Tag Archives: Group: Family Research Council (FRC)

Ryan Anderson at Christian Post: To fill this void, we are working with our allies at the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and the National Organization for Marriage to produce an easy to read pamphlet to explain why marriage matters in everyday language. Download a free e-book version today at TheMarriageFacts.com.

LifeSiteNews: A renowned psychologist who was a former president of the American Psychological Association (APA) has submitted an affidavit saying that he personally treated over 2,000 homosexuals for various conditions, while his staff counseled thousands more, and he knows of “hundreds” who successfully changed their orientation.

Heritage Foundation: A new Pew opinion poll shows that a majority of Americans believe the redefinition of marriage is “inevitable.” We’ve heard “inevitable” language before, particularly from statists of all stripes. History is filled with supposedly “inevitable” causes that turned out not to be so. Nothing in life is inevitable except death and taxes—and at The Heritage Foundation we’re doing what we can about taxes. So, too, on marriage . . .

One News Now: Once Defending Freedom anticipates future legal challenges from homosexual activists and their supporters. Cortman, David (ADF)”Those promoting the agenda to change what the Boy Scouts have always been won’t rest until there is complete acceptance of any sexual preference for both leaders and members,” says ADF senior counsel David Cortman. “With its decision [on Thursday], BSA has rejected its freedom to promote and practice the values that have served to shape our nation’s boys into leaders for the last century.”

FRC (video embedded): Join FRC as we promote Live Action’s new video series, exposing America’s late-term abortion industry. Speakers include: – Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council – Lila Rose, President, Live Action – Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) – Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.)

FRC Washington Update: After the ACLU filed a second lawsuit, Barronelle turned to our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Together, they’re countersuing Washington for violating her Christian beliefs. “Marriage has religious significance,” ADF argues, “apart from any civil significance. [Stutzman] believed that [servicing a gay marriage] would compel her to express a message with her creativity that violates God’s commands.”

Baptist Press at Townhall: Joining Winter in signing the letter are Land, Morality in Media President Patrick A. Trueman, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Alliance Defending Freedom President Alan Sears and Focus on the Family Senior Vice President Tom Minnery, among others. The letter urges Congress to make sure the FCC takes “seriously its duty to enforce federal law 18 U. S. C. 1464, limiting indecency and profanity on the publicly owned airwaves to times of day when children are much less likely to be in the audience.

Virtue Online: OL president David W. Virtue D.D. recently interviewed retired US Air Force Fighter Pilot and ACNA Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Derek Jones, about the newest diocese soon to be on the Anglican scene, the Diocese of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, a ministry of the Anglican Church in North America, and its astonishing growth . . . So, I would suggest to anyone who is inclined to give financial gifts above the tithe to Christian organizations fighting for Religious Liberty, Marriage, etc., you would be better served in giving to venerable and notable groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, Traditional Values Coalition, Beckett Fund and the Family Research Counsel to name a few. Of course, I believe the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is the current leader among all organizations in the fight for Religious Liberty in the military and could use support. I have close, and often weekly, interaction with various leaders of these groups. (

More information here.

FRC‘: In a chilling new Federal Bureau of Investigation interrogation video just released, Floyd Lee Corkins, who stormed the Family Research Council’s (FRC) headquarters on August 15, 2012 and started firing, says that he picked his target from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) website.

Red State Blog: The U.S. Military has blocked access to the Southern Baptist Convention’s website on an unknown number of military bases because it contains “hostile content” — just weeks after an Army briefing labeled Evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics as examples of religious extremism, Fox News has learned.

Washington Post: It’s often said you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But in announcing a proposal to lift the ban on gay scouts but not gay leaders, the Boy Scouts have managed to please no one at all.

AP: Prosecutors say a Virginia man who planned a mass killing at the Washington headquarters of a conservative Christian lobbying group should spend 45 years in prison for his plot.

NC Register: Since being sued for declining to use her flower-arranging talents to adorn a same-sex “wedding,” Barronelle Stutzman has seen her flower-shop business blossom.

Brett Harvey and Joel Oster at the Federalist Society: Tension between the Supreme Court’s holding in Marsh and the dictum in Allegheny has created confusion in the lower courts regarding the proper standard(s) to use when evaluating legislative prayer practices. Central to the confusion is the government’s role in regulating the content of legislative prayers. For courts that apply the endorsement test to the context surrounding a legislative prayer practice, distinguishing between private expression and government expression is critical to the viability of the practice. For courts that apply a historical analysis, as in Marsh, the content of the prayer does not define the analysis absent evidence of government exploitation, irrespective of its classification as government or private expression. The First Amendment is a shield against a government-imposed civil orthodoxy. Legislative prayer is a historic tradition practiced across the country at every level of government. The circuits are irreconcilably conflicted about the application of fundamental, constitutional principles. The current disputes provide the Supreme Court with an opportunity to resolve these conflicts and provide clarity to the law.

Peter Sprigg at LifeSiteNews: Admittedly, society’s tangible interest in marriages that do not produce children is less than its interest in marriages that result in the reproduction of the species. However, we still recognize childless marriages because it would be an invasion of a heterosexual couple’s privacy to require that they prove their intent or ability to bear children.

Todd Starnes at Fox News: At least a dozen members of Congress have signed a letter demanding the Secretary of the Army rescind and apologize for a briefing that labeled Evangelical Christians and Catholics as religious extremist groups, Fox News has learned.

American Independent via Huffington Post: In addition to NOM, the brochure’s listed sponsors included the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and the Heritage Foundation, all social conservative groups based in Washington, D.C. The first “consequence[] of redefining marriage” listed in the brochure is that, “Redefining marriage would hurt children. Decades of social science – including very recent and robust studies – show that children do better when raised by a married mom and dad.” The endnotes cited Regnerus’ New Family Structures Study findings to support this claim.

Daily Caller: CWA President and CEO Penny Nance explained in the email, which was sent to supporters on Tuesday, how the conservative women’s organization has been “maligned by the radical Left” for opposing same-sex marriage, labeled a hate group and identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as one of “a dozen major groups [that] help drive the Religious Right’s anti-gay crusade.”

Chuck Norris at Townhall: Last week, I gave 12 examples of how religious liberty has been assaulted in just the past two years in the U.S. Here are about two dozen more instances just for good measure, as reported by the Family Research Council, the office of Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., and various media outlets.

LifeSiteNews: “I’m a Republican,” he said in rising cadences. “Let me say to my party: If you bail out on this issue, I will leave the party, and I will take as many people with me as I possibly can!” His speech seemed to take aim at the assessment of Republican strategist Karl Rove, who said on Sunday that he could see the next Republican presidenital candidate supporting gay “marriage.

FACE the NATION (includes video): Austin Nimocks, part of the legal team defending California’s Proposition 8, said during a gay marriage panel earlier in the program that the debate is “too young” to be stifled by a nationwide decision. “That’s exactly what we don’t need when we see Americans of all walks of life, all different faiths and backgrounds, and creeds, engaging in the marriage debate,” Nimocks said. “President Obama said there are people of good will on both sides of the debate, and the last thing we need is to shut down the debate, have the Supreme Court redefine marriage for everybody, instead of letting us work through this question through our democratic institutions. That’s why we have them. “The Supreme Court is not a legislature,” Nimocks continued. “We have ballot boxes for a reason and we’re asking the Supreme Court not to interject itself in this question.”

CBS: “The big question going before the Supreme Court is whether or not the Supreme Court should impose a 50-state solution upon this entire country regarding the debate surrounding marriage,” Austin Nimocks with the Alliance Defending Freedom told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “It’s about fundamentally altering society,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told CBS’ “Face the
Nation.”

Christian Post: CBS’ “Face the Nation” came the closest to providing a balanced view. The discussion had three people in favor of same-sex marriage, NFL football player Brendon Ayanbadejo, Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson and conservative columnist David Frum, and two people opposed to same-sex marriage, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Alliance Defending Freedom’s Austin Nimocks. Host Bob Schieffer, though, did a better job than his colleagues at providing both sides about equal time. Also unlike the hosts on the other networks, Schieffer provided Nimocks and Perkins adequate time to present their arguments without interruption.

WFAA.com: CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry; Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council; Austin Nimocks, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo, an advocate of same-sex marriage.

Catholic Register: As the Supreme Court prepares to consider the issue, some prominent Republicans publicly support a redefinition to include same-sex unions.

CNSNews: As for Senator Portman, his announcement hasn’t exactly been popular with either Ohio party, so far. Reports suggest that the calls flooding into his office are 60 percent opposed to the Senator’s new position.

LifeSiteNews: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has decided that the way for his party to win over voters is to parrot the Left’s policies,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. By courting young voters, he said, “Priebus would be betting the future of the GOP on a bloc who barely votes, while alienating the millions of social conservatives who do.”

CBS: Blankfein was the first leader in corporate America to take a public stand supporting same-sex marriage in a commercial recorded early last year for the Human Rights Campaign. He calls it an important issue because he sees how it relates to recruiting and retaining people at the firm.

Christian Post: Many conservative groups such as Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, meanwhile, have urged the high court to uphold traditional marriage

Faith and Liberty Talkshow at Ohio Christian U. (2/28): Tim Throckmorton, Pastor of Crossroads Church, author of a number of books, board member of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, and political activist speaks with Dave Garrison, host of The Faith & Liberty Talk Show, and former U.S. Congressional candidate, about the issues pastors face when teaching biblical principles related to political matters. | Alliance Defending Freedom and Pulpit Freedom Sunday are mentioned in the broadcast.

Baptist Press: Kellie Fiedorek, litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said this is a time of “great peril” for religious adherents. In particular, business owners with religious convictions about business, marriage and family are the targets of attacks for refusing to violate their beliefs, she said. “You couldn’t expect an African-American photographer to take a picture of a family who is in the KKK, who is going to wear long white robes and pointy hats,” Fiedorek said. “Similarly, you couldn’t expect a Jewish … baker to bake a cake with swastikas on it and have it say, ‘Happy Birthday to Hitler.’”

Ken Connor at Townhall: The right of individuals to freely associate – in public and behind closed doors – has been an issue that has sparked controversy in all quarters. The question remains as to what level of acceptance society must accord homosexual behavior – conduct that is fraught with social, religious, moral, and medical implications.

USA Today: This would be a grave mistake. Every American who believes in freedom of thought and religious liberty should be alarmed by the attacks upon the Boy Scouts, who have had core convictions about morality for 100 years. Every Scout takes an oath to keep himself “morally straight.”

FRC: Meanwhile, Americans (only 42% of whom support this change) want to know: Will a new policy help produce young men with greater moral clarity or responsibility? Will it help make the transition from boy to man easier? These are the questions our nation should be asking the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America. No one can blame the BSA for wanting to put the exhausting conflict of the last 30 years behind them. But throwing up your hands on 103 years of tradition doesn’t end the controversy–it begins another

FRC: Signed by 49 Members of Congress, including the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the document makes a convincing argument that prayers before government meetings are constitutional and a matter of religious liberty for all Americans. You can read the brief in its entirety here. FRC filed the brief on behalf of the Members to support the Alliance Defending Freedom’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Town of Greece v. Galloway . . . FRC’s friends at the Alliance Defending Freedom have compiled a list of all relevant briefs, including FRC’s and that of a group of distinguished theologians.

PRNewswire: Family Research Council’s (FRC) Ken Klukowski, J.D., has submitted an amicus brief on behalf of 49 Members of Congress supporting the Alliance Defending Freedom’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Town of Greece v. Galloway.

LifeNews: With the 2012 presidential election revolving around major abortion policies for pro-life voters, two leading pro-life groups expect a massive turnout of evangelical voters at the polls today. Family Research Council Action says evidence suggests considerable Election Day turnout among values voters.

FRC: Left unchallenged, this could jeopardize the entire GOP platform which would have significant ramifications on core principles like life, marriage, and religious liberty.

CNA: A report examining court cases from recent years has found that hostility towards religion has grown to unprecedented levels in the United States. The newly-updated Survey of Religious Hostility in America serves as “a testament to the radical shift in our culture’s worldview” on religion, said Kelly Shackelford, president of Liberty Institute, and Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council.

One News Now: The joint study from Liberty Institute and the Family Research Council (FRC) records up to 600 incidents of hostility toward religion, most of which have occurred within the last ten years.

National Review: That the SPLC cannot distinguish between a traditional-family organization and the guys in the white sheets and swastika armbands says a great deal about that organization’s intellectual depth, which is measured in millimeters. Organized homosexuality’s relentless crusade to align itself with the civil-rights movement of the 1960s is on the face of it absurd — such insults as homosexuals have suffered in this country do not include chattel slavery — but the SPLC has been happy to play along, in the course of the past decade or so transforming itself from a watchdog on extremism to a peddler of liberal pieties.

AP on Boston Globe: Carroll Conley Jr. from the Christian Civic League says ‘‘senseless violence’’ will likely continue as gay marriage opponents are referred to as ‘‘hate groups or bigots.’’ The league is one of the groups fighting a proposal that would legalize gay marriage in Maine.

Politico: Perkins told Fox News he believes certain people such as Corkins could be inspired by the “hate group” label bestowed by the SPLC. “It opens up for people who are not right, that are imbalanced, like Corkins who comes in and literally had the intent of killing people here yesterday,” he said. “And I’m not saying that the Southern Poverty Law Center is responsible for the shooting — Mr. Corkins is responsible for the shooting — they are responsible for creating an environment that led to yesterday’s shooting.”

LA Times: Actually, the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Family Research Council as a hate group not simply because it opposes same-sex marriage but because (according to the center) the conservative group defames gays by promoting junk science about homosexuality and asserting a link between gays and pedophilia. Second, even conservatives have defined down the meaning of the word “hate.”

Politico: But that doesn’t mean social conservative groups are ignoring the issue. An email to supporters of the Family Research Council today stresses the issue in advance of the Republican platform committee meetings next week . . .

AP: The partisan gap over same-sex marriage continues to widen, with 65 percent of Democrats now supporting it compared to 24 percent of Republicans.

NY Daily News: Chick-fil-A fans who camped overnight outside a new location in southern California were forced to disperse when word got out that a protest over the company’s stance on gay marriage was planned.

Christian Post: Conservative groups including the National Organization for Marriage, Focus on the Family, and the Family Research Council have all come out against Freedom to Marry’s new campaign, insisting that while Freedom to Marry might talk of supporting conservative principals, in practice they fall woefully short.

Think Progress: In some ways, anti-gay hate groups have polished their rhetoric over the years, but often times they remind that they still believe the same old tired myths about homosexuality. At the core of this mythology is the belief that homosexuality is chosen, and thus it must be coerced from young people. That’s exactly what the Alliance Defense Fund believes was happening in Erie, Illinois. [Jeremy Tedesco quoted]

The Church Report: A new documentary exploring the ethical implications of sperm donation is creating a buzz among religious audiences. Anonymous Father’s Day” delves into bioethics from the perspective of donor-conceived children who grow up not knowing their biological fathers.

Jim Campbell on the Don Kroah Show to discuss the Elane Photography ruling. | MP3 audio 11:22 mins

Christian Post: The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which defended the Christian couple and their company, Elane Photography LLC, has vowed to take the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court. “Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” said Attorney and ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence in a June 4 press release. [more]

World Magazine: DF attorney Jordan Lorence said the rulings show a “stunning disregard” of Elain and Jon Huguenin’s First Amendment rights. “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy?” Lorence asked. “Of course not, and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.” Lorence and the Huguenins plan to appeal the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

CBN (includes video): “Christians in the marketplace should not be penalized for abiding by their beliefs anymore than anyone else should,” Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence said in a statement after the original ruling by the commission. “The government cannot make people choose between their faith and their livelihood,” he said. “Could the government force a vegetarian videographer to create a commercial for the new butcher shop in town? American business owners do not surrender their constitutional rights at the marketplace gate.” The Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the studio, plans to appeal the latest court ruling.

ABA Journal: Lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund say they will appeal a decision holding that a Christian photographer’s studio violated New Mexico anti-bias laws by refusing to photograph a lesbian commitment ceremony.

ABQ Journal: Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund say they intend to ask the state Supreme Court to review a New Mexico Court of Appeals decision finding that an Albuquerque photography studio violated the state Human Rights Act by refusing to take photos of a lesbian couple’s commitment ceremony….

CBS 5 (AP): The Alliance Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys and others that represented the studio, plans to appeal. Elane Photography argued that it provided discretionary, unique and expressive services that aren’t a public accommodation under the Human Rights Act.

NY Daily News (AP): The Alliance Defense Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys and others, says it plans to appeal.

Chris Lisee at Washington Post (RNS): Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” said Jordan Lorence, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the photographer | Also posted at the Huffington Post

FRC Washington Update: To ADF attorney Jordan Lorence, the rulings have both shown a stunning disregard of the Huguenins’ First Amendment rights. They intend to appeal the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court–and beyond, if necessary. “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy?” Jordan asked? “Of course not, and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience.” Obviously, the courts are viewing the case of Elane Photography through the lens of political correctness–not the Constitution, which, as Jordan points out, ” protects people’s expression of their views, even when it comes in a commercial context. Business owners do not surrender their constitutionally protected rights at the marketplace gate.”

LifeSiteNews: Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt said the “federal government had the authority to step in against polygamy at one time in our nation’s history, and it has the authority to step in against this attempt at marriage redefinition, as well.”

Washington Times: “I think the president this past week took six or seven states he carried in 2008 and put them in play with this one ill-conceived position that he’s taken,” American Values President Gary Bauer said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Julie Pace One News Now (AP): Jim Campbell, litigation staff counsel with Alliance Defense Fund, sees obvious contradiction in the president’s announcement today. “This shows that the Obama administration doesn’t understand the public purpose of marriage. Marriage — the lifelong, faithful union of one man and one woman — is the building block of a thriving society. It’s not something that politicians should attempt to redefine for political purposes. “The president has spoken eloquently about how fatherless homes often hurt children and society. Today’s statement is a tragic contradiction that promotes the creation of even more fatherless and motherless homes.

CNN’s Responses to Obama’s marriage announcement includes this: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus: “Because our children’s future is best preserved within the traditional understanding of marriage, we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union …

AfterElton: Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, two anti-gay amendments for the National Defense Authorization Act have been prepared with a who’s-who of anti gay groups, including the Alliance Defense Fund, the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council. One would give huge latitude to military chaplains to preach hate from the pulpit on government bases, and the other would assert DOMA more strongly as it relates to military affairs.

MetroWeekly: Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) plans to introduce an amendment on Wednesday to the National Defense Authorization Act in a mark-up of the bill before the House Armed Services Committee that is aimed at creating “a conscience protection clause” for military chaplains in the wake of the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” . . . Among the advocates included in the planning for the amendments being offered and from whom Johnson was seeking input were Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness; Brian Duggan, a lobbyist for the National Organization for Marriage; Austin Nimocks and Daniel Blomberg, lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund . . .

FRC Washington Update: Lynn and his friends make that claim repeatedly, but that doesn’t make it accurate. ADF has created an entire website called “Speak Up” to dispel myths like this one. There, you can find all sorts of rich information about the rights of churches and pastors to voice their cultural concerns. One document in particular, “The Dos and Don’ts of Political Activity for Pastors” is a great resource for understanding the boundaries of political engagement. Check them all out at SpeakUpMovement.org/Church.

Christian Newswire: Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and fights government corruption, announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Navy on behalf of the Family Research Council (FRC).

ProLife Blogs: Family Research Council (FRC) will host John D. Mueller for a webcast lecture on the intersection of United States fiscal policy with the health and well-being of our nation’s families. Mueller will release original research on U.S. birth rate projections under the Obama administration’s current fiscal policy as compared to the hypothetical birth rate projections under U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan.

WorldNetDaily: “Free speech can’t come with a price tax and a burdensome waiting period,” Jonathan Scruggs said of the sudden changes made by officials at Maricopa Community College.“Maricopa Community Colleges has done the right thing in changing its policy so that it respects free speech rights protected by the First Amendment,” he said. “Christians visiting public college campuses shouldn’t be deterred from expressing their beliefs because of cumbersome, unconstitutional policies.”

ADF lawsuit sought change to unconstitutional policy that required fees, waiting period to engage in free speech

Christianity Today: Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) teamed up with pro-life groups such as Americans United for Life to argue that the act violates the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment. The ADF coalition argued that the individual mandate would inhibit religious freedom by “effectively forcing” individuals to pay for an abortion premium because they may be enrolled by their employers in plans that cover abortion. The ADF argued that others may be “forced to choose between insufficient plans that respect their conscience versus other plans that happen to require an abortion premium, but that may otherwise better meet their health needs or their choice of doctor network.”

Politico: The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is launching a new effort today to target 36 commentators who speak out against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

One News Now: Under mounting pressure from pro-”gay” activists, the student government at a university in Boston voted down a proposal to bring a Chick-fil-A franchise on campus.