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George W. Bush’s Warm Words for World Congress of Families, Called a Hate Group George W. Bush’s Warm Words for World Congress of Families, Called a Hate Group
(35 minutes later)
For the second time in 12 years, George W. Bush has written a warm letter in support of a conservative group that bills itself as promoting the “natural family” based on heterosexual marriage but that is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. For the second time, George W. Bush has written a warm letter in support of a conservative group that bills itself as promoting the “natural family” based on heterosexual marriage but that is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The group, the World Congress of Families, based in Rockford, Ill., is holding an international conference in Tbilisi, Georgia. It had planned to honor Mr. Bush, but he declined to attend, a spokesman said. The group, the World Congress of Families, based in Rockford, Ill., is holding a conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, where it had planned to honor Mr. Bush. But he declined to attend, a spokesman said.
In a letter dated May 2016, the former president sends “greetings” and says: “I commend your efforts to recognize the importance of families in building nations. Your work improves many lives and makes the world better.” In a letter dated May 2016, the former president says: “I commend your efforts to recognize the importance of families in building nations. Your work improves many lives and makes the world better.”
Mr. Bush used almost the exact same words in a letter to the group when members gathered in Mexico City in 2004 — while he was president — merely replacing “building nations” with “our society.” Mr. Bush used almost the exact same words in a letter to the group when members gathered in Mexico City in 2004 — while he was president.
Freddy Ford, a spokesman for Mr. Bush, said in an email that the recent letter was sent “because the group requested it when we declined President Bush’s attendance.”Freddy Ford, a spokesman for Mr. Bush, said in an email that the recent letter was sent “because the group requested it when we declined President Bush’s attendance.”
“Our knowledge of the group is limited to their work to encourage adoption,” he added. “Our knowledge of the group is limited to their work to encourage adoption.”
Mr. Bush’s views on gay and lesbian issues can be traced to 2004, when he supported a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman and made it an issue in his re-election campaign. In her 2004 memoir, however, Mr. Bush’s wife, Laura Bush, said she had urged the president to drop the issue out of respect for their gay friends. In 2004, Mr. Bush supported a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman and made it an issue in his re-election campaign. In her 2004 memoir, however, Mr. Bush’s wife, Laura Bush, said she had urged him to drop the issue out of respect for their gay friends.
In 2015, The Boston Globe reported that he had offered to officiate a lesbian wedding, although a spokesman later denied that Mr. Bush remembered making such an offer. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, added the World Congress of Families to its list in 2014, calling it “one of the key driving forces behind the U.S. religious right’s global export of homophobia and sexism.” But the liberal-leaning center has been criticized for including groups that fall within the conservative mainstream, like the Family Research Council, based on their stances on gay issues.
The Southern Poverty Law Center called the World Congress of Families “one of the key driving forces behind the U.S. religious right’s global export of homophobia and sexism.” Its use of pro-family rhetoric, the center said, unleashes “a torrent of destructive anti-choice and anti-L.G.B.T.Q. legislation, persecution and violence around the world.”
The center, which tracks 892 organizations it has declared to be hate groups, gave the World Congress of Families its designation in 2014.
But the center has been criticized for including groups that fall within the conservative mainstream, like the Family Research Council or the American Family Association, based on their stances on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
The World Congress of Families has strongly disputed the hate-group designation and the implication that it supports violence against the L.G.B.T. community.The World Congress of Families has strongly disputed the hate-group designation and the implication that it supports violence against the L.G.B.T. community.
“Nothing could be further from the truth, as W.C.F. strongly opposes violence and would never advocate violence or hatred toward any group of people, regardless of differences,” the group wrote in a 31-page response in 2014 to the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Nothing could be further from the truth, as W.C.F. strongly opposes violence and would never advocate violence or hatred toward any group of people, regardless of differences,” the group wrote in 2014.
The group says it is dedicated to “uniting leaders worldwide in defense of family, faith and freedom,” focused on embracing the traditional definition of marriage and opposing abortion.
Larry Jacobs, the group’s managing director, said in a statement that it seeks to fight “the sexual revolution and the harm that it has brought millions of victims worldwide.”Larry Jacobs, the group’s managing director, said in a statement that it seeks to fight “the sexual revolution and the harm that it has brought millions of victims worldwide.”
“The World Congress of Families has been wrongly accused of being hateful by sexual radicals and elitists who object to the W.C.F. support of the natural family and human rights for all human life from conception until natural death,” Mr. Jacobs said. This year, the group planned to honor Mr. Bush for “his pro-life work.” A Bush spokesman told BuzzFeed News that he hadn’t known about the award.
But the Southern Poverty Law Center is not alone in its criticism of the group. Last year, the Human Rights Campaign wrote: “Since 1997, W.C.F. has held conferences and events around the world that foster homophobia and transphobia under the guise of protecting the ‘natural family.’ It is connected to some mainstream conservative organizations and to the very highest levels of government in the countries where it operates.”
When thousands of people gathered last year in Salt Lake City for a meeting by the group, some speakers tied homosexuality to pedophilia and others denounced court rulings on same-sex marriage and said they had “put a lie into the law.”
This year, the group planned to honor Mr. Bush for “his pro-life work to build a culture of life.” A Bush spokesman told BuzzFeed News that he hadn’t known about the award.
In his letter to the attendees, Mr. Bush said families “provide that beacon of freedom and the source of help, hope, and stability for individuals and nations.”
“As one of the pillars of civilization and the bulwark of liberty, families must remain strong and we must defend them,” he wrote. “To ensure that future generations are prepared to face new opportunities and challenges, as President, I took steps to promote strong families, preserve the sanctity of marriage and protect the well-being of children.”