Anti-LGBT Extremists Exposed: Press Kit for Rally to End Hate #ForThe49

 

APPENDIX:

American Renewal Project

David Lane, founder of the American Renewal Project responsible for this event, says gay rights will lead to the “utter destruction” of the U.S. and “car bombs in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Des Moines, Iowa.” He has called for Christians to “risk martyrdom” in order to be “the champions of Christ to save the nation from the pagan onslaught imposing homosexual marriage, homosexual scouts, 60 million babies done to death by abortion and red ink as far as the eye can see …”

Donald Trump and Senator Rubio will share the stage with the following anti-LGBT extremists:

  • Liberty Counsel Action’s Mat Staver called memorials for the Pulse massacre victims “homosexual love fests,” praised countries that outlaw homosexuality, warned that gay rights might lead to “forced homosexuality” and “another civil war,” and compared gay people to child abusers and terrorists. His wife Anita Staver, President of the Liberty Counsel, tweeted, "I'm taking a Glock .45 to the ladies room. It identifies as my bodyguard. #BoycottTarget @Target” in response to Target's policy in which transgender people are welcome "to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity," After backlash against this tweet, she responded, "I can't remember the last time I was in a public restroom without a gun."

  • Republican Party activist David Barton has said that God won’t allow a cure for HIV/AIDS to be discovered because the disease is “the penalty due” gay men.

  • Conservative Bill Federer has called adoption of equal rights for gay people in the United States as a “transition phase” toward the country being “taken over by Islam.”

 

American Family Association

Initially founded as the National Federation for Decency, the American Family Association (AFA) originally focused on what it considered indecent television programming and pornography. The AFA says it promotes "traditional moral values" in media. A large part of that work involves "combating the homosexual agenda" through various means, including publicizing companies that have pro-gay policies and organizing boycotts against them.

Categorized as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“Homosexuality is a poor and dangerous choice, and has been proven to lead to a litany of health hazards to not only the individuals but also society as a whole.” –AFA Action Alert, July 20, 2012

“[Islam] is, in fact, a religion of war, violence, intolerance, and physical persecution of non-Muslims.” –Tim Wildmon, March 6, 2012

"The homosexual movement is a progressive outgrowth of the sexual revolution of the past 40 years and will lead to the normalization of even more deviant behavior." – Don Wildmon, AFA website, 1999 (still posted as of 2011).

"Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews." – Bryan Fischer, AFA director of issue analysis for government and public policy, 2010

"If President Obama, Congressional Democrats, and homosexual activists get their wish, your son or daughter may be forced to share military showers and barracks with active and open homosexuals who may very well view them with sexual interest." – AFA press release, February 2010

"Homosexuality is not only harmful to homosexuals themselves, but also to children and to society."– Stephen Bennett, AFA writer, 2004

"As with smoking, homosexual behavior's ‘second hand' effects threaten public health….Thus, individuals who choose to engage in homosexual behavior threaten not only their own lives, but the lives of the general population."– Gary Glenn, president of Michigan chapter of AFA, 2001

"[T]he homosexual lifestyle is characterized by anonymous sexual encounters and celebration of sexual obsession and perversion unparalleled in any other social group."– Richard Howe, "Homosexuality in America," AFA publication, 1994

 

Liberty Counsel:

 

Liberty Counsel has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBT hate group.

  • Liberty Counsel supports the criminalization of homosexuality, both in the U.S. and abroad. They argued in favor of keeping Texas’ anti-sodomy laws on the books, and said that Malawi’s laws banning homosexuality were “in its own best interests.”

  • Liberty Counsel claims LGBT people are promiscuous and spread disease. “Statistically, sexual promiscuity is increased among those who engage in homosexual conduct, the result of which is disease found predominantly, if not exclusively, among homosexuals.” –Mat Staver, Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk, 2004

  • Liberty Counsel defended Scott Lively, the American pastor behind Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” law. Lively appeared on Ugandan television telling viewers that LGBT people were aggressively recruiting their children.

  • Staver equates being gay with being a pedophile: “Gay Boy Scouts Put Young Boys In Danger.” (RWW, 4/14/16)  Last year he stated that the Boy Scouts acceptance of gay scouts would turn the organization, “into a playground for pedophiles.” (RWW, 8/11/15)

  • “Kindergartners Will Be Forced Into Same-Sex Relationships Following Supreme Court Marriage Decision” (RWW, 7/1/15)

  • Liberty Counsel supports “conversion therapy” for children, claims LGBT kids are the result of molestation. “Meet The Right-Wing Pundit Who Just Defended "Ex-Gay" Therapy Before Congress”

  • He said that forcing a baker to bake cakes for a gay wedding was like “forcing Jesus to build a gallows for Hitler to use to hang Jews.” (RWW, 6/12/14)

  • However, he also claims "religious liberty" allows business owners to discriminate on the basis of religious- ie a photographer could refuse to work a Jewish wedding. (Daily Beast, 6/14/14)

 

Marco Rubio: Consistently On The Wrong Side Of Equality

 

Whether the issue is marriage equality or protecting workers from discrimination, Florida Senator Marco Rubio has consistently opposed giving LGBT Americans equal treatment.

Marriage: Rubio has consistently opposed marriage equality. He even thanked Speaker John Boehner for spending taxpayer dollars to protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Rubio said “you have to really have a ridiculous and absurd reading of the U.S. constitution to reach the conclusion that people have a right to marry someone of the same sex.” Rubio has also said that “the most important thing the next President will do is appoint Supreme Court justices” opposed to rulings like Obergefell, and has suggested Supreme Court appointments are the best way to reverse the historic ruling and roll back progress.

Discrimination: As a candidate, Rubio said he opposed making sexual orientation a protected class under civil rights laws. Despite claiming he opposed discrimination, Rubio voted against ENDA--which would have given LGBT Americans explicit protection from discrimination in the workplace--and he threatened to oppose his own immigration bill if it included provisions for same-sex couples. He supports the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which would allow government employees to discriminate against LGBT people under the guise of “religious liberty” and has vowed to appoint both an Attorney General and Supreme Court justices who would defend the right of people like Kim Davis to discriminate.

Executive Orders: Rubio has vowed to repeal “every single one” of President Obama’s executive orders. He has explicitly called for repealing those that protect LGBT people from discrimination, stating “on my first day in office, they’re gone.”

Conversion Therapy: Rubio has raised money in Florida for a key backer of conversion therapy.

Harmful Rhetoric: Rubio has recorded robocalls for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which named him a “real marriage” champion. He has helped raised money for the Florida Family Policy Council, whose leader said that being gay is an “artificial, social construct” that is “dangerous.”

Adoption: Rubio opposes allowing LGBT couples to adopt because children shouldn’t “be part of a social experiment.”

 

 

Rubio’s Notable Quotes on LGBT Equality:

Rubio Spoke Out Against Allowing Same-Sex Couples From Adopting, Saying Children “Shouldn’t Be Forced To Be Part Of A Social Experiment.” According to the Tallahassee Democrat: “The Department of Children and Families is under fire from children’s advocates for allowing foster children to spend the night in a conference room in Tallahassee, but legislative leaders said Wednesday that won’t change their minds about allowing gays to adopt. ‘Some of these kids are the most disadvantaged in the state,’ said House Majority Leader Marco Rubio of West Miami. ‘They shouldn't be forced to be part of a social experiment.’” [Tallahassee Democrat, 4/6/2006]

 

Rubio Said He Would Be Against His Own Immigration Bill If It Gave Same-Sex Couples Rights. According to CNN, Senator Rubio said when discussing his immigration bill, “If this bill has in it something that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill. I'm gone. I'm off it.” [CNN, Political Ticker, 6/13/2013]

 

Rubio Said “The Most Important This The Next President Will Do” Is Appoint Justices To The Supreme Court Who Will Disagree With Current Court’s Thinking On Obergefell. In an interview with CBN, Rubio said: “And beyond it, I think one of the biggest things the next President is going to do is appoint justices to the Supreme Court -- justices who understand that the Constitution is a living and breathing document. It is a document of limitation and it’s supposed to be interpreted and applied based on its original intent. And there is no way that you can read that Constitution and deduce from it that there is constitutional right to an abortion, or a constitutional right to marry someone of the same sex. And what you have is a Supreme Court that wanted to reach a certain policy outcome and so creatively manipulated the Constitution to discover a right that for over two centuries, some of the most brilliant minds and legal history didn’t find. So you need judges that understand how constitutionally flawed that those two kinds of rulings and others have been and that’s what the most important thing the next President will do is appoint Supreme court Justices that actually will apply the constitution irrespective of their personal feelings about the issue.” [CBN, The Brody File, 12/5/2015; VIDEO]

 

Rubio Said Marriage Equality “Is Current Law. I Don’t Believe Any Case Is Settled Law. Any Future Supreme Court Can Change It.” After declaring marriage equality “bad law,” Rubio said: “What is wrong is that the Supreme Court has found this hidden constitutional right that 200 years of jurisprudence had not discovered and basically overturn the will of voters in Florida where over 60 percent passed a constitutional amendment that defined marriage in the state constitution as the union of one man and one woman.” Chuck Todd pressed, “So are you accepting the idea of same sex marriage in perpetuity?” Rubio responded: “It is the current law. I don't believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it. And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed.” [NBC, Meet The Press, 12/13/2015; VIDEO]

 

Rubio Vowed To Undo “Every Single One” Of Obama’s Executive Orders… “On My First Day In Office, They’re Gone.” According to the Des Moines Register, “FORT DODGE, Ia. – Marco Rubio promised to undo ‘every single one’ of President Barack Obama’s executive orders, and on Tuesday said that Obama is unconstitutionally limiting and undermining the Second Amendment. ‘On my first day in office, they’re gone,’ the Florida senator said to crowd in Cedar Rapids.” [Des Moines Register, 1/6/2016]

 

Rubio Said He Didn’t Think Indiana RFRA Bill “Opened Up Discrimination” And That No One “Should Be Force[d] To Participate…In An Event That Your Faith Teaches Is Immoral And Wrong.” At an event in Waverly, IA, Rubio was asked about Indiana’s right to discriminate RFRA legislation. Rubio said: “Well, I don’t agree that [Pence’s Indiana RFRA bill] opened up discrimination. I don’t believe that. I don’t believe in discrimination, but I can tell you this, you’re never going to--we shouldn’t have a country where a pastor is threatened for losing their tax-exempt status because they refuse to conduct a same-sex ceremony. I don’t think we need to live in a country where a baker or a florist is threatened with a fine because they refuse to participate in a specific event. Not serve people. It is sinful to discriminate against people. But to be forced to participate in a ceremony, in an event that your faith teaches is immoral and wrong, no one should be forced to do that. You shouldn’t be forced to do that.” [Marco Rubio, Waverly, IA, 1/18/2016]

 

 

Donald Trump

Marriage: Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality. He said that he opposed it because he was a “traditional” guy, choosing to support domestic partnership benefits instead. Trump later reversed himself and said he also opposed civil unions. Despite a brief flirtation with “evolving” in 2013, Trump has consistently maintained his opposition to marriage equality, sometimes by citing polling and making an analogy to his dislike of long golf putters. After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said the court had made its decision and, although he disagreed with the ruling, he did not support a constitutional amendment that would allow states to re-ban marriage equality. He later said he would appoint Supreme Court judges who would be committed to overturning the ruling.

Discrimination: Trump has expressed support for the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) which would lead to more Kim Davis like discrimination.

 

Trump’s Notable Quotes on LGBT Equality:

Trump Said He Would “Strongly Consider” Appointing Judges To Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Decision. Asked on Fox News Sunday “WALLACE: But -- but just to button this up very quickly, sir, are you saying that if you become president, you might try to appoint justices to overrule the decision on same-sex marriage?” TRUMP: “I would strongly consider that, yes.” [Fox News Sunday, 1/31/2016; VIDEO]

 


 

Mike Pence:

Mike Pence’s top seven most homophobic moments

1. Supporting a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality

In 2006, then-Rep. Pence told 100 of his fellow Republicans that he supported a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex weddings. Or as Pence put it, supported “God’s plan” in the face of the destruction of civilization. “Societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family,” Pence complained.

2. Signed a bill to jail same-sex couples for applying for a marriage license

In an effort to make a bad idea even worse, as governor Pence signed a bill in 2013 that would jail same-sex couples in Indiana who applied for a marriage license. To prove that he wasn’t singling gay people out, Pence was also willing to jail marriage clerks who supplied a license or clergy who performed the wedding.

3. Wanted to divert funding from HIV prevention to conversion therapy

This one’s a two-fer: as a Congressional candidate in 2000, Pence wrapped two awful ideas into a single dreadful proposal. He wanted to ensure that “federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.” So where should the money go? “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” In other words, conversion therapy.

4. Opposed repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Longing for the good old days of complete invisibility for gay people, Pence predictably ignored the preponderance of evidence in support of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Instead, Pence put himself out there as a leading opponent of the policy change. “There’s no question to mainstream homosexuality within active dutymilitary would have an impact on unit cohesion,” Pence argued, dismissing the repeal as “some liberal domestic social agenda.”

5. Complained about the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill

In Pence’s ideal world, there would be zero protections. So it’s no surprise that he groused when the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes bill was signed into law in 2009. Pence didn’t cite legal objections. Instead, he complained that it advanced a “radical social agenda” and would have “a chilling effect on religious expression, from the pulpits, in our temples, in our mosques and in our churches.”

6. Served on the board of an antigay group

Pence has had a close relationship with the antigay leadership in his state. He served on the board of the Indiana Family Institute, an affiliate of Focus on the Family, which has been in the forefront of attacks on LGBT rights in the state, including a state constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. Thanks to its connections to Pence and other Republicans, IFI has been the recipient of funding for the state’s “Health Marriage” program. The former head of IFI has served as an aide to Pence both in Congress and the state house and as a campaign consultant.

7. Argued that passing ENDA would ban Bibles from the workplace

Of course, in Congress Pence voted against federal workplace protections. What was unique was his reasoning, which was that ENDA would discriminate against Christians. To comply with the law, Pence claimed, “the employer has to ban employees from having a Bible at the workplace for their break time, or displaying Bible verses.” Foreshadowing the Indiana religious liberty law, he went on: “We must stand for the right of every American to practice their faith according to the dictates of their conscience, whether it be in the public square or in the workplace.”