The [government-funded] Southern Poverty Law Center has released a new list of "hate groups" that includes many highly regarded, mainstream Christian organizations because of their opposition to homosexuality.
Meanwhile, the FBI reports a 15% drop in "hate crimes;" in 2009 there were less than three so-called "sexual orientation hate crimes" per 1,000,000 American citizens
UPDATE 12/24/10: Conservative groups and lawmakers fire back at SPLC
UPDATE 12/20/10 FOX 32 TV Chicago "hit piece" on Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth:
-- From "'Hate' designation irks gay marriage opponents" by Krissah Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer 11/25/10
The Southern Poverty Law Center this week labeled as "hate groups" several political and religious organizations that campaign against same-sex marriage and, the center says, engage in "repeated, groundless name-calling" against gays and lesbians.
Included on the list released by the civil rights organization is the Family Research Council, a prominent and politically influential group of social conservatives. The report by the law center, which has spent four decades tracking extremist groups and hate speech, accuses the council and a dozen other groups of putting out "demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities."
"The left's smear campaign of conservatives is . . . being driven by the clear evidence that the American public is losing patience with their radical policy agenda as seen in the recent election and in the fact that every state . . . that has had the opportunity to defend the natural definition of marriage has done so," [Family Research Council President Tony] Perkins said in a statement.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Family Research Council labeled a 'hate group'" by Sean Lengell, The Washington Times 11/24/10
Mr. Perkins added that the timing of the report was "curious" due to current debate in Congress on a proposal to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, which he called the "crown jewel of the homosexual radical movement."
SPLC was founded in 1971 as a law firm to handle anti-discrimination cases and won notice for fighting against the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups. But conservatives say the group has become nothing more than a liberal money-raising machine, and even some liberals have accused it of financial mismanagement and misleading fundraising practices.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Groups that helped oust Iowa judges earn ‘hate group’ designation" by Lynda Waddington, The Iowa Independent 11/23/10
Several of the out-of-state organizations that played a key role in advocating for the November ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices have been labeled as “hate groups” by a national civil rights watchdog.
The Family Research Council, based in Washington, D.C., and the Family Research Institute, based in Colorado, are also organizations that have sought to influence the views of Iowans, especially in the political realm. It was the Family Research Council, a national affiliate of the Iowa Family Policy Center, that sponsored an Iowa bus tour featuring national and state conservative leaders to urge residents to oust the three Iowa Supreme Court justices that appeared on the November ballot.
Also included on the [SPLC] 2011 “hate group” listing are Abiding Truth Ministries (Massachusetts), Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, American Vision, Chalcedon Foundation (California), Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (California), Dove World Outreach Center (Florida), Faithful Word Baptist Church (Arizona), Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (Illinois), Illinois Family Institute (Illinois), MassResistance (Massachusetts), and Traditional Values Coalition (California).
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Southern Poverty Law Center Defames Mainstream Pro-Family Groups as 'Hate Groups'" by Gary Cass, posted at Christian Newswire 11/24/10
"The Southern Poverty Law Center has utterly discredited themselves by this provocative attack on organizations that promote traditional family values," said Rev. Gary L. Cass, of DefendChristians.Org, a ministry of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission.
"Labeling mainstream conservative organizations as 'Hate groups' is defamatory and is simply an intimidation tactic. We call on Congress to cut off their funding."
"Defend Christians.Org will work to form a coalition of organizations to lobby Congress to withhold funds from SPLC. We will also demand Congress restrict Federal law enforcement from relying on the biased SPLC reports, like the discredited 'Report on Right-Wing Extremism' SPLC wrote for the Department of Homeland Security," said Cass.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "FBI: Hate crime incidents, victim numbers down" by The Associated Press 11/22/10
The number of hate crime incidents and victims declined in 2009 compared with the previous year, the FBI reported Monday.
Nearly half of the crime incidents in 2009 were motivated by racial bias, nearly 20 percent by religious bias and over 18 percent by sexual orientation bias.
There were 6,604 hate crime incidents reported last year, down from 7,783 in 2008. There were 8,336 reported victims, down from 9,691 in 2008. The victim totals include not only individuals but also businesses, religious buildings and other institutions.
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