Badpuppy Gay Today

Monday, 24 March, 1997

Recent fund raising letters and a spate of radio programs catering to right-wing hate groups, such as Concerned Women for America, are asking members to contact their representatives in Congress and to oppose a measure that would extend civil rights protections to gays and lesbians in areas of employment and housing discrimination.

According to Concerned Women for America, passing the bill would result in "Your government spending tens of millions of your tax dollars suing decent citizens for the 'crime' of violating the civil rights of homosexuals." (CWA letter, 2/97)

American Airlines, accused by right wingers of "pandering to the pro-homosexual lobby," has received scalding criticisms from the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, the Traditional Values Coalition and the Southern Baptist Commission. The airline has been accused of marketing itself to gays and lesbians, and with giving recognition to same-sex couplings. Bob Knight, director of the Family Research Council, targeted the airline during his appearance on the March 12th broadcast of Beverly LaHaye Live, a daily radio show. "When you subsidize out of wedlock relationships," he said, "heterosexual or homosexual, and say that it's normal and okay, you're really driving a dagger into the heart of marriage...You're also sending a wrong message to young people. There are a lot of kids who are now being tempted into homosexuality and as society broadens its tolerance of homosexuality that means more kids are going to be lured into it thinking, 'Well, there's really not anything wrong with it.' "

A second airline, United, is also the brunt of an e-mail campaign by Concerned Women for America. United is presently seeking approval for a 25-year lease at the San Francisco International Airport. San Francisco's city council has ruled that any company doing business with the city must provide domestic partner benefits. United has undertaken a two-year study to research the issue. Concerned Women warns that (as) "the structure of the traditional family declines, the work ethic declines also."

The American Family Association has sent an e-mail alert angrily critiquing ABC-TV for what it calls "pushing homosexuality full-throttle." This reference is to the network's decision to allow Ellen DeGeneres' character on her popular prime-time sit-com to announce her lesbianism. Tim Wildmon of AFA, says, "Disney and ABC have finally decided to scorn the moral sensibilities of millions of Americans. We will be publicizing the advertisers who are willing to push the homosexual agenda."

The Bank of America, according to a news release from the Family Research Council, is yet another "enemy of the family," because it too has extended family benefits to domestic partners.

A "religious" right legal group, the Alliance Defense Fund, has called (ADF letter 2/97) for an end to college funding of gay and lesbian support groups on campuses nationwide.