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08/15/2012
Brian Brown itching to score points with FRC shooting
National Organization For Marriage president Brian Brown attempts to politicize before knowing any facts:
"Today's attack is the clearest sign we've seen that labeling pro-marriage groups as 'hateful' must end," said Brian Brown, President of NOM. "The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Family Research Council a 'hate group' for its pro-marriage views, and less than a day ago the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement calling FRC a 'hate group'—they even specified that FRC hosts events in Washington, DC, where today's attack took place."
"NOM has always condemned all violence and vilification connected to our ongoing national debate about the meaning and definition of marriage," Brown stated. "For too long national gay rights groups have intentionally marginalized and ostracized pro-marriage groups and individuals by labeling them as 'hateful' and 'bigoted' -- such harmful and dangerous labels deserve no place in our civil society and NOM renews its call today for gay rights groups and the Southern Poverty Law Center to withdraw such incendiary rhetoric from a debate that involves millions of good Americans," added Brown.
Brown concluded: "Violence is never the answer, and on that we all must agree, or risk the consequences." [NOM]
First off—this is the kind of thing that Brian positions as merely a "pro-marriage" view:
"Who do you think is ultimately behind the efforts to advance the radical homosexual agenda, indoctrinate our children, and ruin our military, now? Who's behind the efforts to get God out of government, Christ out of culture, and faith out of public life? Who's behind it? Well, I think we've got a pretty clear answer. [laughter] The Devil is behind it! So, the real enemy…it's not the poor, deluded souls who are advancing these ungodly agendas—they're simply pawns in the hands of their malevolent master. They need to be set free by the grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ—amen?…As you think about this battle in which we're engaged, you need to think about who the real enemy is that we're fighting against here, and that is, the fact is, we're up against the organized, mobilized, demonized forces of hell itself. And really, to the victor goes the prize of the America our children will inherit, so this is a fight we dare not lose. Amen?""Again, the evil day is not coming to America—the evil day is here….We are engaged in a great spiritual war with the forces of evil directed by the prince of darkness himself."
(from a strategy speech delivered at a 2012 Concerned Women For America conference)
This, the aggressive demonization of gays, is why FRC has a reputation, not because the organization opposes equal marriage as policy! Pushing back against this kind of rhetoric is fair game. That is called debate. That is not the same thing as violence, which EVERY SINGLE GROUP THAT CHALLENGES FRC HAS STRONGLY CONDEMNED (self included)!
But that aside—Brian has no facts here. He's just spouting off, even as responsible parties from his own "side" have called for people to way before assigning motives. Truly disgusting.
**So much for this call from NOM's own Thomas Peters:
The boss seems to have had other ideas.
**Oh, and by the way—it's not just people like me who have voiced concerns about Tony Perkins and FRC's way of engaging.