James Dobson’s Focus on the Family has long been a Christian group engaged in politics. Although it could be argued that it is instead a right-wing political group masquerading as a Christian organization. Either way, this institution provides some insight into how certain parts of American Christianity have opted for propaganda over thought and disinformation over discourse.
Focus on the Family cannot itself be involved in political lobbying due to its tax exempt status with the IRS. Instead they have created a separate arm for this purpose called Focus on the Family Action. Here is how they describe themselves:
Focus on the Family Action is a new cultural action organization that is completely separate from Focus on the Family, legally. It has been created by separating out of Focus on the Family those activities which constitute lobbying under the IRS code so that they can be expanded in scope. It will provide a platform for informing, inspiring and rallying those who care deeply about the family to greater involvement in the moral, cultural and political issues that threaten our nation.
The Petition to Stop Passage of Hate Crimes Legislation
So what’s the big deal, you ask? One of their recent petitions they are trying to push is to try to stop the passage of hate crimes legislation. Their concern is that if hate crimes legislation passes, then Christians will no longer be allowed to speak out against behaviors that they believe are immoral, such as homosexuality. Here’s how their petition reads:
Dear Members of Congress,
As an American, I am outraged by attacks on my religious freedoms represented by legislation such as the Hate Crimes Act and ENDA. These bills will severely threaten my deeply held religious beliefs and my ability to share those beliefs.
Our founding documents guarantee the rights to freedom of speech, religion and association and these bills directly attack those rights. I call upon you to do all in your power to protect our constitutional freedoms by opposing these bills.
They claim this on their website: “These two bills, the Hate Crimes Act and ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) are both designed to ultimately silence any moral opposition to homosexual behavior – thus threatening our Christian beliefs.”
However, there are some serious problems here:
- This organization offers its own fact sheet about hate crimes, but never offers a link to the actual legislation that they are asking people to fight against.
- They have loaded their “About the Petition” section with unsupported rhetoric, such as claiming that the legislation is “a reward for homosexual activists” and that the legislation “would be the first step toward ultimately gagging our pastors and other ministry leaders who are faithfully preaching the Scripture about God’s plan for human sexuality.”
The actual legislation can be found on the senate website by clicking here.
Here is what the legislation itself seeks to accomplish (these are taken directly from the bill itself, emphases mine):
- The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would strengthen the ability of federal, state, local, and tribal governments to investigate and prosecute hate crimes based on race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
- The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would authorize the Attorney General to generally provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, and other forms of assistance to a state, local, or tribal enforcement agency in the investigation or prosecution of 1) a violent crime that 2) constitutes a felony and 3) is motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national original, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is otherwise in violation of a local hate crime law.
- The law would provide that anyone who willfully causes or attempts to cause bodily injury on the basis of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or, in the case of death, kidnapping, or sexual abuse (including attempts of these crimes) imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
- The crime must: 1) take place during the course of, or as a result of, the victim’s or defendant’s travel across a state line or national border; 2) involve the defendant using a channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce; 3) involve the defendant using a firearm, dangerous weapons, explosive or incendiary device, or other weapon that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; OR 4) involve an interference with the victim’s commercial or other economic activity or otherwise affect interstate or foreign commerce.
- The legislation would, however, specify that “bodily injury” cannot include solely emotional or psychological harm to the victim.
- The legislation would explicitly state that nothing in the bill should be used to limit or restrict First Amendment protected speech or expressive conduct or activity, including the exercise of religion or peaceful demonstrations.
Did you catch all that? Which of these activities is Focus on the Family afraid to lose? The “right” to cause bodily harm, kidnap or sexually abuse someone? The bill itself explicitly states that it is not designed to interfere with a Christian’s First Amendment rights to speak out against immoral conduct and even to hold peaceful demonstrations.
Come on, Focus on the Family! Please be honest with people about what the legislation actually says. And please explain what would possibly motivate you to lie to people in order to try to stop legislation that, as Christians, you ought to wholeheartedly support.
