WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freedom for All Americans has launched a virtual resource and infographic illustrating the interwoven relationships between anti-LGBT activists and organizations working to pass laws that harm LGBT people. The resource, titled "Enemies of Equality," can be found here: www.freedomforallamericans.org/EnemiesOfEquality .
"It is crystal clear that the vast number of anti-LGBT bills we've seen pop up in state legislatures across the country this past year aren't spontaneous, grassroots attacks on our community," said Matt McTighe, executive director of Freedom for All Americans. "These anti-LGBT bills stem from a highly coordinated effort directed by a handful of well-funded national organizations on a deep-pocketed mission to demonize and harm gay and transgender Americans. These aren't new actors — this network worked hard to foment hateful discrimination by denying LGBT people the freedom to marry. The American people and lawmakers should not be fooled — these organizations are old hands at this kind of hidden dirty work and it is crucial to expose and defeat their efforts to discriminate against LGBT citizens."
The infographic details the links between anti-LGBT groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and Focus on the Family/Family Policy Alliance, and how their funders, board members, and staff intersect and interact. Collectively, the top three anti-LGBT organizations — ADF, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family — had a combined budget of more than $150 million in 2014.
As detailed in FFAA's new, interactive webpage, the ADF network is expansive: its influence includes state-based organizations ( often a state-based "Family Institute" or "Policy Counsel" ) to push out its messaging at the local level and organize grassroots action. Their network includes more than 3,000 affiliated lawyers across the country who work to defend individuals and organizations seeking to discriminate against LGBT people and their families — for example, the attorney Mat Staver of the anti-LGBT firm the Liberty Counsel defended Kim Davis, the county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Supreme Court's historic ruling.
The ADF network also includes a lobbying machine that is capable of blasting out model policies to lawmakers in states all across the country. Over the past year, 17 bills in 14 different states that aim specifically to discriminate against transgender people have language that is nearly identical to model policy language provided by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Next week, a congressional House committee is expected to hold a hearing on the First Amendment Defense Act ( FADA ), a sweeping piece of discriminatory legislation that would allow businesses and government contractors to deny services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) people. The language of that bill also mirrors that of state-level FADAs introduced in places like Georgia and Mississippi earlier this year.
Freedom for All Americans is the bipartisan campaign to secure full nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people nationwide. Our work brings together Republicans and Democrats, businesses large and small, people of faith, and allies from all walks of life to make the case for comprehensive nondiscrimination protections that ensure everyone is treated fairly and equally.
