In an op-ed, the Christian conservative
group Family Research Council (FRC), which has close ties to
President Donald Trump and the Republican party, argued against
passage of the Equality Act.
Reintroduced last month with bipartisan
support, the Equality Act is a federal bill that seeks to prohibit
discrimination against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender.
(Related: Pete
Buttigieg endorses LGBT protections bill Equality Act.)
Writing at the Christian
Post, Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at FRC,
called on Congress to reject the bill and its “deceptive premise,”
primarily that sexuality is immutable.
“The truth is, 'sexual orientation'
is a multi-faceted concept, involving a combination of attractions,
behaviors, and personal identity,” Sprigg wrote.
Pointing to several studies, Sprigg
declared that “significant change in each of the elements of sexual
orientation is possible.”
“In light of this evidence, the
public would be wise to question whether the efforts of the LGBT
movement to ride on the coat-tails of 'civil rights' can any longer
be justified. Indeed, the science shows that the evidence for
immutability – on which many have relied to argue for such
legislation – simply isn’t there. If Congress truly wants to
pursue 'evidence-based' policy, it will reject the 'Equality Act' and
its deceptive premise,” Sprigg wrote.
In reporting on Sprigg's op-ed, Joe
Jervis at LGBT blog JoeMyBlog.com
noted Sprigg's anti-LGBT record: “Sprigg has repeatedly linked
homosexuality to pedophilia and once told NBC that Lawrence v
Texas was 'wrongly decided' and that 'criminal sanctions against
homosexuality should be enforced.' In 2008 when the Obama
administration moved to allow LGBT Americans to apply for visas for
foreign partners, Sprigg declared that it would be better to 'export
homosexuals from the United States.'”