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Thursday, Nov 25, 2010 1:15 AM UTC

Anti-gay group: We aren’t hateful!

The Family Research Council is angry that its homophobic rhetoric has gotten it labeled a "hate group"

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Topics: Gay Marriage, Broadsheet, Love and Sex,

Oh, this is just rich: The Family Research Council (FRC) is upset that it’s been categorized as a “hate group” in The Southern Poverty Law Center’s report this week on rabidly anti-gay organizations. President Tony Perkins says the list is part of “the left’s smear campaign of conservatives,” the Washington Post reports, but let’s take a look at some of the facts, shall we?

FRC senior research fellows Tim Dailey and Peter Sprigg “have pushed false accusations linking gay men to pedophilia,” reports the SPLC. In a conversation about immigration rights for gay couples, Sprigg told Chris Matthews, “I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them.” He later apologized for that statement, but went on to argue that there should be “criminal sanctions” against “homosexual behavior.” Sprigg also “claimed that allowing gay people to serve openly in the military would lead to an increase in gay-on-straight sexual assaults,” reports SPLC. On top of all these noxious comments, the group has taken a lead in the fight against marriage equality.

Hmm, sure looks like hate and acts like hate. As the saying goes, don’t blame the mirror if the reflection is ugly.

Tracy Clark-Flory

Tracy Clark-Flory is a staff writer at Salon. Follow @tracyclarkflory on Twitter and Facebook. More Tracy Clark-Flory.

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