|
|
|
|
A Closer Look at Anti-Gay Groups Active in Massachusetts Exposing Tactics of Zealots & Fanatics Who Demonize Gays Their Coalition for Marriage is Working to Prevent Marriages National Gay and Lesbian Task Force |
|
All the coalition members oppose sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws, safe schools initiatives aimed at stopping harassment and violence against students perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, and the inclusion of crimes motivated by anti-gay bias in hate crimes laws. The four largest coalition members lobbied against victim compensation benefits for the surviving partners of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Coalition members frequently talk about the power and wealth of the gay lobby. In fact, a review of income statements shows that the annual income of the "Coalition for Marriage" exceeds that of organizations advocating for equal marriage rights in Massachusetts by a margin of six to one ($168 million to $25 million). The leading and most wealthy organizations in the "coalition for marriage" are revealed to be not conservative but reactionary. They espouse views rejected by the vast majority of the people of Massachusetts. For example, the coalition is led by the Massachusetts Family Institute, whose President is Ronald Crews. As a Georgia state legislator, Crews opposed abortion rights, sought to create "covenant marriages," which are much harder to leave, and lobbied the Georgia Department of Education to teach creationism in the classroom. Sean Cahill, the Task Force Policy Institute Director, author of the report and a Massachusetts native is in Boston distributing the report to legislators and media. "We are urging media and legislators to take a much closer look at these organizations opposing marriage equality for thousands of loving, committed gay and lesbian couples living in this state," Cahill said. "This report proves that these groups who hold so much sway with the supposed 'compassionate conservative' Bush administration are neither compassionate nor conservative." The report profiles include information on The Massachusetts Family Institute, The Bay State Republican Council, Massachusetts Catholic Conference, Concerned Women for America and many others. Sampling of the Positions of Coalition for Marriage Members The Massachusetts Family Institute Has called for changes in Massachusetts' divorce laws to require "counseling" before divorce is granted. Links on its Web site to an excerpt from the book The Pink Swastika suggesting that Nazism is intrinsically linked to homosexuality. Focus on the Family Claims that "same-sex parenting situations make it impossible for a child to live with both biological parents, thus increasing their risk of abuse." Opposed efforts by New York's Republican governor and mayor to include gay partners in services and benefits for 9/11 victims as advancing the "gay agenda." The Family Research Council (FRC) Opposes no-fault divorce and supports requiring mutual consent of both spouses before divorce is granted. As a Louisiana legislator, FRC head Tony Perkins drafted the first "covenant marriage" law in the U.S., which "only allowed for divorce in what they saw as the biblically licit cases of adultery and abandonment." Concerned Women for America Called newly married gay Canadian couples seeking to enter the U.S. "a new threat to US border security," describing one couple that tried to enter as a married couple "the latest pair of 'domestic terrorists.'" Said surviving same-sex partners of those killed on 9/11 were "trying to hijack the moral capital of marriage." Traditional Values Coalition TVC chair Lou Sheldon said, in reference to homosexuality, "we believe in intolerance to those things that are evil; and we believe that we should discriminate against those behaviors which are dangerous to individuals and to society." In 1978 Rev. Sheldon sought to ban gay people from teaching in California and in the 1980s supported two California referenda seeking the internment of people with AIDS. The Bay State Republican Council Opposes "efforts to include sexual orientation as a category for preferential treatment status under civil rights statutes" and "granting homosexuals special privileges, including marriage, domestic partnership benefits, and child custody or adoption." Massachusetts Catholic Conference Archbishop Sean O'Malley warned that legalizing gay marriage "would worsen the breakdown of the American family and exacerbate the problems of poverty, child abuse, and human suffering already wrought by 'widespread cohabitation and galloping divorce rates.'" Earlier in 2003 the Vatican issued a statement accusing gay and lesbian parents of "doing violence" to their children by virtue of being gay. |
Tony Perkins, the Executive Director of the Family Research Council
pushes legislation to prevent same-sex marriages. His organization also
opposes divorces unless for 'biblical' reasons such as adultery.