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 to Address Anti-Gay Group |
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Compiled By GayToday
Thomas is scheduled to give the Lincoln Day dinner speech at the Claremont Institute's Lincoln Day Colloquium February 9 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Institute is a California-based organization with ties to the Republican Party and a history of stands — sometimes shrill and insensitive — on issues such as the Clinton impeachment, civil rights, gay rights and church-state separation.
The Claremont Institute has strong ties to Republican Party leaders and funders. (See AU's special report, "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the Claremont Institute.") The "Impeachment Resource" section of the Institute's website provides ammunition for removing the president from office. The group is funded in part by a foundation chaired by Richard Mellon Scaife, a wealthy Pennsylvania businessman who has spent millions on anti- Clinton projects. In addition, the group files friend-of-the-court briefs and disseminates material on issues such as civil rights, gay rights and church-state separation. Gay Rights: Last year the Institute sponsored a conference on homosexuality, during which speakers asserted that being gay is a psychological disorder that can be cured through reparative therapy. Right-wing columnist Don Feder denounced homosexuality as a "perversion" and said the "fate of our civilization hinges" on the outcome of the gay rights controversy. Church-State Separation: An Institute essay calls the wall of separation between church and state "imaginary." A separate column recommends strategies for getting around the Supreme Court's ban on mandatory religious worship in public schools. Claremont opposed in court atheist youngsters' attempts to win admission to the Boy Scouts.
The Institute is also promoting a video of a Charlton Heston speech at an Institute event in which he suggests that the "God-fearing, law-abiding, Caucasian middle class" is under assault in America. Heston spoke glowingly of Americans who "prefer the America they built, where you could pray without feeling naive, love without being kinky, sing without profanity, be white without feeling guilty, own a gun without shame..." Other Issues: The Institute is involved in a broad range of legal and social issues. For example, it runs an anti-gun control group called Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership. Institute President Larry P. Arnn published an op- ed calling for the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allows the federal government to collect income taxes. Americans United's executive director concluded: "Inevitably, people will construe Thomas' appearance and speech at the Claremont Institute's premier national event as a high-level endorsement of the group and its goals. I can only conclude that it is inappropriate for Thomas to address an organization like this one."
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