Say No to Government Funding of Anti-Gay Organizations

As yet another example of how the principally the Republican Party can no longer separate itself from Christianist nutcase causes and as a consequence should be considered first and foremost as a religious party, in Minnesosota GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad (and a misguided Dem. Sen. Amy Klobuchar) is working to land $500,000 in funding for Minnesota Teen Challenge (MNTC), an anti-gay faith-based drug treatment program. One of the requirements of the program is that participants swear off homosexuality. Now, all too typically, the religious organization is unhappy that it is finding itself and it's religious dogma under scrutiny and instead thinks it should have a blank check of taxpayer derived monies. Fortunately, that isn't going to happen as evidenced by this editorial piece in the Minnesota Independent. Here are some highlights:

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If you accept taxpayer money, you have to accept that you’re going to receive public scrutiny. That simple point seems to be eluding Minnesota Teen Challenge (MNTC), the faith-based drug treatment program which secured a federal earmark in early 2008 arranged by Rep. Jim Ramstad and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, for its “Know the Truth” program which aims to prevent drug use. Operating close to the border of church and state, the group’s members are unrealistic if they think their work is not going to get attention.

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The point of my article was not to suggest that MNTC was not successful or beneficial, as Scherber implies. Rather it was to point out the overtly religious nature of the organization and that the program has historically been controversial. In the interest of brevity, I left some examples out. For instance, MNTC’s stance on Halloween verges on the comical (”Halloween is a day set up totally for Satan … The more people who go out dressed as demons, ghosts, witches and goblins, the more glory Satan receives”). Scherber’s claim that the Holy Spirit told an MNTC bus driver to avoid the 35-W bridge on the day of its collapse in August 2007 is touching but, let us say, unverified.

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I think MNTC has been very effective for the clients it serves. However, I don’t think it’s appropriate for judges, prosecutors or public defenders to suggest the program as an alternative to jail. (Szalavitz, by the way, vehemently disagrees with MNTC’s claims about its success rate).

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One thing is clear. The pressure to keep a positive public image is important to MNTC at this time. As the group’s Web site acknowledges, MNTC invested money in Fidelis Foundation, an institution created by Christian philanthropist Tom Petters, who is now under investigation for organizing a Ponzi scheme and defrauding investors such as the Fidelis Foundation. MNTC lost a lot of money and Klobuchar’s proposed earmark will certainly help ease the burden a little. What else could explain sending form letters to every media outlet that runs an article critical of the organization?

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As I have argued repeatedly, a group's freedom of religion stops the moment it starts accepting public, taxpayer derived funds. If the organization cannot operate in a manner that does not trample on the religious freedom of others or which does not involve indoctrination of a set religious view, then the solution is simple: do not accept taxpayer derived funds. It's that simple.