American Family Association repudiates chief spokesman鈥檚 racist and anti-LGBT statements before hosting Israel trip for RNC members
In a letter to 人兽性交 officials, the American Family Association (AFA) has disavowed a series of racist and bigoted statements made by its chief spokesman in recent years. The 人兽性交 called the group鈥檚 effort a 鈥渟hell game.鈥�
The repudiation of Bryan Fischer鈥檚 statements came just two days before members of the Republican National Committee (RNC) are scheduled to embark on a trip to Israel sponsored by the AFA.
Last week, the 人兽性交 urging them not to accompany the AFA on the trip because of the group鈥檚 long track record of bigotry and hate. The 人兽性交 has named the AFA as a hate group due to its history of making false, demonizing statements about the LGBT community, including Fischer鈥檚 contention that gay men were responsible for the Holocaust.聽
人兽性交 President Richard Cohen, in a letter to the AFA today (see below), wrote that 鈥渋t鈥檚 difficult to see the AFA鈥檚 disavowal as anything other than an effort to quell the negative press attention you鈥檙e receiving in connection with your sponsorship of an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel for members of the Republican National Committee.鈥�
Fischer has claimed, for example, that black people 鈥渞ut like rabbits鈥�; that the First Amendment applies only to Christians; that Hispanics are 鈥渟ocialists by nature鈥� and come to the U.S. to 鈥減lunder鈥� the country; that Muslims should not be permitted to build mosques in the United States; that an underground railroad is needed to protect children from gay parents; and more.
In the Jan. 28 letter to the 人兽性交, AFA general counsel Patrick Vaughn listed a series of offensive comments from Fischer and said the organization 鈥渉as never held these views and wishes to clarify that it still rejects such sentiments.鈥�
Vaughn also wrote that Fischer would no longer serve as an AFA spokesperson or its director of issue analysis. However, Fischer will continue to host his two-hour, daily Focal Point radio show and write blog posts. Vaughn wrote that the AFA鈥檚 radio network provides a 鈥渄iversity鈥� of viewpoints but that Fischer鈥檚 statements do not represent the views of the AFA.
In response, Cohen wrote, 鈥淭he fact that the AFA is continuing to allow Mr. Fischer to host a daily radio show and blog on its website also makes us question the AFA鈥檚 sincerity. Sponsoring Mr. Fischer鈥檚 racism, anti-Semitism, and hatred of the Muslim and the LGBT communities in the name of聽 鈥榙iversity鈥� says as much about the AFA as it does about Mr. Fischer.聽
鈥淚s there nothing beyond the pale in the AFA鈥檚 view?聽Does the AFA believe that statements such as these have a place on its airwaves? Is this what the AFA considers 鈥榙iversity鈥�?鈥�
Cohen noted that other AFA officials, including its president, Tim Wildmon, and founder, Don Wildmon, also have made statements 鈥渢hat reflect narrow-minded bigotry鈥� and that AFA printed materials have demonized the LGBT community.
鈥淲ithout ending Mr. Fischer鈥檚 talk show, without apologizing for the bigoted statements that he, Mr. Wildmon, and others associated with the AFA have made, and without making it crystal clear that the AFA will not tolerate any such statements in the future, the AFA鈥檚 11th-hour disavowal of Mr. Fischer appears to serve only one purpose:聽 to give the AFA a degree of plausible deniability while it continues to spew hateful rhetoric,鈥� Cohen wrote. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a shell game and a transparent one at that.鈥�
Letter to the American Family Association from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Thursday, January 29, 2015. .
Letter to the Southern Poverty Law Center from the American Family Association, Wednesday, January 28, 2015. .
