The Human Rights Campaign – America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organisation – is condemning Republican leadership and top GOP presidential candidates for participating in the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit, taking place in Washington, DC over the next several days.
Speakers at the event include House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. Other participants include Senator Jeff Sessions , Senator Roy Blunt, Laura Ingraham and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Family Research Council (FRC) as a hate group because of their “propagation of known falsehoods — claims about [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities — and repeated.”
“This is a clarion call for equality supporters and a sign of just how much influence groups like the Family Research Council hold over anti-LGBT lawmakers,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “The Speaker of the House took the stage at the Values Voter Summit this morning and touted the amount of tax-payer dollars being spent on the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act. This is a reminder that we have real challenges ahead of us – from repealing DOMA once and for all to making our workplaces safer and more equitable with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.”
