I originally wrote this article in 2015 but today it seems appropriate to republish it.
So I came across this on the interwebs this evening ...
And it is the horrible conclusion of something I wrote about a few years ago:
Haters Of The World Unite With The Help Of Haters From The USA
The World Congress of Families is a ‘global’ network of like-minded organisations who are out to protect ‘traditional family values’ and these religious right conservatives are taking their message of anti-gay hate to the world. Headed by a far right religious American and based in Illinois, combined the groups that make up this hate network have budgets of almost $200 million per annum – seems that hate pays and pays rather well indeed. They publically state that their mission is to restore the ‘traditional family’ and they have a problem, they have failed in America, gay marriage is now legal across the US and so these haters look outwards. They looked left and looked right and thought ‘as it can no longer deny gays their rights to a family life in the US – but I can sure as hell make it harder for them to live safely elsewhere’. To do this the National Organisation for Marriage and the Alliance Defending Freedom to name but two member organisations of the World Congress of Families, are exporting their hate filled message across the globe. American anti-gay organisations are setting their sights on Europe and beyond.
They advance their anti-gay agenda by promoting a shared plan among multiple organisations in the US and abroad. Their model is to work with insiders, network the power brokers to achieve their goals, which is to influence the passing of anti-gay legislation. They have been very successful in this regard, developing relationships with local political figures and religious leaders who are then paid to become the representatives of those organisations on the ground. A few dollars goes a long way in Eastern Europe and the third world. How do these right wing hate mongers manage to gain influence over foreign countries policy on discrimination and inequality? Fundamentally their strategy thrives on the vilification of the LGBTQ community as threats to society. It is working and the laws they have supported are having devastating consequences on LGBTQ communities around the world. People are being beaten. People are being discriminated against. Anti-gay laws are leading to people losing their jobs, their homes, their lives.
This network of hate has left a trail of destruction across the world: a pan-global network of carnage. In Slovakia, the Alliance Defending Freedom got involved in paying the legal fees of anti-gay religious right conservatives who want to ensure that the constitution is amended to say that marriage can only be between a man and a women. What the Slovakian constitution has to do with a far right religious group in America is anyone’s guess? The Alliance Defending Freedom has also been active challenging human rights legalisation across Europe. They spend about a million dollars on this a year. One has to wonder why? Of course we know that conservatives tend to be myopic and inward looking, so why should they care about what happens outside America? It all seems rather simple. As they lose in the US they look to stop any precedents that might be set for equality in Europe as this might impact on judicial decision making in the US. It is sticking its nose in in Europe because it fears US activists being able to cite European law in the on-going fight for equality in the US.
In Russia, a law which banned the promotion of gay relationships and restricted adoption by homosexual couples has led to a spike in the number of homophobic attacks across Russia. The public policy directed against the LGBTQ community in Russia is seen as a victory by the World Congress of Families. What does this have to do with America, I hear you ask? Well just days after this original law was passed a committee of the Russian Parliament met to discuss the outright banning of adoption by gay couples. There was an American at the table. Brian Brown of the National Organisation for Marriage. He even gave a speech in which he said that he hoped his contribution would help (to paraphrase) on the further development of the anti-gay movement throughout the world.
In Uganda, an American religious right extremist has helped draft anti-gay legislation with horrific consequences. Homosexuality has been illegal in Uganda since the 1950’s, but over the last decade attempts have been made to strengthen anti-gay legislation, supported by religious right American extremists who are associated with the Word Congress of Families. They ignore human rights law to express their hate. It is sickening and promotes hate and violence against the LGBTQ community. People are being lynched and stoned for being gay because of this.
This is not to say that there would not be hatred against the LGBTQ communities around the world without the influence of the far religious right in America. But it surely does not help. For the LGBTQ community, where these far right loons have got involved the world is a much more fearful place. The blood of the dead and beaten is surely on their hands as much as those who work with them and take their hate money.
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Since I first wrote this there has been an obvious resurgence in these fuckers at home, but seemingly it has not stopped their 'work' abroad.
Looks like their strategy is working...
= new reply since forum marked as read
