Equality California Rips Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council and its Ties to the KKK: VIDEO |Gay News|Gay Blog Towleroad

attempts to overturn California's FAIR Education Act, the law that mandates schools add LGBT history to their curriculum.

In late July, the California Secretary of State gave the Capitol Resource Institute, backed by the Family Research Council, the greenlight to proceed with efforts toward a ballot referendum repealing the measure.

Palencia spoke with Rex Wockner and other journalists this week about EQCA's efforts to stop anti-equality "extremists" from repealing the law.

In a statement and video released yesterday, Palencia goes after the hate group Family Research Council and the lies that it pushes to advance its agenda.

Wrote EQCA:

Last week the Family Research Council, a virulent anti-LGBT organization with ties to the Ku Klux Klan and recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, joined the effort to overturn the FAIR Education Act in California and released a video message to fundamentalist churches on behalf of the campaign. In it, the group's executive director, Tony Perkins, blatantly lied about and grossly misrepresented the FAIR Education Act, which requires California schools to include factual, age-appropriate information about the contributions, social movements and current events of, people with disabilities, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT), and Pacific Islander people in already existing social studies lessons.

Said Palencia in a statement:

"California voters have a right to know the truth about those most backing the effort to overturn the FAIR Education Act and that racist and homophobic organizations have no intent to protect families and children but instead hurt them with their bigotry.

Let's be clear: it's the anti-gay, racist rhetoric, dogma and attacks of these organizations that harm children, families and our society, not movements for equality, truth, inclusivity and dignity for all people.

Many fair-minded Californians—especially parents—may not yet know how they feel about the FAIR Education Act. But I don't believe any fair-minded parent would find friends of the KKK a trustworthy protector of their children. It's critical that these groups are exposed for what they really are: fear-mongers who prey on good parents' deep, instinctive desire to protect their children in order to advance a hateful, anti-equality agenda."

Watch Equality California's video, AFTER THE JUMP...

► Retweet 45Share Posted 11:27 AM EST by Andy Towle in California, Education, Family Research Council, News, Roland Palencia, Tony Perkins | Permalink

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Comments

It's about f'ing time. Perhaps under new leadership EQCA has found their cajones and is now going to get down in the trenches and fight fire with fire.

Posted by: TampaZeke | Aug 31, 2011 11:54:53 AM
I'm interested in what these "ties to the KKK" are. If it's just sharing space on a list at the Southern Poverty Law Center, I'm not sure that's exactly "ties."

I'm not saying there aren't any, but this is the first I'm hearing of any ties other than also being a hate group, which FRC unequivocally is. If there are more concrete ties, I'd like to know what they are.

Posted by: Jonathan | Aug 31, 2011 12:13:11 PM
I hope this time around our side will start going for the jugular. But this video is seriously flawed. It needs a proequality voice pointing out the lies. A printed text does not carry the weight of the spoken voice. So it's Tony's antigay talking points that are dominating the presentation instead of the refutation. Why does our side have such a hard time finding top-notch political media consultants to craft effective messages?

Posted by: candide001 | Aug 31, 2011 12:18:49 PM
I'd like to know what the "ties to the KKK" are, also. I totally missed that one.

The hottest ring in hell burns for Tony Perkins.

Posted by: lincolnlounger | Aug 31, 2011 12:25:00 PM
I'm one of the army of voices that have not let up on EQCA ever since they blocked anyone else from having any control over fighting Prop 8 and then intentionally threw the fight themselves for reasons that today remain known only to the people at EQCA who made the choice to fail and betray us.

Finally, they're calling a lie a lie. Finally, they're calling a hate group a hate group. Finally, they're explaining why something is right and saying who's good and who's bad.

This is a very good step forward. This is the organization they refused to be in 2008. This, however, also better be only the beginning.

It is very frustrating that they're only doing the job they should have done in 2008 when it mattered most, but this is a good start and they better only get more aggressive and never let up for one single second from here on out.

Posted by: ohplease | Aug 31, 2011 12:25:57 PM
"Four years ago, Perkins addressed the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), America’s premier white supremacist organization, the successor to the White Citizens Councils, which battled integration in the South. In 1996 Perkins paid former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,500 for his mailing list. At the time, Perkins was the campaign manager for a right-wing Republican candidate for the US Senate in Louisiana. The Federal Election Commission fined the campaign Perkins ran $3,000 for attempting to hide the money paid to Duke.

…Six years later, in 2002, Perkins embarked on a campaign to avenge his mentor’s defeat by running for the US Senate himself. But Perkins was dogged with questions about his involvement with David Duke. Perkins issued a flat denial that he had ever had anything to do with Duke, and he denounced him for good measure. Unfortunately, Perkins’s signature was on the document authorizing the purchase of Duke’s list. Perkins’s dalliance with the racist Council of Conservative Citizens in the run-up to his campaign also illuminates the seamy underside of his political associations."

http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2010/10/12/the-wapos-justification-for-tony-perkins-oped-it-held-a-liveblog-with-dan-savage/

Posted by: XbonzHD | Aug 31, 2011 12:30:38 PM
What are the "ties to the KKK"? Gee, if only we all had access to a machine that could give us any information we wanted simply by typing in our questions. What a wonderful thing that would be, huh?

Or, in other words: Let Me Google That For You:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=frc+kkk+perkins+duke

Posted by: ohplease | Aug 31, 2011 12:34:05 PM
OHPLEASE - thank you for saying what so many of us often say. Quit asking others to do your work. You want to know? Look it up. That's the beauty of the 'Net and why it is the force that it is.

Posted by: OS2Guy | Aug 31, 2011 12:57:53 PM
There is a picture of him addressing the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC aka KKK), complete with rebel flag emblazoned Klan flag proudly displayed behind him.

Posted by: TampaZeke | Aug 31, 2011 1:18:14 PM
For those unable, unwilling or unconcerned about searching for the picture of Perkins with the flag:

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/picture-worth-thousand-memories

Posted by: TampaZeke | Aug 31, 2011 1:20:09 PM
I don't think they would mind the FAIR education act if we weren't included in there. It just goes to show that they're willing to screw over other disadvantaged groups, even the disabled, to get to us.

Posted by: ophu | Aug 31, 2011 1:44:41 PM
But wait: there's more:

http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2010/10/12/the-wapos-justification-for-tony-perkins-oped-it-held-a-liveblog-with-dan-savage/

Posted by: Danny | Aug 31, 2011 1:46:26 PM
That is not an effective ad. Just flashing the words, "Lies" or "Scare Tactic" in the background is incredibly weak.You need to immediately shoot it down on its lack of merit, perhaps coming from attractive, minority school parents in front of a picture of Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk or other hero of note.
The public have short attention spans.You've given smooth-talking Tony his chance to make his points (for free!),fail to directly engage them and then try to clear it all up at the end.Flashing words comes across as yelling because you don't have anything else to back you up.
I'm sorry but in my opinion, I think this one could do more harm than good.

Posted by: KEW | Aug 31, 2011 2:11:20 PM
Or you can keep on playing up Perkin's ties to Duke, the KKK, and racist rhetoric.

Don't let up on that angle.

In fact, I dare Perkins to respond and answer questions about this (and I don't think that he's ever been asked by tweety Matthews, Anderson Cooper, or the usual suspects that continue to give him airtime.)

Posted by: Chitown Kev | Aug 31, 2011 2:29:32 PM
Jumpin' Jesus! What a difference a tiny leadership change seems to make. Finally, EQCA isn't rolling over and playing dead! I stopped contributing to this organization after Geoff Kors lost us the Prop 8 vote. It sounds like it might be time to look again. Nice work EQCA!

Posted by: Keppler | Aug 31, 2011 3:05:38 PM

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