As if being the site of the headquarters of the Mormon Church doesn't tarnish Salt Lake City in the eyes of many Americans, now a gathering of anti-gay extremists are planning a witches coven "conference" in that city next year. The conference is being organized by the disingenuously named World Congress of Families, a noted extreme anti-gay organization that has worked to spread homophobia and religious based hatred around the globe, including Vladimir Putin's Russia, which has garnered a hate group designation from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the same group that monitors the KKK and Neo-Nazi groups. The New Civil Rights Movement looks at the planned toxic gathering which, if the Salt Lake City city fathers were smart, should be blocked or sabotaged. Here are story excerpts:
The World Congress of Families is an association of far-right individuals and organizations who advocate against any form of family or way of living that does not fit their narrow definition. Its primary target are LGBTQ individuals and their families. Founded in 1997, it has hosted major conferences all over the world where it attempts to "educate" local citizens and politicians about its agenda and advocate for anti-gay legislation. It is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The next conference will take place in October, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The planned conference and the recent turn of events regarding the emergence of marriage equality in the State of Utah should not be considered a coincidence. The organization also has a long history of targeting well publicized battlegrounds in their fight against gay rights. Over the last several years the organization has sent its members to promote and defend anti-gay legislation throughout the world. In particular, they've focused on Russia, whose current President Vladimir Putin has been described as a Christian hero by allies of WFC.
Janice Shaw Crouse of Concerned Women for America and a board member at WCF has in the past defended Putin's persecution of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot because they insulted the Christian religion. National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown was sent to Russia in order to help encourage the creation of anti-gay legislation. WFC had also planned a conference in Moscow to have taken place this September. However, the group was forced to cancel it's plans as a result of the potential bad publicity they might receive as a result of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
A large portion of the conference's agenda was specifically geared toward anti-gay advocacy. There are also many members of the Utah-based Mormon Church who are dedicated followers of the World Congress of Families.
The theme for the upcoming conference, 'religious liberty' is one that is all ready the new rallying cry for conservative Christians over the last few months. Given the recent Hobby Lobby victory at the Supreme Court, one can only imagine how organizations like WCF might try to take advantage of it. If marriage equality is affirmed by the Supreme Court in Utah and the rest of the country, it's possible that WCF and other groups will try to temper the advancement of gay equality by using 'religious liberty' as a tool to justify mass discrimination against the LGBTQ community in employment and housing.
This isn't the first time Utah has served as a focal point in the religious right's agenda. Aside, from being the source of money and support for Proposition 8 in 2007 and 2008, it has also served as a stage for major right-wing conferences in the past.
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