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07/22/2010

From biopic to myopic: 'Blind' bookings raise our perceptive eyebrows

by Jeremy Hooper

The Blind Side got lots of notice, and star Sandra Bullock earned plenty of accolades. And of course many of us praised Bullock for saying in her Oscar speech that "no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else." But for many LGBT people, there might be a bit of a blind spot in terms of the couple whose story framed the film and the press outlets they are using to promote their post-Hollywood life.

In the past few days, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy have given two interviews that have raised some sandy "bollocks!" in our mind. The first outlet: Citizenlink, the online publication of the decades-engaged, anti-LGBT culture warriors at Focus on the Family. This past weekend, the Tuohys were FOtF's "Friday Five" highlight story:

Friday Five: Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy (‘The Blind Side’) [Focus on the Family]

And then on to the perhaps even more hostile outreach: An interview that the Tuohys have granted the Concerned Women For America. The same Concerned Women who paint gay folk as bullets threatening to strike in the heart of the American military. The same Concerned Women who call gay people's unions "sham[s] that will devalue all marriages." The same Concerned Women who say that "Homosexual marriage is as wrong as giving a man a license to marry his mother or daughter or sister or a group." The same Concerned Women whose leaders have compared progressives' goals to those who created Hilter Youth. The same Concerned Women whose concerns are beyond disconcerting to any equality ally who's paying attention: That group is now playing host to the America's favorite biopic family of 2009:

Now, in their new book, In A Heartbeat, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy tell their own story about their backgrounds and their path into the world of Christian charity. They stress that the opportunity to give is always right in front of you and that by blessing others even in small ways, the giver's life is also enriched. CWA President Wendy Wright had the opportunity to speak with the Tuohys about their engaging and timely book.
In A Heartbeat [Concerned Women For America]

And the Tuohys get prime CWA booking, too: Right behind yet another attack on open service:

Screen Shot 2010-07-22 At 7.02.30 Pm-1

Kick out gays...in a heartbeat!

Look, clearly the Tuohys have every right to make whatever press booking they like. It's their book -- it's their marketing strategy. But we're not gonna lie: This absolutely skews the way we see The Blind Side. When we see a cable rerun, it's going to be hard to not stop and think of the groups who said that openly gay Supreme Court justices are "non-starters" because of nothing more than their sexual orientation, or who pass off unbelievable claims about Ellen Degeneres trying to foster a "gay agenda" via her "American Idol" judging. It'll be hard to not take pause because these groups are much more than mere conservative voices! These outlets are not just conservative press sheets. Both Concerned Women For America and Focus on the Family have decidedly declared a "culture war" on LGBT people's lives and loves. To that reality, we can't afford to be, well -- blind.

***

**NOTE: We've contact the Tuohys press representative for comment.

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