The Southern Poverty Law Center just added these 11 organizations to its growing inventory of antigay "hate groups." We outline just a few of the things they did to make the list.
March 13 2012 4:00 AM EST
April 17 2018 4:16 AM EST
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The Southern Poverty Law Center just added these 11 organizations to its growing inventory of antigay "hate groups." We outline just a few of the things they did to make the list.
Mission: America | Columbus, Ohio
Linda Harvey hosts the group's radio show and has said gays "hate Jesus Christ," and that employers shouldn't hire LGBT people because they supposedly have too high a risk for diseases, domestic violence and premature death. Harvey even objected to PSAs being displayed outside the Super Bowl that tried to discourage violence against gay people.
Parents Action League, Champlin | Minnesota
In the Anoka-Hennepin school district where a string of suicides followed antigay bullying, Barn Anderson of the Parents Action League called for a revision of school curriculum to include "ex-homosexual therapy." The group has also requested teaching about "GRID," gay-related immune deficiency, an archaic term that was given to AIDS but hasn't been used by the medical establishment since 1984.
Jewish Political Action Committee | Brooklyn, New York
This group injected itself into the marriage equality debate in New York. One protest included two life-size stuffed canines and a warning that marriage equality would lead to unions between men and dogs. "Mazel tov!" it said ruefully, while a passerby in favor of marriage equality declared the message an insult to her Maltese.
Repent of Burn in Hell Ministry | Loxley, Alabama
Glynis Bethel and husband Orlando Bethel travel the country with their three teenage daughters in their "Hell Van," which is emblazoned with messages about "whore-mongers" and the like. They've helped out the Westboro Baptist Church on protests and have a thing for homemade T-shirts.
Public Advocate of the United States | Falls Church, Virginia
The Weekly Standard got itself in trouble when it said an inappropriate ad from the Public Advocate of the United States had slipped through its approval process and was sent to its mailing list. The ad warned of a gay conspiracy to "create a new America." It further claimed that "radical homosexuals" such as Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado had infiltrated the government with a plan to "indoctrinate an entire generation of American children with pro-homosexual propaganda and eliminate traditional values from American society."
Save California | Sacramento, Calif.
Their website promotes the "NOT Born This Way" campaign for getting the supposed facts into schools. It opposed California's Fair Education Act, which requires inclusion of LBGT history in school lessons. "The clock is ticking for dads and moms to rescue their children from unnatural and unhealthy homosexual-bisexual-cross-dressing role models," warned its president, Randy Thomasson, before the law went into effect.
True Light Pentecost Church | Spartanburg, South Carolina
Bishop Prophet H. Walker got the most attention for holding a rally that called for the resignation of Bishop Eddie Long, who had been accused of coercing young men to have sex with him. But Walker's church has also said "the Sodomite/Lesbian movement" is a sign of the end times.
Sons of Thundr | Luthersville, Georgia
The Faith Baptist Church and its pastor go by the name "Sons of Thundr." Project Q Atlantapoints out a page on the Sons of Thundr website called "Sodomites can be Saved" where it claims "All homos are: sick, brain damaged, perverts!"
Tom Brown Ministries | El Paso, Texas
Pastor Tom Brown launched a campaign to take away health benefits from the spouses of LGBT city employees, warning that local leaders wanted "to reward fornicators." Those leaders told the New York Times that Brown and his followers "were trying to get us to legalize discrimination against gay people."
Windsor Hills Baptist Church | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
While campaigning against an employment nondiscrimination policy in Oklahoma City, pastor Tom Vineyard claimed half of all murders are committed by LGBT people, and he threatened the new ordinance would "bring down God's judgment on [the] city." Here is Vineyard pictured with his family in a portrait on the church's website.
United Families International | Gilbert, Arizona
This group says it conducts research and published "A Guide to Family Issues: Sexual Orientation," which one writer described as "a hit-piece designed to make the case for recriminalizing homosexuality." The group's president Beverly Rice has said marriage equality will lead to regulation of what can be said from church pulpits.
You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide | Annandale, Minnesota
Minnesota lawmakers thought it would be a good idea to invite antigay preacher Bradlee Dean to kick off a session of the House because its marriage ban was set to be considered. Dean wound up getting a lot of attention for hijacking the opening prayer by questioning President Obama's faith. State lawmakers quickly apologized and repudiated Dean. But he did the same sort of thing recently at a school pep rally in Iowa, turning it into a platform for his antigay message, which the surprised superintendent later found out about and apologized.
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