Leave it to the sharp eyes of writer and activist Alvin McEwen to uncover this fuckery from the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-LGBTQ organization that is one of the groups targeted by Eliminate Hate, “a new initiative designed to bring attention to anti-LGBTQ hate groups and the propaganda and actions they take against” the community. ADF didn’t quite appreciate this. The group’s spokesperson:
"ADF doesn't have time to respond to organizations who do nothing more than call names, create division and incite violence across the country in order to raise money," spokesman Greg Scott said in a statement.
But over at Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, McEwin has plenty of receipts showing otherwise.
Regarding not having “time to respond to organizations who do nothing more than call names,” ADF founder Alan Sears did have time to say this once:
“As the homosexual agenda continues to sexualize our culture, other once-forbidden behaviors are exalted as just more alternative lifestyles. The result is that the well-being of millions of children is at risk, along with the right of parents to protect their children from sexual exploitation.” —Alan Sears and Craig Osten, The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today, 2003
Regarding organizations that “do nothing more [...] than incite violence,” there’s this from the group:
In 2014, Alliance Defending Freedom was one of several anti-LGBTQ and religious right hate groups to travel to Russia and meet with Yelena Mizulina, the author of the infamous Russian anti-gay bill:
Mizulina is the head of the Duma’s committee for family, women and children and coauthor of Russia’s new ban on speech in favor of gay rights to minors. The World Congress has been one of the most vocal international defenders of that law. The fact that the World Congress and its members are working directly with her to plan an exchange with members of the Russian parliament shows that the summit’s location in Moscow isn’t just an accident of geography. In fact, as we have reported, WCF has built up a structure of activists in Russia to push anti-gay, anti-choice policies throughout Eastern Europe in the year’s leading up to the 2014 summit, and it was “activists working with the World Congress of Families” who invited Brown to speak to the Duma in favor of the adoption ban.
International human rights groups say Mizulina’s legislation has been “responsible for a dramatic rise in homophobic attacks” in Russia. But apparently that wasn’t enough for Mizulina, who earlier this year introduced legislation that would lessen punishment for domestic violence. It was signed into law by Putin in February. Nice buddies you have there, ADF.
As McEwin writes, “for all of his deflection, Scott cannot hide the Alliance Defending Freedom's paper trail of homophobia and bigotry.” Check out the rest of his blog here for more ADF hypocrisy.