Tony Perkins: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Was First 'Crack In The Foundation Of Marriage'

Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council (FRC), on Thursday called “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” (DADT) the “first crack in the foundation of marriage and human sexuality.”

Thursday was the 25^th anniversary of the policy's announcement.

As a presidential candidate, President Bill Clinton had publicly supported eliminating the ban on gay men and women serving in the armed forces. After taking office, he encountered strong resistance to doing away with the ban.

Clinton announced “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” as a compromise that allowed gay troops to serve provided they kept quiet about their sexuality.

In a press release, Perkins said that FRC “recognized 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' for what it was: The first major crack in the foundation of marriage and human sexuality. Then, the next biggest shoe would drop – Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court ruling that struck down Texas's ban on sodomy.”

Perkins went on to suggest that extending marriage rights to gay couples would lead to the legalization of bestiality, prostitution and plural marriages.

After quoting Justice Antonin Scalia in Lawrence – “State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality and obscenity are likewise sustained only in light of Bowers' validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today's decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.” – Perkins says activists who claim there's no slippery slope to marriage equality can't be trusted.

“First, activists said they just wanted to love who they loved. Then, they said they just wanted benefits – not marriage,” Perkins wrote.

“When liberals got marriage through the courts, they vowed not to force it on the states. After they forced it on the states, they said it wouldn’t lead to religious persecution. Even after county clerks were sent to jail and Christian bakers fined up to $135,000, they claim there’s no slippery slope. But after a track record of such intentional deception, who could (or should) believe them?”

The Family Research Council, which has close ties to President Donald Trump, has been labeled a “hate group” for its opposition to LGBT rights by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).