Antigay American Family Association Backs Gingrich

The American Family Association, a designated hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, has endorsed Newt Gingrich for president.

Via The Hill:

Don Wildmon, the founder and chairman of the American Family Association, announced his support for Gingrich on Tuesday. The group, which promotes conservative Christian values and has a nationwide radio network of more than 180 stations, is a coup for Gingrich, who has struggled to convince conservative voters to overlook a past that includes multiple divorces and admitted marital infidelity.

"Newt Gingrich recognizes the threat to our country posed by judges and lawyers imposing values upon the country inconsistent with our religious heritage, and has proposed constitutional steps to bring the courts back in balance under the Constitution," Wildmon said in a statement.

AFA's extreme public comments against LGBT people are legion: The group's Bryan Fischer recently said that gays pose a "heightened security risk" for the country and told the Values Voter Summit in October, "We must choose as a nation between homosexuality and liberty, because we cannot have both."

Of the AFA's announcement, Gingrich said, "Don Wildmon has been one of the most important leaders in the country in the battle to uphold our founding principles. I am humbled and honored to have his endorsement."

Gingrich is attempting to shore up support among Iowa social conservatives as the state's January 3 caucus nears. A Washington Post/ABC national survey released Tuesday showed Gingrich and rival Mitt Romney in a dead heat.