Tony Perkins, president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), has accused
advocates of marriage equality of intolerance.
Appearing on Fox News' Huckabee,
Perkins lamented Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's recent announcement that
he no longer would publicly discuss the topic of marriage as it
relates to gay couples.
(Related: Chick-fil-A's
Dan Cathy says he'll leave gay marriage to politicians.)
“The first thing that came to mind
was that people eat chicken but they don't respect it,” Perkins
told host Mike Huckabee about his reaction to Cathy's decision. “And
I think, as you well put it, I think we're seeing those in the
business community becoming cowards. … I am grateful 238 years ago
there were those who founded this nation and put a greater value on
our freedoms and our liberties that they did seeking favors from
government to open up a new store.”
“We were told a few years ago this
was all about two people who love each other, that's all it's about,
about them being able to live together and marry. We're finding out
it's about a lot more than that. Tolerance is a one-way street for
these individuals. What they want to do is force the rest of America
not to just tolerate but to embrace and celebrate what they are
doing. They want to redefine America. As the president said, they
want to radically transform this country.”
Equality advocates are winning “in
large part because many even conservative business owners, who are
fearful of these protests, these attacks, are simply going silent.”
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Huckabee added that “nobody” is
targeting left-leaning CEOs such as Starbuck's Howard Schultz for
their support of marriage equality.
Writing at Right
Wing Watch, Brian Tashman correctly pointed out that Perkins has
led boycotts against companies over their support of gay rights,
including Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Betty Crocker.
“Despite this clear double standard,
Perkins continues to get away with his claim that only gay rights
advocates target businesses and that Religious Right activists –
always the victim – would never ever do such a thing,” Tashman
wrote.