another lifestyle? Is murder just another lifestyle?"
[61]
Campaign for Houston[edit]
The
Campaign for Houston is an
American conservative organization that was created on August 24, 2015, in order to fight against
Proposition 1. Campaign for Houston is opposed to adding
sexual orientation and
gender identity as part of the Houston Code of Ordinances
anti-discrimination laws.
[62][63][64][65]
Chalcedon Foundation[edit]
The
Chalcedon Foundation is an American
Christian Reconstructionist organization founded by
Rousas John Rushdoony. Named for the
Council of Chalcedon,
[66] it has also included
theologians such as
Gary North, who later founded his own organization, the Institute for Christian Economics. The Chalcedon Foundation was officially founded by Rushdoony in the summer of 1965. In 1971, North was hired part-time, and two years later North was hired full-time while
Greg Bahnsen was also hired. Rushdoony founded Ross House Books in 1976, the same year in which North and Bahnsen left the Foundation to pursue careers elsewhere. In 1977, the Foundation's first office building was built. A decade later, the organization's
Newsletter became a magazine, the
Chalcedon Report. On February 8, 2001, Rushdoony died. He was succeeded by his son Mark Rushdoony, who continues to run the organization. In 2004, Ross House Books merged with Chalcedon, and in 2005, the
Chalcedon Report was renamed
Faith for All of Life.
The Chalcedon Foundation has been listed as a
hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
[35] The SPLC notes that
The Institutes of Biblical Law, written by Rushdoony in 1973, called for strict
biblical law that would "mean the death penalty for 'practicing homosexuals,' among many other 'abominators.'"
[67]
Dove World Outreach Center[edit]
Dove World Outreach Center is a 50 member
non-denominational charismatic Christian church in
Gainesville,
Florida led by pastor
Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia. The church first gained notice during the late 2000s for its public displays and
criticism of Islam and
gays, and was designated as a
hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center.
[68] It became widely known for its pastor's
controversial plan to burn Qur'ans on the ninth anniversary of the
September 11 attacks. On September 11, 2010, Jones announced his church would never be burning Qur'ans and that he had reached his goal of exposing elements of Islam as dangerous and radical.
[69] On March 20, 2011, however, Jones carried through on his threat, and burned the Qur'an. On April 1, 2011 protestors in the northern
Afghanistan city of
Mazar-i-Sharif, protesting this burning,
attacked a
United Nations Assistance Mission, killing at least 12 people, including at least 7
U.N. workers.
[70]
The head of the church Pastor Jones described Islam as "a false religion" that will lead people to
hell,
[71] and urged to Muslims that the Bible is the only way to
God. The congregation has also held rallies against Gainesville mayor
Craig Lowe and his staff denouncing their liberal policies.
A Dove World congregation also held a protest against the building of
Park51.
[72] After Obama's endorsement of gay marriage, the church hanged an Obama effigy with a rainbow flag on its lawn.
[73] In January 2013 effigies of President Obama and President Clinton were burned to protest their abortion and pro-LGBT policies.
[74] The Gainesville Sun reported that Terry Jones was fined by the City for the unauthorized fire.
[75]
SPLC Hatewatch staff attended a Colorado Springs meeting in March 2013 at which Terry Jones was a featured speaker. The content of the speeches was, according to SPLC, "paranoid fantasy" from 'conservatives' of a "different breed."
[76]
Faithful Word Baptist Church[edit]
Faithful Word Baptist Church is a United States
fundamentalist Baptist church in
Tempe, Arizona.
[77] The church is
King James Bible only[77] with regard to the Bible, and the church's members meet in an office space located in a
strip mall.
[78] Steven L. Anderson established the church in December 2005 and remains its pastor.
The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
lists Faithful Word Baptist Church as an anti-gay
hate group.
[79][80][81][82] In August 2009, the church received national attention when Anderson shared that he was praying for the death of President
Barack Obama in his sermons.
The SPLC has listed the church as an anti-gay hate group,
[80][81][82] noting that Pastor Anderson described gays as “
sodomites” who “recruit through rape,” and “recruit through molestation”.
[79] In explaining the hate group designation, the SPLC said Anderson suggests
homosexuals should be killed, and in a sermon he stated “The biggest hypocrite in the world is the person who believes in the death penalty for murderers but not for homosexuals.”
[79][83] A few days after the listing, Pastor Anderson stated "I do hate homosexuals and if hating homosexuals makes our church a hate group then that's what we are."
[80]
Family Research Council[edit]
The
Family Research Council (FRC) is an American
conservative Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by
James Dobson. It was incorporated in 1983.
[84] In the late 1980s, the FRC officially became a division of Dobson's main organization,
Focus on the Family, but after an administrative separation, the FRC became an independent entity in 1992.
Tony Perkins is the current president.
The FRC promotes what it considers to be traditional
family values, by advocating and lobbying for
socially conservative policies. It opposes and lobbies against
LGBT rights,
abortion,
divorce,
embryonic stem-cell research, and
pornography. The FRC is affiliated with a
501(c)(4) lobbying
PAC known as FRC Action.
[85] In 2010, the
Southern Poverty Law Center classified the FRC as an anti-gay
hate group, a designation which has caused controversy.
In February 2010 the Family Research Council's Senior Researcher for Policy Studies,
Peter Sprigg, stated on NBC's
Hardball that gay behavior should be outlawed and that "criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior" should be enforced.
[86] In May that same year, Sprigg publicly suggested that repealing
Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy would encourage molestation of heterosexual service members.
[87] In November FRC President Tony Perkins was asked about Sprigg's comments regarding the criminalization of same-sex behavior: he responded that criminalizing homosexuality is not a goal of the Family Research Council.
[88][89] Perkins repeated the FRC’s
association of gay men with pedophilia, saying that "If you look at the American College of Pediatricians, they say the research is overwhelming that homosexuality poses a danger to children."
[88][89] The opinions expressed by Perkins are contradicted by mainstream social science research on same-sex parenting,
[90] and on the likelihood of child molestation by homosexuals and
bisexuals, which has been found to be no higher than child molestation by
heterosexuals.
[90][91] Some scientists whose work is cited by the American College of Pediatricians – a small conservative organization which was formed when the
American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed adoption by same-sex couples – have said that it has distorted and misrepresented their work.
[92]
The opinions and statements made by Sprigg and Perkins in 2010 resulted in the Southern Poverty Law Center designating the FRC as a hate group in the Winter 2010 issue of its magazine,
Intelligence Report. (See
Listing as a hate group by SPLC below.)
Family Research Institute[edit]
The
Family Research Institute (FRI), originally known as the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality (ISIS), is an
American non-profit organization based in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, which states that it has "...one overriding mission: to generate empirical research on issues that threaten the traditional family, particularly homosexuality, AIDS, sexual social policy, and drug abuse".
[93] The FRI is part of a movement of small, often faith-based organizations (sometimes called the
Christian right) which seek to influence the political debate in the United States. They seek "...to restore a world where marriage is upheld and honored, where children are nurtured and protected, and where homosexuality is not taught and accepted, but instead is discouraged and rejected at every level."
[93] The
Boston Globe reported that the FRI's 2005 budget was less than
$200,000.
[94]
The FRI is run by
Paul Cameron, who earned a doctorate in
psychology at the
University of Colorado at Boulder in 1966. Cameron founded the
Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality in 1982, and this institute later became the FRI.
[94]
The Family Research Institute is designated a
hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center for propagating known falsehoods about LGBT people.
[95][96] Paul Cameron, a researcher whose studies about the lives of homosexuals have been "utterly discredited".
[68][97][98][99] Cameron has been removed from professional and scholarly organizations and his studies have been met with formal resolutions passed against him.
[98] LaBarbera has endorsed Cameron's research and has said that ways should be found "to bring back shame" for homosexual behavior.
[98]
Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment[edit]
Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (HOME or H.O.M.E.) is an anti-
homosexuality organization founded by Wayne Lela and based in
Downers Grove, Illinois,
USA. The organization's aim is "to use science, logic, and natural law to expose all the flaws in the arguments homosexuals (and bisexuals) use to try to justify homosexual activity."
[100] On November 22, 2010
[101] the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designated the organization an anti-gay
hate group[102][103] "based on their propagation of known falsehoods".
[68][104] According to the SPLC, Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment "is entirely focused on the alleged evils of homosexuality [and] attacks gay people on a wide variety of levels."
[55]
Illinois Family Institute[edit]
The
Illinois Family Institute (IFI) is a
501(c)(3) Christian organization based in
Carol Stream, Illinois. Founded in 1992, its mission is focused on "upholding and re-affirming marriage, family, life and liberty in Illinois," and is affiliated with the
American Family Association.
[105] The organization also has a sister organization,
Illinois Family Action, founded in 2010 it is active as a
501(c)(4) lobbying organization in the state of Illinois.
[106] The organization's executive director is David E. Smith, who succeeded
Peter LaBarbera in 2006.
[107][108]
The Illinois Family Institute was designated an anti-gay
hate group in 2009 by the
Southern Poverty Law Center, on the grounds that it is "heavily focused on attacking gay people and homosexuality in general."
[98]
In its
Intelligence Report, the SPLC states the designation was based on the association with
Paul Cameron, a researcher whose studies about the lives of homosexuals have been "utterly discredited", and on the association with LaBarbera who repeats the disproved link between
gay men and
pedophilia.
[68][98][99] Cameron has been removed from professional and scholarly organizations and his studies have been met with formal resolutions passed against him.
[98] LaBarbera has endorsed Cameron's research and has said that ways should be found "to bring back shame" for homosexual behavior.
[98] As well, Higgins' words were linked to the hate group designation, including her comparison of homosexuality to
Nazism.
[98]
Jewish Political Action Committee[edit]
The Jewish Political Action Committee is an American
Hasidic Jewish political group based in
Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
[109] The SPLC added the Jewish Political Action Committee to its list of anti-gay hate groups in March 2012.
[110] Heshy Friedman said one of the group's goals is "to wake up the people of New York to the dangers of allowing homosexuality and gay marriage."
[111] In 2011, a group member stated that "there has been a surge of gay attacks against youngsters in New York" since a bill legalizing
same-sex marriage in New York was introduced. The group also launched an awareness campaign warning about gay men specifically. Their posted street signs said "Judaism prohibits homosexuality... That is why
G-d sent AIDS to punish male gays" and "Judaism considers male homosexuality a worse sin than murder."
[112]
MassResistance[edit]
MassResistance is a
Massachusetts anti-gay group
[113][114][115][116] that promotes
socially conservative positions primarily on issues surrounding
homosexuality, the
transgender community and
same-sex marriage. It was formed in 1995 as a consolidation of the
Parents' Rights Coalition, turned into the Article 8 Alliance in 2003, and adopted the current name in 2006.
[117][118] The group has criticized former Massachusetts governor
Mitt Romney for not opposing same-sex marriage,
[119] and says it fights against students in public schools being taught about homosexuality.
[120]
Since March 2008, the
Southern Poverty Law Center has listed MassResistance as an anti-gay "Active U.S. Hate Group" based on "their propagation of known falsehoods — claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities."
[113][114][121][122][123]
Mission: America[edit]
Mission: America is an organization started in 1995 by Linda Harvey which the group's mission states is "cover[ing] the latest cultural and social trends in our country and what they might mean for Christians."
[124] A particular focus of the organization's articles is on the issue of
homosexuality.
[125] The
Southern Poverty Law Center has designated Mission: America as a
hate group in March 2012 based on its particular anti-
LGBT rights stances.
[68][110]
Parents Action League[edit]
Parents Action League is an organization started in 2010 to protest proposed changes in the
Anoka-Hennepin (Minnesota) School District 11 policy which had limited discussions of
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual, and
transgender (
LGBT) issues in district classrooms.
[126][127] The
Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the organization as an anti-gay
hate group in March 2012 because it spread damaging propaganda about LGBT people.
[2][55][110]
Public Advocate of the United States[edit]
Public Advocate of the United States is an organization founded in 1981 by
Eugene Delgaudio. It advocates
conservative policies in
American politics.
[128]
As of 2012
[update] the Public Advocate of the United States has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its anti-gay activism.
[110][129]
SaveCalifornia.com[edit]
SaveCalifornia.com is a United States nonprofit organization founded by Randy Thomasson in 1999, with a stated goal of "defending and representing the values of parents, grandparents and concerned citizens who want what's best for this generation and future generations."
[130] Thomasson has been involved in influencing social policies in government since 1994, through various media outlets.
[131] SaveCalifornia.com is a part of
Campaign for Children and Families.
SaveCalifornia.com opposed California's
FAIR Education Act. In 2011, Thomasson described the bill as "Sexual brainwashing" and called for "parents to remove their children from the government school system, and get them into the safe havens of church schooling and home schooling."
[132] In March 2012, the SPLC added SaveCalifornia.com to its list of anti-gay hate groups.
[133][134]
Sons of Thundr (Faith Baptist Church)[edit]
Sons of Thundr (Faith Baptist Church) is an American Baptist Church in
Greenville,
Georgia, founded in 1984 by Pastor Billy Ball.
[135]
The church is opposed to abortion,
[136] homosexuality,
[137] and alcohol.
[138] Its web site features graphic photos of aborted fetuses and accident victims, along with declarations of their beliefs, such as "All Homos are: Sick, brain damaged, perverts!"
[136][137][138][139]
The SPLC designated Sons of Thundr as an anti-gay hate group
[134][139] in March 2012.
[110]
Tom Brown Ministries[edit]
This section requires
expansion.
(September 2012)
Tom Brown Ministries, based in
El Paso, Texas, was founded by Tom Brown and includes the Word of Life Church.
[58] Brown helped create El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values to fight a policy allowing city health benefits for gay and unmarried city employees. When the policy was successfully voted down in a
referendum, El Paso mayor
John F. Cook filed a lawsuit
Cook v. Tom Brown Ministries to reinstate the benefits. The SPLC added Tom Brown Ministries to its list of anti-gay hate groups in March 2012.
[110]
Traditional Values Coalition[edit]
The
Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) is an
American conservative Christian organization that represents, by its estimate, over 43,000
Christian churches throughout the
United States of America. Headquartered in
Washington, D.C., its belief is in Bible-based traditional values as "[a] moral code and behavior based upon the Old and New Testaments." The group considers traditional values to include a belief "that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that the Lord has given us a rule book to live by: The Bible" and a commitment to "living, as far as it is possible, by the moral precepts taught by Jesus Christ and by the whole counsel of God as revealed in the Bible." The organization was founded by the Reverend
Louis P. Sheldon who is the current chairman. His daughter Andrea Sheldon Lafferty is the executive director.
[140]
The Traditional Values Coalition has been labelled an anti-gay
hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center.
[35] Tony Perkins asked SPLC to retract the hate group designation but the SPLC refused to back down stating the groups were added to the list for spreading "known falsehoods — claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities — and repeated, groundless name-calling."
[141]
True Light Pentecost Church[edit]
This section requires
expansion.
(September 2012)
The SPLC added True Light Pentecost Church to its list of anti-gay hate groups in March 2012.
[110] The
North Carolina based church has protested Barack Obama's stance on gay rights, as well as on abortion.
[142] The group has also rallied for the resignation of Bishop
Eddie Long in response to allegations of sexual impropriety.
[143]
United Families International[edit]
United Families International (UFI) is a United States nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by Susan Roylance
[144][145] UFI works on an international scale to influence public policy toward "maintaining and strengthening the family". The organization is not affiliated with any religious organizations, governments or political parties. UFI has
NGO status with
ECOSOC and works to educate
United Nations (UN) ambassadors and delegates on family related issues.
[146] UFI also operates a website, DefendMarriage.org.[
clarification needed]
[147]
UFI under Roylance was actively involved in promoting "traditional family values" at the Beijing Conference in the mid 1990s. Roylance characterized the conference as a "wakeup call for those who believe the traditional family unit to be an important basic unit of society".
[148]
The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designates United Families International as an anti-gay hate group in March 2012.[
why?]
[149][150][151]
In their
Guide to Family Issues, UFI, considered by some to be part of the
Christian right and a
Mormon organization,
[148][152] makes a number of claims about homosexuality, including
[153]
- "Discrimination on the basis of gender or race is vastly different from discrimination on the basis of sexual practice."
- "Pedophilia is widespread among the homosexual community."
- "Reputable studies and decades of successful treatment show that homosexual behavior can be changed."
- "It is not marriage, but women in marriage, that help to contain and channel the male sexual appetite."
- "In fact it is more compassionate to discourage homosexuality than to tolerate it."
Westboro Baptist Church[edit]
Picketing in
Topeka, with the group's signature rainbow-colored picket signs.
The
Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American,
Independent Baptist church based in
Topeka, Kansas known for its extreme ideologies, especially those
against homosexuality.
[154][155] The church is widely described as a
hate group[156] and is monitored as such by the
Anti-Defamation League and
Southern Poverty Law Center. It consists primarily of members of the large family of the late
Fred Phelps;
[157] in 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members.
[158] The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the west side of Topeka about three miles west of the Kansas State Capitol. Its first
public service was held on the afternoon of Sunday, November 27, 1955.
[159]
The church has been actively involved in the anti-gay movement since at least 1991 when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at
Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church.
[160] In addition to anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets other celebrity funerals and public events that are likely to get it media attention.
[161] Protests have also been held demonstrating against Jews and some protests included stomping on the
flag of the United States.
The WBC is not affiliated with any known
Baptist conventions or associations and the two largest Baptist denominations, the
Baptist World Alliance and the
Southern Baptist Convention have denounced the WBC over the years.
[162] The church describes itself as following
Primitive Baptist and
Calvinist principles.
[163]
The church runs numerous Web sites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality. The group bases its work around the belief expressed by its best known slogan and the address of its primary Web site, God Hates Fags, asserting that every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality—specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of the so-called
homosexual agenda. The group maintains that God hates gays above all other kinds of "sinners"
[164] and that homosexuality should be a
capital crime.
[165] Their views on homosexuality are partially based on teachings found in the
Old Testament, specifically Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, which they interpret to mean that homosexual behavior is detestable, and that homosexuals should be put to death, respectively.
[164]
The
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the Westboro Baptist Church as "virulently homophobic", whose anti-homosexual rhetoric they say is often a cover for
anti-Semitism,
anti-Americanism, racism, and
anti-Catholicism.
[166] The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an anti-discrimination group, has added the Westboro Baptist Church to its list of hate groups.
[167][168][169]
Windsor Hills Baptist Church[edit]
This section requires
expansion.
(September 2012)
The SPLC added Windsor Hills Baptist Church to its list of anti-gay hate groups in March 2012.
[110] The
Oklahoma City church's pastor, Tom Vineyard, has spoken against nondiscrimination laws, and has claimed that half of all murders in large cities are committed by gay people.
[170]
World Congress of Families[edit]
World Congress of Families is a United States organization that promotes
Christian right values internationally.
[171] It opposes
same-sex marriage,
pornography, and
abortion, while supporting a society built on "the voluntary union of a man and a woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage".
[172][173][174][175] WCF comprises organizations in several countries, and most of its member partners are strongly active campaigners for
pro-life positions and specific
Christian views on marriage that oppose
same-sex marriage.
[176] WCF was formed in 1997 and is active worldwide, regularly organizing "large international 'pro-family' conventions".
[177] Its opposition to
gay marriage and
abortion has attracted criticism.
[178] It was added to the list of anti-LGBT hate groups in February 2014 for its involvement with the 2013
Russian LGBT propaganda law and opposing
LGBT rights internationally.
[179][180][181][182]
You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International[edit]
You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International (YCRBYCHI) is a United States organization identifying itself as a Christian
youth ministry that holds assemblies, including music concerts and discussions with students, in
public schools. Founded by Bradlee Dean, the organization is based in
Annandale, Minnesota. YCRBYCHI's mission statement is: "To reshape America by re-directing the current and future generations both morally and spiritually through education, media, and the Judeo-Christian values found in our U.S. Constitution."
[183]
The organization has garnered letters of support from school personnel, as well as some religious and political figures. It has also drawn controversy for using assemblies for religious purposes, misleading school administrators about the nature of the program, and proselytizing its views on
abortion and
homosexuality.
[184][185][186]
The
Southern Poverty Law Center designated the organization as an anti-gay
hate group in March 2012.
[187][188] In addition to "rhetoric about executing gays and lesbians," You Can Run But You Cannot Hide's president and CEO,
Bradlee Dean, has stated that homosexuals "on average, they molest 117 people before they’re found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?"
[189] In response to media coverage, Dean has written an editorial alleging that his statements were taken out of context,
[190] and produced a video
[191] which sought to rebut the media's reporting on his statements. On July 27, 2011, Dean initiated a defamation lawsuit against
MSNBC,
Rachel Maddow, journalist Andy Birkey, and the
Minnesota Independent, alleging that they intentionally misrepresented Dean's statements in order to advance a "
homosexual agenda", and seeking more than $50,000,000 in damages.
[192] Dean lost the case, and was ordered to pay MSNBC and Maddow's legal costs.
[192] The SPLC linked Dean, among other anti-gay hate group leaders, to
nativist movements that made an increase in numbers on their hate groups list.
[
List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-LGBT hate groups - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
