Thursday, April 15, 2010

Focus On The Family Returns To Its Homophobia

Under the poisonous leadership of Daddy Dobson, Focus on the Family has for years been a leader in the dissemination of anti-gay hate and lies about sexual orientation being a "choice." Yeah, as if breathing is a choice. But then FOTF has never shown much concern for the truth. Very briefly, FOTF seemed to have figured out that rampant homophobia does not play well with the coming generations (my own children and many of their friends have either become non-church goers or seek out gay friendly religious organizations) and did a surprising turn when a spokesman said that sexual orientation was not determinative of whether or not someone could be worthy of a judge ship or even a position on the Supreme Court. Now, FOTF is returning to its gay hating roots and has made clear that any more moderate positions on gays was a "mistake." Think Progress looks at this about face and the latest spewing of anti-gay propaganda by FOTF:
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Last year, after Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement, speculation mounted about whether President Obama could potentially appoint the first openly gay Justice. Conservatives were unsure how to respond to this possibility. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, initially considered the possibility, but ultimately agreed that an openly gay nominee would be “a big concern.” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) also said such an appointment “would be a bridge too far right now.” Focus on the Family surprised many by suggesting that it could, in fact, support a gay Justice. “The issue is not their sexual orientation. It’s whether they are a good judge or not,” spokesperson Bruce Hausknecht told The Plum Line in May of 2009.
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With Justice John Paul Stevens now retiring, the question has been raised again. This time, however, Focus on the Family is not taking any chances. The group has issued a statement correcting “this mistake”:

It has been reported that we would not oppose any U.S. Supreme Court nominee over their ’sexual orientation.’ Our Judicial Analyst [Bruce Hausknecht] made a statement to this effect in an interview with The Plum Line. To be honest, this is one of those conversations we’d like to ‘do over.’ We can assure you that we recognize that homosexual behavior is a sin and does not reflect God’s created intent and desire for humanity. Further, we at Focus do affirm that character and moral rectitude should be key considerations in appointing members of the judiciary, especially in the case of the highest court in the land. Sexual behavior–be it heterosexual or homosexual–certainly lies at the heart of personal morality.
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Focus on the Family may have come back to its usual homophobic positions, but will conservative Republicans follow? On Monday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he would “have to think about” supporting an openly gay Justice. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with their job, it’s not a particular issue,” he said. With Family’s reversal, how long will it take for Cornyn or any other Republican to remember that “homosexual behavior is a sin and does not reflect God’s created intent” and reverse himself ?
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I am sure readers will be comforted to know that in the eyes of FOFT all of us gays lack character and moral rectitude. In my view, it's the folks at FOTF who are lacking in integrity, veracity and morality - and true Christian behavior.

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