LGBT Hate Groups Exposed

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The radical right, says the Southern Poverty Law Center, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. The watchdog group recently added almost a dozen new organizations to a list of anti-gay hate groups. A new report details the growth of these groups – organizations that seek to interfere with the LGBT rights movement’s progress – a trend the center blames on the rise of minority groups, America’s first black president and discussions about issues like same-sex marriage and, most recently, women’s health.

It may sound extreme, but the center reports that these so-called “Patriot” groups have increased by 755 percent during the first three years of the Obama administration. Their number has now surpassed – by more than 400 groups – the previous all-time high set in 1996, when the first wave of the militia movement peaked shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead.

In Pennsylvania, the center estimates that there are 34 hate groups, many of which are tied to white supremacy and Nazism, but others that purport to be “Catholic” groups really espouse hate teachings against LGBT people and Muslims – like the Catholic Counterpoint and Catholic Apologetics. There’s even a chapter of the Keystone State Skinheads operating in Philly, along with a Black Separatist Group known at the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.

“The LGBT community made significant advances in 2011, with the repeal of the ‘Don’t Act, Don’t Tell’ policy on gay men and lesbians in the military, the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage by Americans and the legalization of such bonds in New York state,” says the center’s report. “But it was precisely these advances that seemed to set off a furious rage on the religious right, with renewed efforts to ban or repeal marriage equality and what seemed to be an intensification of anti-gay propaganda in certain quarters.”

The American Family Association official Bryan Fischer, for instance, said that “gays are Nazis,” claiming that HIV does not cause AIDS – but gay men do. He also criticized black welfare recipients who “rut like animals.”

Courtesy of Southern Poverty Law Center

“Overall, the number of anti-gay hate groups in the United States rose markedly, going from 17 in 2010 to 27 last year,” says the very sobering report. And while we are loathe to give any of these of these groups any press whatsoever, we wanted to share the new additions to the list because many of them sport names that could be very misleading to anyone who really does care about basic human rights (via Think Progress):

Jewish Political Action Committee (New York): This group vehemently opposed legalizing gay marriage in the Empire State, going so far as to compare homosexuality to being a crime worse than murder. They also compared the legalization of gay marriage to bestiality. And here we thought Rick Santorum was the guy who came up with that one.

Mission: America (Ohio): The group advocates that employers stop hiring LGBT people because of disease (presumably AIDS). They also accuse the gay community of “hating” Jesus. Linda Harvey, the host of the group’s radio show (yes, they have a radio show) even opposed PSAs during the Super Bowl that discourage violence against gay people.

Parents Action League (Minnesota): This group asked the local school district to teach reparative therapy, or therapy that claims (though all major medical associations disagree) to turn gay people straight. This came after a tragic increase in teen suicides. The group also wants schools to use the antiquated word for AIDS (known as GRID – or Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) to be used in the classroom, though it was rejected by the medical establishment almost 30 years ago.

Public Advocate of the United States (Virginia): This group believes in a gay conspiracy to create a “new America” that would “indoctrinate an entire generation of American school children” and destroy family.

Repent of Burn in Hell Ministry (Alabama): Gods Hates Muslims. And God Hates Gays. These are the messages that this group shares with the world. Begun by a radical religious couple who have taken their family on the road in their “Hell Van,” they preach alongside folks like the Westboro Baptist Church – the same group that likes to protest funerals of dead soldiers and victims of hate crimes.

Save California (California): We usually consider the West Coast to be the Left Coast. But not so for this hate group that promotes the “Not Born This Way” campaign online. They also want to ban LGBT history in schools.

Sons of Thundr (Georgia): This group claims that gay people – or rather, all the “sick, brain damaged perverts” as they like to call gay people – can be healed and saved and, well, turned straight. The organization advocates for “praying the gay away” despite scientific claims that prove otherwise.

Tom Brown Ministries (Texas): This pastor has taken a political low road to try and take away legal rights belonging to LGBT people in his community, like health benefits, partnerships, you name it. He’s accused local politicians of seeking to “reward fornicators.” He’s been criticized for wanting to essentially legislate hate.

True Light Pentecost Church (South Carolina): This group predicts the end of times based on the prevalence of gays and lesbians in America. The preachers at this church regularly share their anti-gay views from their tax-exempt pulpit.

United Families International (Arizona): This group would like to see homosexuality criminalized, as in, LGBT people go to jail. Guess you don’t have to go to Uganda to try and criminalize homosexuality after all.

Windsor Hills Baptist Church (Oklahoma): The pastor of this church has led tireless campaigns against employment nondiscrimination. Yep, he thinks you should be fired if you’re gay. He also likes to tell people that gay people murder the most people. We’ve heard a lot of hateful things from these groups, but murder?

You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide (Minnesota): This group may have one of the more interesting names on the list, but its message is dead serious. Not only does the group routinely challenge President Obama’s religious affiliation, but the group regularly uses public appearances to spew anti-gay hate to kids (like a school pep rally where things turned ugly).