A tent too large: the Republican Party and anti-LGBT bigotry
The head of the GOP surprisingly invoked the names of anti-LGBT extremists as he defended his party鈥檚 opposition to same-sex marriage.
RNC Chair Reince Priebus yesterday said something predictable and something startling in response to the Supreme Court鈥檚 refusal to overturn court decisions clearing the way for same-sex marriage.
The predictable was his continued defense of the Republican Party鈥檚 position that marriage should be limited to a man and a woman.
The startling was his invoking of the names of Tony Perkins and David Lane to support the party鈥檚 position.
鈥淧eople like David Lane and people like Tony Perkins are right to be concerned about what鈥檚 happened here in this country over the past couple of years,鈥�
Now, we wouldn鈥檛 condemn those who cling to the traditional view of marriage. We鈥檇 say they鈥檙e on the wrong side of history, that they鈥檙e giving in to old prejudices, but we wouldn鈥檛 condemn them. After all, it wasn鈥檛 until 2013 that the president evolved to what we鈥檇 consider the more enlightened point of view.
But we would condemn anyone who vilifies the LGBT community with demonizing rhetoric and falsehoods. And that鈥檚 exactly what Perkins and Lane routinely do. It鈥檚 bizarre that Priebus, who has said that LGBT people 鈥渄eserve dignity and respect,鈥� would invoke their authority.
Perkins, who heads the Family Research Council, has repeatedly portrayed LGBT people as perverted. He鈥檚 called the 鈥淚t Gets Better鈥� campaign 鈥� designed to give LGBT students hope for a better tomorrow 鈥� 鈥渄isgusting鈥� and a 鈥渃oncerted effort鈥� to 鈥渞ecruit鈥� children into the gay 鈥渓ifestyle.鈥�
Lane is head of the American Renewal Project, funded by the virulently anti-LGBT American Family Association (AFA). The AFA鈥檚 chief spokesman, Bryan Fischer, has said that 鈥淸h]omosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.鈥�
In a commentary last year for World Net Daily, Lane against the 鈥減agan onslaught imposing homosexual marriage.鈥�
In 1999, Priebus鈥� predecessor, Jim Nicholson, called for party members to shun the Council of Conservative Citizens because of the group鈥檚 鈥渞acist views.鈥� Then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other party officials quickly distanced themselves from the white supremacist group.
But rather than follow in Nicholson鈥檚 footsteps and exercise leadership, Priebus yesterday embraced extremists of another type 鈥� those who incite hate and violence against the LGBT community.
We know that political parties like to have big tents. But some tents are simply too large. It鈥檚 time for the GOP to take a stand 鈥� not on same-sex marriage but on anti-LGBT bigotry.
