Liberals Refuse to Drop ‘Hate Group’ Brand for Family Research Council

In the aftermath of the pro-gay attack on the Family Research Council, pro-LGBT organizations and personalities condemned the violence, but stood staunchly in defense of the motives.

According to the Aug. 16, Washington Post, “LGBT groups stand in solidarity with the Family Research Council.” That’s far from the truth.

While liberal groups have opposed the violence, several still openly refer to Family Research Council as a “hate group.” The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was one of 25 LGBT groups to sign a statement that they “utterly reject and condemn such violence.”

However, as recently as Aug. 2, GLAAD referred to “outrage over Chick-fil-A’s multi-million dollar contributions to anti-LGBT hate groups.” The organization urged supporters to sign a petition encouraging Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy to meet with a gay family for dinner. That petition specifically cited the Family Research Council as “a hate group.”

GLAAD wasn’t alone.  On Aug. 14, the Human Rights Campaign complained about  “Paul Ryan Speaking at Hate Group’s Annual Conference. ” That headline referred to “the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit.”

In both cases, those “hate” references are still on the groups’ websites.

Gay rights organization Truth Wins Out condemned the shooting, and then published an article smearing the FRC as a “hate group.”

TWO’s Executive Director, Wayne Beson, wrote, “That is why — yesterday, today, and every day — we stand squarely against violence in all its forms, because violence is never a way to resolve political differences or settle disputes.”

“But yesterday’s senseless act of violence does not exonerate the Family Research Council and other anti-gay hate groups from the decades they’ve spent slandering, demonizing, and actively lying about the LGBT community,” added John Becker, TWO’s Director of Communications. “The Southern Poverty Law Center – a venerable civil rights organization that monitors and documents extremism across the country – rightfully labeled the Family Research Council an anti-gay hate group because of its extensive history of spreading malicious, hateful falsehoods about gay people. FRC is not a hate group because of its public policy views, as Mr. Perkins has alleged. It is a hate group because it earned that designation.”

In addition to groups, other pro-LGBT supporters added their own “hate” comments. Dan Savage who regularly spews hateful rhetoric about Perkins gleefully tweeted a link to the Southern Poverty Law Center, encouraging his followers to “remember why the FRC is called a hate group.”

The Daily Beast was quick to bash conservatives for “unleashing vengeance” on Twitter, but made no comment about this tweet by gay rights activist and journalist Sally Kohn. Kohn tweeted, “Yes, Family Research Council is a hate group — and calling them such condemns climate of violence FRC has encouraged.”