The World Congress Of Families would like to emphasize that they did not sponsor this event.
The International Family Forum, which World Congress Of Families members want us to repeatedly emphasize was not sponsored by the WCF, just wrapped up, and in doing so, they issued a resolution which calls for the spread of draconian anti-gay laws worldwide, as part of their misguided, thinly veiled efforts to “protect the family.” Americans participating in the conference included Larry Jacobs and Don Feder of the World Congress Of Families; Brian Brown of the National Organization For Marriage; Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute; and WCF board member Janice Shaw Crouse, who may or may not have a job right now. Right Wing Watch also notes that American representatives from the Christian Broadcasting Network, Personhood USA and Family Watch International were also scheduled to participate. They note that we know yet whether any of the Americans officially supported the resolution, but I have a good guess as to whether they did or didn’t.
We must be clear. The fact that the WCF took their name off the event was nothing more than PR. The mainstream of the American religious right has officially decided that their agenda of hate is so important that they’re willing to get in bed with high ranking officials in the Putin regime, which is probably the greatest current threat to the free world and the ideals that the United States was founded on. It’s not hyperbolic to say that these people, who believe that they are the most moral, most patriotic citizens of the US, are now giving aid and comfort to the enemy of free people everywhere.
Here is the full text, with important parts bolded by me:
“To all people of goodwill everywhere, to leaders of all faiths, to the architects of public opinion, to those at the helm of professional, women’s and youth organizations, to the UN General Assembly, to the heads of state and legislative bodies and to the mass media: We, the participants of the Moscow International Forum, express our profound concern because certain countries are pursuing tenacious policies and an unprecedented propaganda campaign, all of which is leading to the ultimate destruction of the Natural Family − an institution that in a civilized society is the foundation of order, state’s prosperity and social peace.
“The preservation of mankind is based on a system of family and kindred ties that are formed through the bonds of marriage between a male and a female and the children born to them. This and only this alone is capable of ensuring the reproduction, stability and continuity of human civilization. All other kinds of sexual relationships or alliances intentionally that exclude the birth of children are meaningless for they are devoid of the notion set down in the very definition of the word ‘family.’ And no political or economic interests can serve as a pretext for replacing the true and time-tested concept of family by any kind of surrogate.
“Actually, such a society is ultimately aimed at destroying faith in God, as well as belief in good. These post-modern policies focused on the material wealth are destroying what is human in the human being (as created by God), at wrecking the spiritual dimension in Man – all of which are his distinguishing features in Living Nature. We appeal to all people who acknowledge the significance and values of the Natural Family for preserving human civilization:
” – To unite before the threat of total dehumanization of society, to set up a barrier on the road of ideology-lined, state-supported interference in the private lives of people, in an attempt to foist specific sexual lifestyles and preferences of the minority upon the majority.
” – To strive to set forth legislative initiatives in the laws and constitutions of all countries that clearly define the naturally predetermined relationships in the Family as relationships between the male and female, their children and their relatives, to oppose the cynical utilization of women as surrogate mothers in the interests of same-gender liaisons and alliances.
” – To uphold the interests of children and to work for the adoption of legislative bans on all types of propaganda concerning homosexual relationships in the environment of children and juveniles and to initiate and support scientific research to study the conditions and prospects of developing a Natural Family, as well as studying the negative social and psychological effects of raising children in same-gender couples.
“We urgently call upon the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary General and the UN Supreme Commissioner for Human Rights that, while formulating the programs of the United Nations, to follow the letter and the spirit of Article 16 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which underscores the understanding of the Human Family as the only possible and acceptable notion to human civilization, and to proclaim in the foreseeable future a Special Year or Program in support of the Natural Family. We call upon all people who agree with the given Appeal to sign it and support it for the sake of preserving life and civilization on our Earth.”
This is a declaration of war.
If you are an LGBT person, or there is an LGBT person in your family, they declare that your family does not matter, because it does not conform to their ideals. In fact, they say, you are both trying to destroy The Family, and destroy people’s faith. They are declaring war against gay and lesbian couples raising children. And by calling for bans on “propaganda,” they are calling for the criminalization of both coming out and telling the truth to kids. They are calling for kids who will grow up to be LGBT (whether the World Congress Of Families, NOM or C-FAM like it or not) to be ostracized and made silent. They are calling for the very criminalization of free speech.
Why?
Because they know that when they speak, they lose, but when we speak, in love and in truth, we win. So they must muzzle us. It is their only hope.
