![]() Among the people in the group of advisers were heavy hitters in evangelical Christianity, as well as the anti-LGBTQ movement, including James Dobson, an Alliance Defending Freedom co-founder and the founder and former leader of the fundamentalist Christian organization Focus on the Family. In 2016, during his first run for the Oval Office, Trump formed a so-called evangelical executive advisory board to help shape his political platform. David Zalubowski / AP fileįrom the start of his foray in national politics, Trump made an effort to woo this key constituency. James Dobson waits for President Donald Trump to speak at a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb. Without the broad support of white evangelicals, Pew Research Center observed, Trump would have lost to Joe Biden by more than 20 points in the last presidential election. ![]() Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, based in Orlando, Florida, said that the organization is “neither anti-LGBTQ nor a hate group” and that the SPLC’s “self-appointed hate group list is false and defamatory.” “Our track record of success is due in large part to those who generously support our work, and increased giving demonstrates the growing movement to protect Americans’ First Amendment freedoms.” Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, right, speaks outside the Supreme Court on Dec. Our record since 2011 includes 13 Supreme Court victories, including two wins last year and one upcoming case next term,” Tedesco said. ![]() “Alliance Defending Freedom is among the largest and most effective legal advocacy organizations dedicated to protecting the religious freedom and free speech rights of all Americans. In a statement, Jeremy Tedesco, the senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement at the Alliance Defending Freedom, touted its judicial track record and alleged that the SPLC has “destroyed its own credibility because of its blatant partisan agenda.” According to its website, the group aims to secure “generational wins” to ensure “the law respects God’s creative order for marriage, the family, and human sexuality.” Sarah Silbiger / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images fileĭuring the same period, contributions to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, more than doubled, from over $34.5 million in 2011 to more than $76 million in 2021. Members of the Alliance Defending Freedom gather outside the Supreme Court on June 4, 2018, to support the decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. “As of today, there probably are five or six key players,” McCoy said, highlighting the Family Research Council, the Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty Counsel and the American College of Pediatricians as parts of the core.įrom 2011 to 2021, the total revenue of the Family Research Council - an advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., that, according to its website, believes “homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it” and “is also harmful to society at large” - jumped from over $12 million to more than $23 million. When the SPLC began tracking anti-LGBTQ hate in the early 2010s, the organization noted that “a small coterie of groups now comprise the hard core of the anti-gay movement.” The same groups - many now flush with financial resources - continue to shape the anti-LGBTQ agenda. ![]() He also pointed to groups that justify violence against LGBTQ people, like Westboro Baptist Church. That kind of extremist rhetoric and belief is part of what goes into our decision-making process,” McCoy said. ![]() “Many of these groups assert that LGBTQ people are a threat to society itself. But simply holding a religious belief that views homosexuality or transgender identity as sinful does not automatically land a church or an organization on the SPLC’s list of hate groups. ![]()
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