Tony Perkins, the president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), compared being
gay to drug abuse during an opening event of the group's Values Voter
Summit.
In 2010, FRC was labeled a “hate
group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The group said
FRC earned the designation because “it engages in baseless,
incendiary name-calling and spreads demonizing lies about the LGBT
community.”
Speaking at a luncheon at the National
Press Club, Perkins condemned the SPLC for its “bitter
characterization.”
When asked if he would disown one of
his children if he or she turned out to be gay, Perkins said no, but
added that he could not approve, either.
“I would not disown my children for
anything, but let me say this. … I believe that as a parent I have
a responsibility for the environment in which I raise my children.
And I believe as a parent we have the ability to protect them from a
lot of unfortunate experiences that have shaping influences upon
their lives.”
“We can do our very best job as a
parent and still something may happen. Whether they end up in drugs
or whether they end up in some other lifestyle that they end up in. …
They're our children. We'll always love them, but we don't
necessarily condone what they do. And if we really love them, we'll
be willing to tell them the truth that the choices they have made to
continue in what they are doing are both destructive to them
personally and to society as a whole,” he said.
(Source: Think
Progress.)