Tony Perkins, president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), insists his
anti-gay activism is motivated by love for the gay community, going
so far as to compare it to saving people trapped in a burning
building.
In an interview with Faith &
Liberty posted this week, Perkins warned that gay rights threaten the
American economy.
“This is a threat to religious
liberty,” Perkins
told host Dave Garrison. “And if we lose the vibrant freedom
of religion that this nation was built upon, fundamental to our
success as a people, we will see a rapid downward spiral of our
nation, including our economy.”
When Garrison asked Perkins how he
answers people who say he “hates gays,” Perkins equated his
opposition to gay rights to awakening people trapped in a burning
house.
“You go beating on the windows of the
bedroom and you awaken them, now you've disturbed their sleep.
You've wakened them up. You've disturbed them. You've made them
uncomfortable because you've awakened them in the middle of the night
and you've told them their house is on fire. Do you hate them
because you're doing that? I would say that you're actually
expressing love, profound love, by awakening them to something that
is very destructive and liable to take their lives,” Perkins
answered.