Exactly How Pro-Family Are These “Pro-Family” Groups?
There are numerous groups across the nation that bill themselves as Pro-Family. Groups such as Focus on the Family, American Family Association, Family Research Institute, Traditional Values Coalition and others claim that purpose. Ostensibly they’re fighting for the so-called “traditional” family, that being a Christian heterosexual couple and however many children they have (the more the better, of course). Of course one thing all of these groups have in common is their radical anti-gay agenda.
Take a look at any of their websites as linked above and you’ll see that they all have anti-gay propaganda, though some are more subtle about it than others. They couch their hatred in sweet sounding terminology and pretend they’re doing it all because they have a deep and abiding Christlike love for LGBT people. They’re trying to save us from hell, after all.
But there’s no love behind what they’re doing to us in California. No doubt many of you have heard of Proposition 8. In case you haven’t, here is the text of it again:
Changes California Constitution to eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
Fiscal Impact: Over the next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact to state and local governments.
Well, Focus on the Family has been pouring a great deal of money into the efforts to get Proposition 8 passed. So far they have donated $400,713.74. I kid you not. Nearly half a million dollars to eradicate marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples in just one state, and it’s only August second. Who knows how much more they will have poured into the effort before November?
I really have to ask how many actual Pro-Family efforts Focus on the Family and other such groups have contributed to. Have they donated to any shelters for homeless families (like the one I worked in many years ago), food pantries, community centers, after-school programs or any other programs designed to actually help the families they claim they’re supporting? Have they offered even a fraction of what they spend on their anti-gay efforts to help families? Or are they, as I suspect, focused on keeping gay people from having equal rights while using the “pro-family” label as a front.
Of course they’re more than welcome to enlighten me as to how vast their contributions to actual pro-family causes are (with appropriate documentation, of course, since I’m not inclined to take them at their word for obvious reasons). But I doubt any of the organizations will rise to the challenge, primarily because they have no ammunition.
