Hate Group President Appointed to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Tony Perkins, president of the hate group Family Research Council, has been appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, as announced in the Congressional Record.

The Family Research Council has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They are a Christian group created to "provide a forum to help inform and mobilize citizens across America to preserve the bedrock values of traditional marriage, religious liberty, sanctity of life and limited government that make our nation strong," according to their site.

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But more specifically, they are an anti-abortion and anti-LGBT group that also say on their site: "Homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed. It is by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects. While the origins of same-sex attractions may be complex, there is no convincing evidence that a homosexual identity is ever something genetic or inborn. We oppose the vigorous efforts of homosexual activists to demand that homosexuality be accepted as equivalent to heterosexuality in law, in the media, and in schools."

Perkins was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. A press release explains his new position oversees "the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state, and Congress."

Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, blasted the hire, saying in a statement: "Tony Perkins is the most recognizable anti-LGBTQ activist in America. He has espoused the most extreme views of LGBTQ people and other vulnerable communities including vocally supporting foreign laws that punish LGBTQ identity with death. The idea that Perkins would be making policy recommendations to an administration that is already anti-LGBTQ is dangerous and puts LGBTQ people directly in harm's way."