{{short description|American nonprofit organization promoting fundamentalist Christian values}} {{distinguish|American Family Foundation}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}} {{Infobox organization | name = American Family Association | image = 250px | caption = | founder = Donald Wildmon | type = Public charity 501(c)(3) | tax_id = 64-0607275 (EIN) | registration_id = | founded = {{Start date and age|1977}} | location = Tupelo, Mississippi | coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LON|display=inline,title}} --> | origins = | key_people = Tim Wildmon, President<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.afa.net/who-we-are/spokespersons/|title=Spokespersons|publisher=afa.net|accessdate=February 21, 2024}}</ref> | leader_name2 = | region_served = United States | products = | services = | focus = Advocacy of Protestant fundamentalism in the U.S. | mission = | method = Boycotts | revenue = $21,342,355<ref>{{cite report | author = American Family Association Inc. | date = 2021-04-26 | title = Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax | url = https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/640607275/05_2021_prefixes_62-68%2F640607275_202006_990_2021050518058620 | publisher = ProPublica | access-date = April 1, 2022 }}</ref> (2020) | endowment = | subsid = | owner = | former_name = | dissolved = | website = {{Official URL}} | footnotes = }} {{Conservatism US}} The '''American Family Association''' ('''AFA''') is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harmetz|first=Aljean|title='Last Temptation' to Play in Texas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/17/movies/last-temptation-to-play-in-texas.html|access-date=June 13, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 17, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rubia |first=Richard |title=Movie Brings Religious Dispute into Theaters |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=addOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1670%2C4721364 |access-date=June 13, 2021 |newspaper=Wilmington Morning Star-News |date=July 28, 1988 }}</ref><ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20100108194032/http://www.afa.net/journal/may/interneta.asp Put On The Virtual Armor]." ''AFA Journal''. May 2001. Retrieved on September 15, 2007.</ref><ref name="ALA1">"[http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/1998/june1998/cyberpatrolblocks.cfm CyberPatrol Blocks Conservative Christian Site over Anti-Gay Content] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604205513/http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/1998/june1998/cyberpatrolblocks.cfm |date=June 4, 2011 }}." American Library Association. June 1998. Retrieved on September 15, 2007.</ref><ref name=mediatrans>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218193904/http://www.mediatransparency.com/story.php?storyID=189|archive-date=December 18, 2008|url=http://www.mediatransparency.com/story.php?storyID=189|title=Still Cranky After All These Years|publisher=Media Transparency|date=April 19, 2007|access-date=June 15, 2007}}</ref> It opposes LGBTQ rights and expression, pornography, and abortion.<ref name=afagen>[http://action.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=31 Who is AFA?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715194218/http://action.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=31 |date=July 15, 2009 }}. American Family Association. Retrieved on June 17, 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/27/sharlet.tea.party.evangelical/index.html |last=Sharlet |first=Jeff |work=CNN |title=Is the Tea Party becoming a religious movement? |date=October 27, 2010 |access-date=June 14, 2012}}</ref> It also takes a position on a variety of other public policy goals. It was founded in 1977 by Donald Wildmon as the '''National Federation for Decency''' and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Part of the religious right,<ref name="SPLC"/> the AFA defined itself as "a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on television and other media," later switching their stated emphasis to "moral issues that impact the family."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=149|title=The Religious Right in Washington|date=June 1, 1995|access-date=June 24, 2007|publisher=ACLU|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070403192146/http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=149 |archive-date = April 3, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afajournal.org/2003/february/tim.asp|title=AFA Journal|work=afajournal.org|access-date=May 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707103536/http://www.afajournal.org/2003/february/tim.asp|archive-date=July 7, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.afa.net/newdesign/about.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206163315/http://media.afa.net/newdesign/about.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 6, 2006 |title=afaMEDIA, About AFA |publisher=American Family Association |access-date=May 26, 2012 }}</ref> It engages in activism efforts, including boycotts, buycotts, action alert emails, publications on the AFA's web sites or in the ''AFA Journal'', broadcasts on American Family Radio, and lobbying.<ref>"[http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=3818 'American Family Association' Attacks Ford's Family-Friendly Policies After Failed Disney Boycott] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091653/http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=3818 |date=September 29, 2007 }}." GLADD. June 1, 2005. Retrieved on June 17, 2007.</ref> The organization is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and posted a 2011 budget of over $16 million.<ref>[http://www.ecfa.org/MemberProfile.aspx?ID=11259 ECFA budget report]- Retrieved September 25, 2012</ref> AFA owns 200 American Family Radio stations in 33 states, seven affiliate stations in seven states, and one affiliate TV station (KAZQ) in New Mexico.<ref>[http://www.afa.net/uploadedFiles/Radio/Station%20Listing.pdf AFR radio and TV stations] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307184623/http://www.afa.net/uploadedFiles/Radio/Station%20Listing.pdf |date=March 7, 2012 }}- Retrieved September 25, 2012</ref><ref name=stonevaida>Peter H Stone, Bara Vaida, "Christian Soldiers" ''National Journal''. Washington, December 4, 2004. Volume 36, Issue 49, pg. 3596</ref>
AFA has been listed as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)<ref name="SPLC">{{cite web|title=SPLC Extremist Files|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/american-family-association|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> since November 2010 for the "propagation of known falsehoods" and the use of "demonizing propaganda" against LGBTQ people.<ref name="urlActive Anti-Gay Groups | Southern Poverty Law Center">{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/anti-gay/active_hate_groups |title=Active Anti-Gay Groups | Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=April 20, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110421184350/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/anti-gay/active_hate_groups| archive-date= April 21, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref>
== Operations == Reverend Donald Wildmon served as chairman of AFA until he announced his retirement on March 3, 2010. His son, Tim, is president of AFA. AFA is governed by an independent board of directors. ''AFA Journal'' is a monthly publication with a circulation of 180,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=3796|title=Right Wing Organization: American Family Association|publisher=People for the American Way|access-date=June 25, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070704023846/http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=3796| archive-date= July 4, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> containing news, features, columns, and interviews. In addition to the publication, ''AFA Journal'' articles are made available online. The journal reviews the content of prime-time television shows, categorizing them based on profanity, sex, violence, homosexuality, substance abuse, "anti-Christian" content, or "political correctness". The categorization is accompanied by short descriptions of the content of the episode under review. The review also lists the advertisers of each show and invites readers to contact the advertisers or television networks to express concern over program content.<ref name="MG">Mathewes-Green, Frederica. "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199703/ai_n8753654 While TV moguls dither, parents' guides deliver Policy Review.]" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905062559/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199703/ai_n8753654/ |date=September 5, 2009 }} Policy Review. Mar/Apr 1997. Iss. 82; pg. 8, 4 pgs. Retrieved on October 2, 2007</ref>
''American Family Radio'' (AFR) is a network of approximately 200 AFA-owned radio stations broadcasting Christian-oriented programming.<ref name=mediatrans/>
''OneNewsNow.com'' (formerly AgapePress), the AFA news division, provides online audio newscasts and a daily digest of news articles, Associated Press stories, and opinion columns.<ref>"[http://media.afa.net/newdesign/ReleaseDetail.asp?id=3532 News Operations Merge to Create OneNewsNow.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617140104/http://media.afa.net/newdesign/ReleaseDetail.asp?id=3532 |date=June 17, 2010 }}" AFA Media. February 23, 2007. Retrieved on June 25, 2007</ref>
Center for Law and Policy, the legal and political arm of the AFA, was shut down in 2007. It specialized in First Amendment cases. The Center for Law and Policy lobbied legislative bodies, drafted legislation, and filed religious-discrimination lawsuits on behalf of individuals.<ref name=stonevaida/> Chief among its efforts were attempts to promote the recognition of Christmas in seasonal print advertisements; the criminalization of homosexuality,<ref>The AFA filed an amicus curiae brief in Lawrence vs Texas, arguing against repeal: [http://supreme.justia.com/us/539/558/case.html Lawrence v. Texas – 539 U.S. 558 (2003)]</ref><ref name="sovo">{{cite news|first=Dyana|last=Bagby|url=http://www.sovo.com/2005/6-3/news/national/anti-gay.cfm|title=Efforts of 'anti-gay industry' chronicled in new report|work=Southern Voice|date=June 3, 2005|access-date=June 25, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070213062906/http://www.sovo.com/2005/6-3/news/national/anti-gay.cfm |archive-date = February 13, 2007}}</ref><ref name=vanderkam>Vanderkam, Laura R. "Internet filter blocks anti-gay Web sites". ''The Washington Times'' (August 5, 1998) {{ISSN|0732-8494}}.</ref> censorship of television programming,<ref>Boston, Rob. "[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+religious+right+and+American+freedom%3A+fundamentalist+christian...-a0147520507 The Religious Right and American Freedom]". ''Church & State''. June 2006 Retrieved on February 7, 2008.</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} and opposition to same-sex marriage as well as equal-rights and hate-crime legislation that would include sexual orientation and gender identity among the protected categories.<ref>[http://www.afa.net/homosexual_agenda/homosexuality.pdf Homosexuality] AFA website guide to homosexuality {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524051219/http://www.afa.net/homosexual_agenda/homosexuality.pdf |date=May 24, 2006 }}</ref><ref>[http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/bills/?bill=9642666 AFA opposition to S.1105, an act which would strengthen hate-crime legislation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108234655/http://www.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/bills/?bill=9642666 |date=January 8, 2008 }} AFA legal action website</ref><ref>[http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/bills/?bill=10434601 AFA opposition to HR3685, an act which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119001602/http://capwiz.com/afanet/issues/bills/?bill=10434601 |date=January 19, 2008 }} AFA legal action website</ref>
==Campaigns and issues== The AFA has a history of activism by organizing its members in boycotts and letter-writing campaigns aimed at promoting socially conservative values in the United States. The AFA has promoted boycotts of television shows, movies, and businesses that the group considers to have promoted indecency, obscenity, or homosexuality. In addition to promoting activism via mail to AFA members, 3.4 million subscribers receive AFA "Action Alerts" via email.<ref name=mediatrans/>
=== Boycotts === The AFA has boycotted companies for various reasons, most often relating to Christmas-related controversies, pornography, support of pro-choice activism, support of violent or sexual content in entertainment, and support of LGBTQ rights,<ref name=Stenovec>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/american-family-association-google-video_n_1666218.html | title=American Family Association Calls For Boycott Of Google Over Company's Support Of LGBT Rights | publisher=Huffington Post | date=July 11, 2012 | access-date=March 12, 2013 | author=Stenovec, Timothy}}</ref><ref name="SPLC-AFA">{{cite web | url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/american-family-association | title=American Family Association | publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center| work=Intelligence Files | access-date=March 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Crary>{{cite news | title=Wal-Mart won't aid gay-rights causes; Christian right group drops post-Thanksgiving boycott threat. | date=November 22, 2006 | agency=Albany Times Union | author=Crary, David | location=Albany, NY}}</ref> including same-sex partner employee benefits. These organizations include: 7-Eleven, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl's Jr., Chobani, Clorox, Comcast, Crest, Ford Motor Company, Hallmark Cards, Hardee's, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Paramount Pictures, Time Warner, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Mary Kay Cosmetics, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Procter & Gamble,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://afajournal.org/past-issues/2004/november-december/procter-gamble-comes-out-of-the-closet/ | work=AFA Journal |title=Procter & Gamble comes out of the closet}}</ref> Target Corporation, Walt Disney Company, and PepsiCo.
In 1986, 7-Eleven stopped selling ''Playboy'' and ''Penthouse'' magazines after a two-year boycott by the AFA.<ref name=liebeck>Liebeck, Laura. "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n9_v29/ai_9076835 K mart, Waldenbooks to face AFA pickets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215133555/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n9_v29/ai_9076835 |date=December 15, 2005 }}". ''Discount Store News''. May 7, 1990 Retrieved on July 15, 2007.</ref> In 1989, the AFA boycotted Waldenbooks in an attempt to persuade the company to stop selling those same magazines. Waldenbooks responded with an advertisement campaign against censorship, asserting First Amendment rights. Waldenbooks, the American Booksellers Association, the Council for Periodical Distributors Association, the International Periodical Distributors Association, and Duval Bibb Services launched a lawsuit against the AFA in October 1989, under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Florida State RICO Acts, which protect an organization's right to conduct business without harassment or threats.<ref name=autogenerated1>Cohen, Roger. "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEEDD1431F930A15757C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print With Boycott and Ads, A Battle Over Selling]". ''The New York Times''. April 23, 1990. Retrieved on September 29, 2007.</ref> The case was settled by the parties without a court ruling.
AFA boycotted PepsiCo in 1989 for supporting Madonna, whose video for "Like a Prayer" Wildmon felt was sacrilegious.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,957949,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919185056/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,957949,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 19, 2012|title=Interview with Rev. Donald E. Wildmon: Bringing Satan To Heel|last=Winbush|first=Don|date=June 19, 1989|magazine=Time|access-date=July 18, 2009}}</ref>
During the summer of 1993 the AFA purchased full-page ads in ''The New York Times'', ''USA Today'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' denouncing the sexual and violent content of the upcoming ABC police drama ''NYPD Blue''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carter|first=Bill|title=Police Drama Under Fire for Sex and Violence|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DF133FF931A15755C0A965958260|work=The New York Times|date=June 22, 1993|access-date=August 1, 2008}}</ref> It also urged ABC affiliates not to broadcast the program and citizens to boycott sponsors of ''Blue''. About a quarter of the 225 existing ABC stations followed suit; however, these affiliates were mostly located in rural areas of the US. The AFA campaign increased hype for the show in larger American media markets, and ''Blue'' became one of the most popular shows of the 1993–1994 television season.<ref>{{cite web|last=Streible |first=Daniel G. |title=NYPD Blue |url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/htmlN/nypdblue/nypdblue.htm |publisher=Museum of Broadcast Communications |access-date=August 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612180212/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/htmlN/nypdblue/nypdblue.htm |archive-date=June 12, 2008 }}</ref> In 1996, the AFA launched a boycott against Walt Disney Company when the company began giving benefits to same-sex employees in domestic partnerships. The AFA has claimed that Michael Eisner, the CEO of The Disney Company, "was involved in a media group that actively promoted the homosexual agenda" and was pushing the "gay agenda". The AFA ended the boycott in the spring of 2005, following Eisner's departure from the company.<ref name=MSNBCford2>Johnson, Alex"[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8119504 Christian group suspends Ford boycott]". NBC News June 6, 2005. Retrieved on June 24, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/05/052405disney.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210152335/http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/05/052405disney.htm |archive-date=February 10, 2006 |title=Anti-Gay Group Ends Disney Boycott |first=Doreen |last=Brandt |publisher=365gay News |date=May 24, 2005}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7968642 Conservative group ends 9-year Disney boycott]". Associated Press (Published on NBC News). May 24, 2005. Retrieved on September 29, 2007.</ref> Tim Wildmon stated, "We feel after nine years of boycotting Disney we have made our point."<ref>[http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=20841 AFA ends Disney boycott it launched in mid-1990s] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409225303/http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20841 |date=April 9, 2011 }}, Dwayne Hastings, ''Baptist Press'', May 24, 2005. Retrieved on November 22, 2010</ref>
In January 2002, the restaurant chain Taco Bell held a month-long promotion in which four Cardcaptor Sakura toys were available in their kids' meals, expecting to distribute up to 7 million of the toys during the month.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/1002.html |title=Taco Bell's Cardcaptor Promotion Runs through January 30 |publisher=ICv2 |date=January 8, 2002 |access-date=May 25, 2009 }}</ref> The AFA complained about the promotion, saying the Clow Cards being offered were similar to tarot cards and the series they were derived from was akin to Eastern mythology. However, the organization's complaints began on the day before the promotion's scheduled end date.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/1088.html |title=Was Cardcaptors Promo Pulled Due to 'Occult' Complaints? Or Did It End on Schedule |publisher=ICv2 |date=February 5, 2002 |access-date=May 25, 2009 }}</ref>
In 2003, the AFA, with the American Decency Association, Focus on the Family, and Citizens for Community Values, lobbied and boycotted Abercrombie & Fitch, calling on "A&F to stop using blatant pornography in its quarterly catalog".<ref>Pugh, Rusty and Parker, Jenni. [http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/afa/102003a.asp Decency Advocates Claim Victory as A&F Pulls Explicit Catalog, Ceases Publication]. AFA Journal. December 10, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-06-16. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20060827201613/http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/afa/102003a.asp archived link])</ref> In December 2003, the company "recalled the holiday catalog from all its stores, saying it needed the space on the counter for a new perfume" and stated it would stop printing catalogs and start a new campaign.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://money.cnn.com/2003/12/09/news/companies/abercrombie/index.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031220144553/http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/09/news/companies/abercrombie/index.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 20, 2003 | title=Abercrombie kills its racy catalog | date=December 9, 2003 | work=CNN | first=Parija | last=Bhatnagar}}</ref>
In 2005, the AFA boycotted the company American Girl, seller of dolls and accessories, over their support of the charity Girls, Inc., which the AFA called "a pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group".<ref>"[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-14-american-girl_x.htm Conservatives protest popular doll-maker]". Associated Press (Published on ''USA Today''). October 15, 2005. Retrieved on October 1, 2007.</ref>
In Spring 2005, the AFA launched a boycott of Ford Motor Company for advertising in gay magazines, donating to gay rights organizations, and sponsoring gay pride celebrations.<ref name=MSNBCford2/><ref name=NPRford>"[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5041397 Ford Drops Ads in Gay-Oriented Magazines]". NPR. December 6, 2005. Retrieved on October 1, 2007.</ref><ref>Johnson, Alex. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20141213205218/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8047423/ Another swing of the pocketbook: Christian activist groupgoes after Ford Motor Co.]". NBC News. June 1, 2005</ref> After meeting with representatives of the group, Ford announced it was curtailing ads in a number of major gay-themed publications, due not to cultural but to "cost-cutting" factors. That statement was contradicted by the AFA, which claimed it had a "good faith agreement" that Ford would cease such ads. Soon afterwards, as a result of a strong outcry from the gay community, Ford backtracked and announced it would continue ads in gay publications, in response to which the AFA denounced Ford for "violating" the agreement, and renewed threats of a boycott.<ref name="fordca">{{Cite news|url=http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/ford_gay_ads04.html |title=Anti-Gay Group Renews Ford Boycott Threat |date=December 17, 2005 |access-date=May 4, 2007 |periodical=ConsumerAffairs.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204094152/http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/ford_gay_ads04.html |archive-date=February 4, 2007 }}</ref> The boycott ended in March 2008.<ref>[http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/03/ford_antigay.html Hate Groups End Ford Boycott], Joe Benton, ''Consumer Affairs'', March 11, 2008. Retrieved on November 22, 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509195625/http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/03/ford_antigay.html |date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref>
On Independence Day 2008, the AFA announced a boycott of McDonald's,<ref>{{cite news|last=Ahrens|first=Frank|title=Gay-Marriage Opponents To Boycott McDonald's|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303769.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=D1|date=July 4, 2008}}</ref> which had a director on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. In October 2008, AFA announced the end of its boycott, following McDonald's declaration to be "neutral on same-sex marriage or any 'homosexual agenda' as defined by the American Family Association" in a memo to franchisees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.suntimes.com/business/1213469,CST-NWS-gaymcd10.article|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014020553/http://www.suntimes.com/business/1213469%2CCST-NWS-gaymcd10.article|url-status=dead|title=McDonald's cuts off gay chamber of commerce group|archivedate=October 14, 2008}}</ref>
In December 2008, the AFA issued an "Action Alert"<ref>[http://www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=337 Campbell Soup Company embraces homosexual agenda] AFA website, retrieved on December 30, 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131230736/http://www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=337 |date=January 31, 2009 }}</ref> which called for members to protest the Campbell Soup Company, which had purchased two two-page advertisements in the December 2008 and January 2009 issues of the LGBTQ magazine ''The Advocate''. Donald Wildmon said that the ads, which showed a lesbian couple with their son, "sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family and are worthy of support".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal-wharton-campbells-und/149894359/|title=Wharton: Campbell's undeterred by criticism|newspaper=The News Journal|date=November 22, 2009}}</ref>
In November 2009, the AFA called for a boycott against clothing retailer The Gap, Inc., claiming the retailer's holiday television advertising campaign failed to mention Christmas. "Christmas has historically been very good for commerce. But now Gap wants the commerce but no Christmas," wrote an AFA spokesperson. The Gap soon released an advertisement in response to the boycott, specifically referring to Christmas, albeit with a number of other holidays that occur at the same time of year, and added the word "Christmas" to in-store decorations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Neil |first=Dan |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-neil17-2009nov17,0,2040716.story |title=Gap's Christmas cheer makes a boycott backfire |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 17, 2009 |access-date=December 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120181003/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-neil17-2009nov17%2C0%2C2040716.story |archive-date=November 20, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVMPWlWDvsI|title=Go Ho Ho – Gap 2009 Holiday Commercial|people=Crispin Porter + Bogusky (Producer)|quote=Go Christmas|date=November 13, 2009|access-date=December 16, 2009}}</ref>
In 2012 the AFA led a boycott against Archie Comics when they published a comic book featuring a same-sex marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/03/02/one-million-moms-protest-gay-marriage-in-archie-comic/ |title=One Million Moms Protest Gay Marriage In Archie Comic |publisher=Geeks of Doom |date=March 2, 2012 |access-date=March 9, 2012}}</ref>
In July 2012, they considered boycotting Google due to Google's "Legalize Love" campaign which supports LGBTQ rights.<ref>[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/07/11/video-anti-gay-american-family-association-ponders-google-ban/ Video: Anti-gay American Family Association ponders Google ban] retrieved July 13, 2012</ref>
In April 2016, AFA launched a boycott against Target Corporation<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.afa.net/action-alerts/sign-the-boycott-target-pledge/|title=Sign the Boycott Target Pledge!|website=American Family Association|access-date=April 21, 2016|date=2016-04-20|archive-date=April 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422124508/https://www.afa.net/action-alerts/sign-the-boycott-target-pledge/|url-status=dead}}</ref> due to Target announcing they "welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity". In August 2016, Target announced that it would invest $20 million into adding single-occupancy restrooms in its stores in response to the boycott.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://corporate.target.com/article/2016/04/target-stands-inclusivity|title=Continuing to Stand for Inclusivity|website=Target Corporate|language=en-US|access-date=April 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Isidore |first=Chris |date=2016-08-17 |title=Target's $20 million answer to transgender bathroom boycott |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/17/news/companies/target-bathroom-transgender/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817181028/http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/17/news/companies/target-bathroom-transgender/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=CNNMoney}}</ref> In February 2025 the boycott on Target ended after the company announced it was rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts including participation in the Human Rights Campaign's LGBT index in January 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-04 |title=AFA Ends Boycott of Target |url=https://www.afa.net/activism/afa-insider/2025/afa-ends-boycott-of-target/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=American Family Association |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Repko |first=Melissa |date=2025-01-24 |title=Target rolls back DEI initiatives, the latest big company to retreat |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/24/target-rolls-back-major-dei-initiatives.html |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>
=== Published media === On April 16, 2007, following the Virginia Tech Massacre, the AFA released a video titled ''The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools'', in which God tells a student that students were killed in schools because God is not allowed in schools anymore. The video claims that the shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine, among others, are in part the result of: decreased discipline in schools; no prayer in schools; sex out of wedlock; rampant violence in TV, movies, and music; or abortions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afr.net/newafr/wekickedgodout.asp |title=The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools |publisher=American Family Radio (American Family Association) |access-date=June 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708045621/http://www.afr.net/newafr/wekickedgodout.asp |archive-date=July 8, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>"[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3944/is_200706/ai_n19434950 Gingrich Says Liberals And Lack Of Religion Sparked Va. Tech Killings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019173837/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3944/is_200706/ai_n19434950 |date=October 19, 2015 }}." ''Church and State''. June 2007. Retrieved on October 1, 2007.</ref>
''Speechless: Silencing the Christians'' is a 2008 documentary series hosted by Janet Parshall. The series explains the AFA's position against the drive towards political correctness, and claims that various factors, such as hate crime laws and other discriminatory actions, are threatening Christians' existence. In 2009, a one-hour special version of the program was produced and aired on commercial television stations, for which AFA had purchased the airtime.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afajournal.org/2008/january/0108afa_insp.asp |title=AFA, INSP partner in new TV series |access-date=July 20, 2009 |date=January 2008 |work=AFA Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090712184650/http://www.afajournal.org/2008/january/0108afa_insp.asp |archive-date=July 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
=== Sexual morality === The AFA has repeatedly lobbied Congress to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.<ref name=sherkatellison>Darren E Sherkat, Christopher G Ellison, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2580526 The cognitive structure of a moral crusade: Conservative protestantism and opposition to pornography], ''Social Forces'', Mar 1997. Volume 75, Issue 3 pg. 957 ([https://www.proquest.com/docview/229865128 ProQuest link])</ref>
Speaking in defense of Mike Huckabee's statements that people with AIDS should be quarantined, the head of the AFA of Pennsylvania said Huckabee's recommendation was appropriate.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071219173237/http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/12/penn_family_advocate_defends_h.php Penn. family advocate defends Huckabee's statements on AIDS patients] Allie Martin, OneNewsNow.com December 18, 2007</ref>
===View on media=== Wildmon has been accused of saying that he believes Hollywood and the theater world are heavily influenced by Jewish people, and that television network executives and advertisers have a genuine hostility towards Christians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publiceye.org/ifas/fw/8906/wildmon.html |title=Religious leaders denounce Wildmon's anti-Semitism |publisher=Institute for First Amendment Studies |date=May 21, 1989 |access-date=March 9, 2012}}</ref><ref name=brackman00>Brackman, H. D., ''[https://archive.today/20130415210054/http://mj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/20/1/1 The Attack on Jewish Hollywood: A Chapter in the History of Modern American Anti-Semitism]'', Modern Judaism, Vol. 20, No. February 1, 2000, pp. 1–19</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Carr, Steven Alan |title=Hollywood and anti-semitism: a cultural history up to World War II |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2001 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodantisem0000carr/page/n20 5] |isbn=978-0-521-79854-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodantisem0000carr |url-access=registration |quote=wildmon anti-semitism. |access-date=June 20, 2008 }}</ref>
===Opposition to other religions=== On November 28, 2006, following the election of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress,<ref>Argetsinger, Amy and Roberts, Roxanne. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010300075.html But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!]. ''The Washington Post''. January 3, 2007 Retrieved on January 4, 2007</ref> the AFA released an "Action Alert." The Action Alert, entitled "A first for America...The Koran replaces the Bible at swearing-in oath: What book will America base its values on, the Bible or the Koran?", requested subscribers to write to their Congressional representatives and urge them to create a "law making the Bible the book used in the swearing-in ceremony of representatives and senators."<ref>[http://www.afa.net/aa112806_2.asp A first for America...The Koran replaces the Bible at swearing-in oath]. American Family Association. Retrieved on June 17, 2007. ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522063621/http://www.afa.net/aa112806_2.asp |date=May 22, 2007 }})</ref><ref>Sacirbey, Omar. "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_26_123/ai_n17094493 Ellison not first to forgo Bible for oath] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630222016/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_26_123/ai_n17094493 |date=June 30, 2008 }}." Christian Century (published on LookSmart FindArticles). December 26, 2006. Retrieved on June 17, 2007.</ref><ref>Ellison, Keith. "Lawmaker to take oath on Koran, faces flak". ''The Washington Times'' (December 1, 2006). {{ISSN|0732-8494}}.</ref>
On July 13, 2007, a Hindu prayer was conducted in the U.S. Senate. Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple, read the prayer at the invitation of Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who defended his invitation based on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. AFA sent out an "Action Alert" to its members, urging them to email, write letters, or call their senators to oppose the Hindu prayer, stating it is "seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god."<ref name="HinduPrayer">"[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19729245 Hindu Prayer in Senate Disrupted]." Associated Press (published on NBC News). June 12, 2007. Retrieved on June 15, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afa.net/Petitions/issuedetail.asp?id=257 |title=ActionAlert: Hindu to open Senate with prayer |publisher=American Family Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715175738/http://www.afa.net/Petitions/issuedetail.asp?id=257 |archive-date=July 15, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202007.html |title=Senate Prayer Led by Hindu Elicits Protest |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 13, 2007 |access-date=March 9, 2012}}</ref> The "alert" stated that "since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto ''One Nation Under God.''"<ref>"''Hindu to open Senate with prayer'' AFA Action Alert, July 10, 2007"</ref> The convocation by Zed was disrupted by three protesters from a different Fundamentalist Christian activist group, Operation Save America, in the gallery; they reportedly shouted "this is an abomination", and called themselves "Christians and patriots".<ref name="HinduPrayer" />
On August 10, 2010, Bryan Fischer, AFA's director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy, posted on his blog on the AFA website<ref>{{cite web| last =Fischer| first =Bryan| title =No More Mosques, Period.| publisher =American Family Association| year =2010| url =http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147497353| access-date =August 12, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100812021008/http://action.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147497353| archive-date= August 12, 2010 | url-status= dead}}</ref> that "Permits should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the United States of America, let alone the monstrosity planned for Ground Zero. This is for one simple reason: each Islamic mosque is dedicated to the overthrow of the American government." Fischer continued: "Because of this subversive ideology, Muslims cannot claim religious freedom protections under the First Amendment."<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/christian-conservative-leader-calls-for-no-more-mosques-in-us/ "Christian Conservative Leader Calls for No More Mosques in U.S."] ''CBS News'' (August 12, 2010). Retrieved on January 25, 2015.</ref>
=== Homosexuality ===
The AFA expresses public concern over what it refers to as the "homosexual agenda". They state that the Bible "declares that homosexuality is unnatural and sinful" and that they have "sponsored several events reaching out to homosexuals and letting them know there is love and healing at the Cross of Christ."<ref>{{cite web|title=Does AFA Hate Homosexuals?|url=http://www.afa.net/FAQ.aspx?id=2147483677|website=afa.net|publisher=American Family Association|access-date=March 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812033322/http://www.afa.net/FAQ.aspx?id=2147483677|archive-date=August 12, 2010 }}</ref>
The AFA actively lobbies against the social acceptance of homosexual behavior ("''We oppose the homosexual movement's efforts to convince our society that their behavior is normal''").<ref>[http://www.afa.net/FAQ.aspx?id=2147483680 Principles Which Guide AFA's Opposition to the Homosexual Agenda] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119092934/http://afa.net/FAQ.aspx?id=2147483680 |date=November 19, 2010 }} AFA website, retrieved on July 19, 2009</ref> The AFA also actively promotes the idea that homosexuality is a choice and that sexual orientation can be changed through ex-gay ministries.<ref name="nsrc_exgay">{{cite book |last= Erzen |first= Tanya |title= Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian conversions in the Ex-Gay movement |publisher= University of California Press |date= June 2006 |isbn= 978-0-520-24582-2 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/straighttojesuss0000erze }}</ref>
In 1996, responding to a complaint from an AFA member who was participating in an AFA campaign targeting gay journalists, the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' transferred a gay editor out of a job that occasionally required him to work with schoolchildren. The AFA targeted the editor due to cartoon strips he created, which were published in gay magazines. The paper apparently acted on the AFA's unsubstantiated statement that the editor was "preoccupied with the subjects of pedophilia and incest."<ref>Pasztor, David. [http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-01-25/news/classless-act/ Classless act: Star-Telegram knuckles under to Christian group, reassigns gay editor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617065815/http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-01-25/news/classless-act/ |date=June 17, 2011 }}". ''Dallas Observer'' (January 25, 1996). Retrieved on October 21, 2007.</ref>
In 2000, vice president Tim Wildmon spoke out against gay-straight alliance clubs in schools, stating, "We view these kinds of clubs as an advancement of the homosexual cause."<ref>"[http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues/issues149.shtml Gay-Straight Alliances: Ground Zero for School Tolerance]." [http://www.educationworld.com/ www.educationworld.com]. December 19, 2000. Retrieved on April 30, 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927104346/http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues/issues149.shtml |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> In 2003, the AFA filed an amicus curiae brief in Lawrence vs Texas, arguing against the repeal of Texas sodomy laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findlawimages.com/efile/supreme/briefs/02-102/02-102.mer.ami.afa.pdf|title=Lawrence v. Texas, BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC|access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-date=March 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307220953/http://findlawimages.com/efile/supreme/briefs/02-102/02-102.mer.ami.afa.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2004, the AFA raised concerns about the movie ''Shark Tale'' because the group believed the movie was designed to promote the acceptance of gay rights by children.<ref name=mediatrans/><ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/2004/12/Is-This-Shark-Gay-Kiddie-Cartoons-And-The-Culture-Wars.aspx?p=2 Is This Shark Gay? Kiddie Cartoons and the Culture Wars], Rachael Scott, beliefnet.com, Retrieved on November 22, 2010</ref><ref name="Felder">{{cite web |date=Nov 24, 2004 |first=Sam |last=Felder |title=Is There Something Fishy About "Shark Tale"? |url=https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/is-there-something-fishy-about-shark-tale |website=Americans United |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919062748/https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/is-there-something-fishy-about-shark-tale |archive-date=2015-09-19 |quote=Make no mistake. This is not a joke or a parody. The AFA is serious. |url-status=dead }}</ref> On the October 11, 2005, AFA broadcast, Tim Wildmon agreed with a caller that cable networks like Animal Planet and HGTV featured "evidence of homosexuality and lesbian people" and added that "you have to watch out for children's programs today as well because they'll slip it in there as well."<ref>''Today's Issues'', American Family Radio. October 11, 2005.</ref> In 2007, the AFA spoke out against IKEA for featuring gay families in their television ads.<ref>"[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-3679.html IKEA's gay family ad upsets conservatives]." Pink News. February 9, 2007. Retrieved on September 29, 2007.</ref> In June 2008, the AFA protested a Heinz television advertisement, shown in the United Kingdom, which featured two men kissing, was withdrawn by Heinz.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jul/01/advertising.usa Heinz 'men kissing' ad: US Christian group urged firm to pull commercial] ''The Guardian'', July 1, 2008 (accessed July 6, 2008)</ref> On January 28, 2015, the AFA wrote to the Southern Poverty Law Center that the AFA now rejected the policy that homosexual conduct should be illegal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/publication/letter_from_afa_to_mr._julian_bond_emeritus_splc.pdf|date=January 28, 2015 |title=Letter sent to the Southern Poverty Law Center Re: Renunciation of Statements by Bryan Fischer|access-date=June 13, 2016}}</ref>
The AFA's founder, Don Wildmon, was "instrumental" in initially setting up the Arlington Group, a networking vehicle for social conservatives focusing on gay marriage.<ref name=stonevaida/>
===One Million Moms/One Million Dads project=== AFA created "One Million Moms" and "One Million Dads", two websites with the stated goal of mobilizing parents to "stop the exploitation of children" by the media. It uses these websites to organize boycotts and urge activists to send emails to mainstream companies that employ advertising, sell products, or advertise on television shows they find offensive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=31 |title=About |publisher=American Family Association |date=August 6, 2010 |access-date=March 9, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307185535/http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=31 |archive-date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref> In 2012, the group started and then backed off from a failed campaign against the hiring of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson for department store chain J. C. Penney.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/03/ellen-degeneres-anti-gay-group-backs-off-jc-penney-ad-boycott-.html |title=Ellen DeGeneres ads: Anti-gay group's J.C. Penney boycott fizzles |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 9, 2012 |date=March 8, 2012}}</ref> They opposed her employment on the grounds that DeGeneres is "an open homosexual".<ref>{{cite web|last=Weinstein |first=Joshua |title=Fans 'stand up' for Ellen DeGeneres |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/life/Fans+stand+Ellen+DeGeneres/6100970/story.html |work=The Ottawa Citizen |access-date=February 4, 2012 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> At a taping of her show, DeGeneres informed her audience of the fizzled effort: "They wanted to get me fired and I am proud and happy to say J. C. Penney stuck by their decision to make me their spokesperson."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/one-million-moms-drop-ellen-degeneres-jc-penney-boycott-297744 |title=One Million Moms Drops Ellen Degeneres JC Penney Protest |date=March 8, 2012 |first=Jordan |last=Zakarin |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>
The One Million Moms campaign opposed Marvel and DC Comics issues which featured gay characters, describing the storylines as a "brainwashing and desensitizing experience" for children, written to "influence them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable."<ref>[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/25/gay-comic-book-characters-under-fire-from-one-million-moms/ Gay comic book characters under fire from One Million Moms] retrieved August 19, 2012</ref>
The organization criticized GEICO for a 2013 commercial showing Maxwell the Pig in a car with a human girl, saying it suggests bestiality.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/02/25/Group-upset-by-Geicos-bestiality-ad/96081361822833/?ur3=1 | title=Group upset by Geico's 'bestiality' ad | date=February 25, 2013}}</ref>
In 2015, the organization criticized a Campbell's ad that depicted two dads taking care of their child by feeding him Campbell's Star Wars soup. The organization claimed the ad "normaliz[ed] sin."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/one-million-moms-campbells_56181dc1e4b0dbb8000e9e79 | title='Family Group' Is Fuming Over The Campbell's Soup Ad With Gay Dads | newspaper=Huffington Post | date=October 11, 2015 | access-date=January 17, 2016 | author=Wong, Curtis}}</ref>
In 2019, the organization complained about ads airing on The Hallmark Channel for wedding planning site Zola, which featured two brides kissing at the altar. In response, Hallmark's parent company Crown Media pulled the ads. After protests from the public, including celebrities Ellen DeGeneres and William Shatner, Crown Media reversed their decision and stated they would reinstate the ads.<ref name="guardian-16dec2019">{{cite news |title=Hallmark reverses 'wrong decision' to pull ads with same-sex brides |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/16/hallmark-channel-reverses-wrong-decision-pull-ads-same-sex-brides-zola |access-date=December 16, 2019 |work=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |date=December 16, 2019}}</ref> In 2020, Burger King was their target for using the word "damn" in a television commercial.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Eric Levenson|title=Conservative 'Moms' group slams Burger King for using 'the d-word' in a commercial|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/12/us/one-million-moms-burger-king-cursing/index.html|access-date=2020-11-12|website=CNN |date=January 12, 2020 }}</ref>
The actual number involved in One Million Moms has been questioned. After a complaint about Burger King ads using the word "damn", a CNN article stated that "Despite its name, it is not clear that the group has a million members. According to its website, more than 8,000 people have taken action on the Burger King issue, and its Facebook group has just shy of 100,000 likes."<ref name="Levenson">{{cite news |last1=Levenson |first1=Eric |title=Conservative 'Moms' group slams Burger King for using 'the d-word' in a commercial |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/12/us/one-million-moms-burger-king-cursing/index.html |access-date=14 January 2020 |work=CNN }}</ref>
===In God We Trust===
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, many public schools across the United States posted "In God We Trust" framed posters in their "libraries, cafeterias and classrooms". The American Family Association supplied several 11-by-14-inch posters to school systems and vowed to defend any legal challenges to the displaying of the posters.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/02/20/usat-posters.htm|title=USATODAY.com – 'In God We Trust' pressed for schools|work=usatoday.com | date=February 19, 2002}}</ref>
== Criticism and controversy == In 2015, the organization officially repudiated views of former director of issues analysis Bryan Fischer, including the claim that black people "rut like rabbits"; that the First Amendment applies only to Christians; that Hispanics are "socialists by nature" and come to the U.S. to "plunder" the country; that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, and that "homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews."<ref name=rwwrepudiate>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bryan-fischer-says-has-not-been-fired-will-retain-his-position-afr-radio-host|title=Bryan Fischer Says That He Has Not Been Fired, Will Retain His Position As AFR Radio Host|author=Kyle Mantyla|date=January 29, 2015|work=Right Wing Watch|publisher=People for the American Way}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/american-family-association-repudiates-chief-spokesman-s-racist-and-anti-lgbt-stat|title=American Family Association repudiates chief spokesman's racist and anti-LGBT statements before hosting Israel trip for RNC members|date=January 29, 2015|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|work=SPLC News}}</ref>
===Religious exercise=== Sandy Rios, the Family Association's director of governmental affairs, has criticized "powerful Jewish forces behind the ACLU"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/corsi-and-rios-explain-how-evolution-aclu-and-powerful-jewish-forces-will-destroy-america|title=Corsi and Rios Explain How Evolution, the ACLU and 'Powerful Jewish Forces' Will Destroy America|author=Brian Tashman|date=April 9, 2013|work=Right Wing Watch|publisher=People for the American Way}}</ref> and stated that secular Jews often "turn out to be the worst enemies of the country." The AFA's president, Tim Wildmon, has stated, "Most of the Jews in this country, unfortunately, are far-left."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/group-organizing-rnc-israel-trip-attacks-israels-atheist-jews|title=Group Organizing RNC Israel Trip Attacks Israel's 'Atheist Jews'|author=Brian Tashman|date=January 29, 2015|work=Right Wing Watch|publisher=People for the American Way}}</ref>
Bryan Fischer, former director of issues analysis, has described Muslims as "Parasites Who Must Convert or Die,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.politicususa.com/2011/05/03/bryan-fischer-says-muslims-are-parasites-who-must-convert-or-die.html|title=Bryan Fischer Says Muslims are Parasites Who Must Convert or Die|date=May 3, 2011|author=Hrafnkell Haraldsson|work=PoliticsUSA.com|access-date=January 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130024824/http://archives.politicususa.com/2011/05/03/bryan-fischer-says-muslims-are-parasites-who-must-convert-or-die.html|archive-date=January 30, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and had stated that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects only the religious practice of Christianity. He wrote in a blog post: "The real object of the amendment was, not to countenance, much less to advance Mahometanism, or Judaism, or infidelity, by prostrating Christianity; but to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects... So the purpose of the First Amendment was most decidedly NOT to 'approve, support, [or] accept' any 'religion' other than Christianity."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afa.net/the-stand/government/first-amendment-christianity-satanism/|title=First Amendment, Christianity, & Satanism|author=Bryan Fischer|date=August 1, 2014|work=AFA website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129213045/http://afa.net/the-stand/government/first-amendment-christianity-satanism/|archive-date=January 29, 2015}}</ref> Fischer has suggested Jews and Muslims are not included in religious freedom protections in the US, saying: "I have contended for years that the First Amendment, as given by the Founders, provides religious liberty protections for Christianity only." He later wrote: "We are a Christian nation and not a Jewish or Muslim one."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/01/29/bryan-fischer-who-blamed-the-holocaust-on-gays-sacked-by-the-american-family-association/|title=Bryan Fischer who blamed the Holocaust on gays sacked by the American Family Association|work=PinkNews|date=January 29, 2015}}</ref>
In a 2015 press release denouncing Fischer's views, the AFA stated, "AFA rejects the idea expressed by Bryan Fischer that 'free exercise of religion' only applies to Christians. Consequently, AFA rejects Bryan's assertions that Muslims should not be granted permits to build mosques in the United States."<ref name="rwwrepudiate"/>
=== Stance on homosexuality === The AFA has been criticized by a number of organizations for its stance against LGBTQ rights.<ref name="sovo"/><ref>"[http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=4488 Letter from GLAAD in SF Bay Times]." ''San Francisco Bay Times''. January 5, 2006. Retrieved on June 27, 2009.</ref><ref name=CNET/>
The Southern Poverty Law Center, through its Teaching Tolerance program, has encouraged schools across the U.S. to hold a "Mix It Up at Lunch" day in order to encourage students to break up cliques and prevent bullying. In late 2012, the AFA called the project, begun 11 years earlier and held in more than 2,500 schools, "a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools", urging parents to keep their children home from school on October 30, 2012, and to call the schools to protest the event. "I was surprised that they completely lied about what Mix It Up Day is", Maureen Costello, the director of the center's Teaching Tolerance project, which organizes the program, told ''The New York Times''. "It was a cynical, fear-mongering tactic."<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Severson| first = Kim| title = Seeing a Homosexual Agenda, Christian Group Protests an Anti-Bullying Program| work = The New York Times| access-date = February 10, 2013| date = October 14, 2012| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/seeing-a-homosexual-agenda-christian-group-protests-an-anti-bullying-program.html}}</ref> In October, Bryan Fischer was taken off air during a CNN interview with Carol Costello for repeating his belief that "Hitler recruited homosexuals around him to make up his Stormtroopers."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnn-anchor-battles-anti-gay-activist-kicks-him-off-after-he-trashes-toxic-homosexuality/|title=CNN Anchor Battles Anti-Gay Activist, Kicks Him Off After He Trashes 'Toxic' Homosexuality|author=Andrew Kirell|date=October 16, 2012|work=Mediaite}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewire.com/national/2012/10/afas-war-mix-it-day-now-has-hitler-reference/58014/|title=Is Mix It Up at Lunch Day as Scary as Cyanide-Laced Candy?|author=Alexander Abad-Santos|work=Atlantic Wire|date=October 16, 2012|access-date=January 29, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150931/http://www.thewire.com/national/2012/10/afas-war-mix-it-day-now-has-hitler-reference/58014/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2012, as jury selection was to begin in a trial on charges of kidnapping of a lesbian couple's daughter, Fischer wrote on Twitter in support of the kidnapping of children from same-sex households and smuggling them to what he calls "normal" homes.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. pastor advocates abducting children from same-sex homes|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/08/09/us-pastor-advocates-abducting-children-from-same-sex-homes|access-date=August 10, 2012|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=August 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Olson|first=Walter|title=The New Campaign Against Gay Parenting|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/walter-olson/gay-parenting_b_1758633.html|publisher=Huffington Post|access-date=August 10, 2012|date=August 10, 2012}}</ref><ref name=CBS>{{cite web|url=http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/08/09/bryan-fischer-we-need-underground-railroad-to-save-kids-from-gay-parents/|title=Bryan Fischer: We Need 'Underground Railroad' To Save Kids From Gay Parents « CBS DC|publisher=Washington.cbslocal.com|access-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref><ref name=RawStoF>Edwards, David (August 8, 2012). [https://www.rawstory.com/2012/08/fischer-calls-for-underground-railroad-to-kidnap-children-of-lgbt-parents/ "Fischer calls for 'Underground Railroad’ to kidnap children of LGBT parents"] . ''The Raw Story''. Retrieved August 9, 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/bryan-fischer-underground-railroad-gay-parents-kidnapping-_n_1757378.html|title=Bryan Fischer Calls For 'Underground Railroad' Kidnapping To Save Gay Parents' Children|work=The Huffington Post|date=August 8, 2012|access-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>Fischer, Bryan (August 5, 2012). [https://twitter.com/BryanJFischer/status/232180935930560512 "Only way to keep your own kids out of same-sex homes: use the Underground Railroad. Straights = slaves".]<br/> [https://www.foxnews.com/us/trial-nears-in-vt-civil-union-child-custody-case/ "Trial nears in VT Civil Union Child Custody Case"]. Fox News. August 5, 2012.<br/> (August 7, 2012 ). [https://twitter.com/BryanJFischer/status/233003583795232768 "Head of Underground Railroad to deliver innocent children from same-sex households goes on trial"]. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-crime-mennonitebre8751hl-20120806,0,5193449.story story] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808192509/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-crime-mennonitebre8751hl-20120806,0,5193449.story |date=August 8, 2012 }}<br/> (August 7, 2012). [https://twitter.com/BryanJFischer/status/233004494584164352 "Why we need an Underground Railroad to deliver innocent children from same-sex households:] [http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/08/6065 story]. Twitter.com.</ref> Fischer also reiterated his views on his radio show and on video.<ref name=CBS/><ref name=RawStoF/><ref>Mantyla, Kyle (August 9, 2012). [http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-says-ex-gay-mom-had-obligation-god-kidnap-her-daughter-and-flee "Fischer Says Ex-Gay Mom had an Obligation to God to Kidnap Her Daughter and Flee"]. Right Wing Watch. Retrieved August 9, 2012.</ref> In January 2013, he compared consensual sex between people of the same gender to pedophilia, incest, and bestiality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/bryan-fischer-obama-ignorant-about-homosexuality-because-gays-have-no-right-to-sodomy/|title=Bryan Fischer: Obama 'Ignorant About Homosexuality' Because 'Gays Have No Right To Sodomy'|date=January 22, 2013|publisher=Mediaite.com|access-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref> In January 2013, Fischer compared the Boy Scouts of America's change in views on gay scouts and scoutmasters to Jerry Sandusky, saying allowing gay scoutmasters was inviting pedophiles into the tents of children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/bryan-fischer-boy-scouts-gay-policy-debate-pedophilia_n_2575448.html/|title=Bryan Fischer: Boy Scouts' Gay Policy Debate Is A 'Suicide Mission,' Compares Gays To Pedophiles|work=The Huffington Post|date=January 29, 2013|access-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref> In March 2013, Fischer compared homosexuality to bank robbery when Rob Portman announced his views on same-sex marriage had changed due to having a gay son.<ref name=IA>{{cite web | url=http://www.instantanalysis.net/afa-blogs/2013/03/15/bryan-fischer-on-sen-portmans-reversal-on-same-sex-marriage#.UUMywpmBIkw.twitter | title=Bryan Fischer: On Sen. Portman's reversal on same-sex marriage | publisher=Instant Analysis | date=March 15, 2013 | access-date=March 15, 2013 | author=Fischer, Bryan | archive-date=March 18, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318032833/http://www.instantanalysis.net/afa-blogs/2013/03/15/bryan-fischer-on-sen-portmans-reversal-on-same-sex-marriage#.UUMywpmBIkw.twitter | url-status=dead }}</ref> Fischer also stated that homosexuality should be banned like trans fats for being "a hazard to human health"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-ban-homosexuality-hazard-human-health|title=Fischer: Ban Homosexuality As 'A Hazard To Human Health'|author=Kyle Matnyla|date=November 7, 2013|work=Right Wing Watch|publisher=People for the American Way}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-american-family-association|title=10 Things You Might Not Know About the American Family Association|publisher=Human Rights Campaign|access-date=January 30, 2015|archive-date=February 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217070619/http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-american-family-association|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/februaryweb-only/15-51.0.html|title=FRC, AFA Say Gay Sex Should Be a Crime|author=Tobin Grand|date=February 5, 2010|work=Christianity Today}}</ref> and likened homosexuals to thieves, murderers and child molesters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/02/11/1574441/bryan-fischer-openly-endorses-discrimination-against-homosexuals-murderers-and-thieves/|title=Bryan Fischer Openly Endorses Discrimination Against Homosexuals, Murderers, And Thieves|author=Zack Ford|date=February 11, 2013|work=ThinkProgress}}</ref>
On January 28, 2015, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, demoted Fischer from being a spokesperson.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ueOoTuiQmU|title=AFA Fires Bryan Fischer After Hitler, Homosexuality Remarks |work=MSNBC|date=January 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/bryan-fischer-fired-ahead-of-rnc-israel-trip-390575171843|title=American Family Association fires Bryan Fischer ahead of RNC trip to Israel|work=MSNBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/evangelist-bryan-fischer-has-been-fired-maddow-reports/|title=American Family Association Evangelist Bryan Fischer Has Been Fired, Maddow Reports|date=January 28, 2015|work=mediaite.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/video/1.639721|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129210433/http://www.haaretz.com/video/1.639721|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 29, 2015|title=Rachel Maddow follows up on Haaretz report of RNC 'hate group' trip to Israel|work=Haaretz|date=January 29, 2015}}</ref> Fischer went on to state that he would still be hosting the AFA's American Family Talk radio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bryan-fischer-confirms-out-afa-spokesman|title=Bryan Fischer: Losing One Of My Jobs Means I Can Finally Speak My Mind|author=Catherine Thompson|date=January 29, 2015|work=Talking Points Memo Livewire}}</ref> In order to avoid being categorized as a hate group by Israel, the AFA issued a press release denouncing some of Fischer's views, rejecting his claim that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian: "AFA rejects the statement by Bryan Fischer that, 'Homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.' AFA rejects the policy advocated by Bryan Fischer that homosexual conduct should be illegal. AFA rejects the notion advocated by Bryan Fischer that, 'We need an underground railroad to protect innocent children from same-sex households.'"<ref name=rwwrepudiate/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glaad.org/blog/bryan-fischers-statements-prove-liability-american-family-association-cost-him-his-high-profile|title=Bryan Fischer's statements prove a liability for American Family Association, cost him his high-profile job|author=Ross Murray|date=January 29, 2015|work=Glaad.org|access-date=January 30, 2015|archive-date=February 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201035412/http://www.glaad.org/blog/bryan-fischers-statements-prove-liability-american-family-association-cost-him-his-high-profile|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====Homosexuality and Nazism==== Former AFA California leader Scott Lively<ref name="sovo" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Yahoo! Still Headquarters For Child Porn & Obscenity|url=http://www.afa.net/activism/aa061901.asp|access-date=March 10, 2015|publisher=American Family Association|date=June 19, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011020025544/http://www.afa.net/activism/aa061901.asp|archive-date=October 20, 2001 |url-status=dead|quote=Scott Lively, an attorney and president of Abiding Truth Ministries, began serving as the California state director for AFA in early April.}}</ref> is a co-author of ''The Pink Swastika'' (1995),<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmUTAQAAMAAJ |title=The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party |first1=Scott |last1=Lively |first2=Kevin |last2=Abrams |publisher=Founders Publishing. Corporation |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-9647609-0-5}}</ref> in which he claims that all of the major leaders in the Nazi regime were homosexual, a claim which historians widely reject.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Intelligence Report |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |issue=117 |date=Spring 2005 |title=Making Myths |author=Bob Moser |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?sid=328 |access-date=July 26, 2013 |archive-date=October 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026083220/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?sid=328 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He has since co-founded Watchmen on the Walls. In 2007, Bryan Fischer, former Director of Issues Analysis for the AFA,<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christian-conservative-leader-calls-for-no-more-mosques-in-us/ Christian Conservative Leader Calls for No More Mosques in U.S.], CBS News, August 12, 2010. Retrieved on November 23, 2010</ref> hosted Scott Lively at an event promoting the message that "homosexuality was at the heart of Nazism".<ref name=bully>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/06/18/120618fa_fact_mayer |title=Letter from Tupelo, Bully Pulpit|first= Jane |last=Mayer|magazine=The New Yorker|date=June 18, 2012|quote=In Idaho, Fischer attacked homosexuality with growing fervor. In 2007, he sponsored a summit where he hosted Scott Lively, the co-author of a widely criticized book, "The Pink Swastika," which argues that homosexuality was at the heart of Nazism. (In fact, the Nazi regime persecuted gays.) More recently, Lively has expressed support for anti-gay initiatives in Uganda. He has been a guest on Fischer's radio show, and Fischer often promotes Lively's theories. "Hitler himself was an active homosexual," Fischer has said. "Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Storm Troopers. . . . Hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage and brutal and vicious enough." On another occasion, Fischer declared that "homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine, and six million dead Jews."}}</ref>
In May 2010, Fischer wrote a blog post on the AFA website<ref name="blog">{{cite web|url=http://www.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147494882|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728200630/http://www.afa.net/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?id=2147494882|title=Homosexuality, Hitler and Don't Ask, Don't Tell|author=Bryan Fischer|work=AFA website|date=May 27, 2010|archive-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref> and RenewAmerica<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/fischer/100528|title=Homosexuality, Hitler, and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"|author=Bryan Fischer|date=May 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803145834/http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/fischer/100528|archive-date=August 3, 2014|work=RenewAmerica blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2015-01-29/ty-article/.premium/u-s-ngo-hate-group-funding-rnc-trip-to-israel/0000017f-e8f8-dea7-adff-f9fb979a0000|title=U.S. NGO: Evangelical 'hate group' funding Republican National Committee trip to Israel|work=Haaretz|date=January 29, 2015|author=Debra Nussbaum Cohen|quote=AFA's Fischer, in a 2010 essay slamming the end of the U.S. military's ban on openly gay soldiers, blamed homosexuals for the Holocaust: "Homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews."}}</ref> detailing purported allegations that Adolf Hitler was a homosexual, that "the Nazi Party began in a gay bar in Munich",<ref name="James Withers">{{cite web|url=http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/anti-gay-us-activist-tells-his-radio-listeners-nazi-party-began-gay-bar-munich040913 |title=Anti-gay US activist tells his radio listeners the Nazi Party began in a gay bar in Munich |author=James Withers |work=Gay Star News |date=September 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130030314/http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/anti-gay-us-activist-tells-his-radio-listeners-nazi-party-began-gay-bar-munich040913 |archive-date=January 30, 2015 }}</ref> and concluded by claiming that the Holocaust (which included gay victims of Nazi persecution) was caused by homosexuals in the Nazi German military: "Nazi Germany became the horror that it was because it rejected both Christianity and its clear teaching about human sexuality."<ref name="blog"/> On American Family Talk radio, Fischer reiterated the claim that Hitler was a homosexual and said that Hitler recruited homosexuals into the stormtroopers because "homosexual soldiers basically had no limits and the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/afas-fischer-outdoes-himself|title=AFA's Fischer Outdoes Himself|author=Kyle Mantyla|date=May 25, 2010|work=Right Wing Watch|publisher=People for the American Way}}</ref>
In 2013, Fischer claimed that "homofascists" will treat Christians like Jews in the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rawstory.com/2013/04/bryan-fischer-homofascists-will-treat-christians-like-jews-in-the-holocaust/|title=Bryan Fischer: 'Homofascists' will treat Christians like Jews in the Holocaust|author=David Edwards|work=Raw Story|date=April 12, 2013|access-date=January 29, 2015|archive-date=December 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208120933/http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/bryan-fischer-homofascists-will-treat-christians-like-jews-in-the-holocaust/|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, he repeated on American Family Talk that Hitler started the Nazi party "in a gay bar in Munich"<ref name="James Withers"/> and that he "couldn't get straights to be vicious enough in being his enforcers."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/gay-rights-nazis-bryan-fischer-_n_3862548.html|title=Gay Rights Advocates Are 'Nazi Stormtroopers' Who Want To 'Eliminate' Opponents: Bryan Fischer|work=Huffington Post|date=April 9, 2013}}</ref>
====Criticism of homosexuality==== In 1998, the internet content-control software CyberPatrol blocked the AFA's web site, classifying it under the category "intolerance", defined as "pictures or text advocating prejudice or discrimination against any race, color, national origin, religion, disability or handicap, gender or sexual orientation..." AFA spokesman Steve Ensley told reporters, "Basically we're being blocked for free speech." CyberPatrol cited quotes from the AFA for meeting its intolerance criteria, which included: "Indifference or neutrality toward the homosexual rights movement will result in society's destruction by allowing civil order to be redefined and by plummeting ourselves, our children, and grandchildren into an age of godlessness"; "A national 'Coming Out of Homosexuality' provides us a means whereby to dispel the lies of the homosexual rights crowd who say they are born that way and cannot change"; and "We want to outlaw public homosexuality... We believe homosexuality is immoral and leads ultimately to personal and social decay."<ref name="ALA1" /><ref name="vanderkam" /><ref name="CNET">{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Festa|title=Antigay group blocked by filter|publisher=CNET|date=June 3, 1998|access-date=June 25, 2007|url=http://news.cnet.com/Antigay-group-blocked-by-filter/2100-1001_3-211877.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/privacy/speech/14915pub20020916.html|title=Censorship in a Box, Why Blocking Software is Wrong for Public Libraries|publisher=American Civil Liberties Union|date=September 16, 2002|access-date=June 25, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070715093305/http://www.aclu.org/privacy/speech/14915pub20020916.html| archive-date= July 15, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>
On October 19, 1998, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, led by Leslie Katz, wrote a letter to the AFA in response to an advertisement placed in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' by the AFA regarding homosexuality and Christianity. The letter stated:<ref name=AFAvSF>{{cite web|url=http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/277/277.F3d.1114.00-16415.html |title=American Family Association, Inc.; Donald Wildmon; Kerusso Ministries; Family Research Council v. City And County Of San Francisco; Leslie Katz, in her capacity as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors |publisher=United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Docket No. 00-16415 |access-date=July 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125062822/http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/277/277.F3d.1114.00-16415.html |archive-date=November 25, 2009 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|text=Supervisor Leslie Katz denounces your rhetoric against gays, lesbians and transgendered people. What happened to Matthew Shepard is in part due to the message being espoused by your groups that gays and lesbians are not worthy of the most basic equal rights and treatment. It is not an exaggeration to say that there is a direct correlation between these acts of discrimination, such as when gays and lesbians are called sinful and when major religious organizations say they can change if they tried, and the horrible crimes committed against gays and lesbians.}}
During the same time, the city and county San Francisco, California, passed two resolutions. Resolution No. 234-99 called "for the Religious Right to take accountability for the impact of their long-standing rhetoric denouncing gays and lesbians, which leads to a climate of mistrust and discrimination that can open the door to horrible crimes such as those committed against Mr. Gaither".<ref>On February 19, 1999, in Coosa County, Alabama, Billy Jack Gaither was beaten to death with an axe handle and his body was burned because he was homosexual.</ref> Resolution No. 873-98 was specifically directed at "anti-gay" television advertisements. AFA unsuccessfully challenged these actions as violating the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment in ''American Family Association v. City and County of San Francisco''.<ref name=AFAvSF/>
In 1998, multiple organizations voiced criticism of a series of AFA-sponsored full-page newspaper advertisements that promoted religious ministries involved in the ex-gay movement. In response to the advertisements, the Religious Leadership Roundtable said the ads employed "language of violence and hatred to denounce other people". IntegrityUSA criticized the ads, calling them "evil," disregarding Christian teachings about the "dignity of every human being". DignityUSA also criticized the advertisements, which they said were "misleading and destructive".<ref>Tooley, Mark. "Homosexual Radicals Demonize Religious Beliefs of Opponents". ''The Washington Times'' (August 1, 1998). Vol. 14 No. 13 Pg. 30 {{ISSN|0732-8494}}.</ref>
In July 2000, the AFA sent a series of emails and letters to GOP officials urging that Jim Kolbe, a Republican U.S. House member representing Arizona who openly identified as gay, be barred from speaking at the 2000 Republican National Convention.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Sumner |first= David |author2= William Chambliss |title= The Blackwell companion to criminology, p.312 |publisher= Blackwell Publishing |date=October 2003 |isbn= 978-0-631-22092-3 }}</ref> The AFA declared Kolbe should be arrested upon returning to his home state because, being gay, he was violating Arizona's sodomy law.<ref>{{cite web |title= Calls for Arrest of Openly-Gay GOP Convention Speaker Reveal Danger of Sodomy Laws Nationwide, ACLU Says |url= https://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/12294prs20000731.html|date= July 31, 2000|publisher=American Civil Liberties Union |access-date=June 27, 2009}}</ref> Equality Mississippi, a statewide LGBTQ rights organization that voiced opposition and criticism towards the AFA's activism regarding homosexuality, noted in 2000 that AFA's actions were constituting and encouraging violence toward the LGBTQ community.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jody |last=Renaldo |title=Mississippi Gay Lobby calls for an investigation into the Mississippi based American Family Association and Donald Wildmon. |url=http://www.equalityms.org/newsreleases/afa.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070730034424/http://www.equalityms.org/newsreleases/afa.pdf |archive-date=July 30, 2007 |work=Equality Mississippi originally as Mississippi Gay Lobby |date=August 2, 2000 |access-date=June 27, 2009 }}</ref> In 2005, Equality Mississippi publicly spoke out against the AFA for the use of copyrighted images on the AFA's website in its boycott against Kraft Foods for being a sponsor of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. The photographs, which were used without permission, were owned by and retrieved from ChrisGeary.com. Equality Mississippi encouraged ChrisGeary.com to file suit against the AFA and offered to support the suit.<ref name="Equality Mississippi 3">{{cite news |first=Jody |last=Renaldo |title=American Family Association steals and uses copyrighted pictures as part of its boycott against Kraft Foods |url=http://www.equalityms.org/newsreleases/afastealscopyright.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070730034251/http://www.equalityms.org/newsreleases/afastealscopyright.pdf |archive-date=July 30, 2007 |work=Equality Mississippi |date=June 8, 2005 |access-date=October 12, 2007 }}</ref> {{As of|March 2009}}, the images were still on AFA's web site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afa.net/activism/gaygamesproof.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224143028/http://www.afa.net/activism/gaygamesproof.html|url-status=dead|title=AFA.net: The following photos were taken at the last Gay Games events and are shown here for the sole purpose of educating Kraft customers to the types of activities Kraft is supporting.|archivedate=December 24, 2010}}</ref>
In June 2008, AFA's news website, ''OneNewsNow'', which had begun replacing all instances of "gay" with "homosexual" in re-posted Associated Press (AP) articles,<ref>{{cite web|last=Goss |first=Patrick |url=http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/when-auto-replace-and-tyson-gay-collide-410475 |title=When auto-replace and Tyson Gay collide|publisher=Techradar.com |date=July 1, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2011}}</ref> changed an AP profile of Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay so his name was rendered as "Tyson Homosexual".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2667634/The-Clbuttic-Mistake-When-obscenity-filters-go-wrong.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Matthew | last=Moore | title=The Clbuttic Mistake: When obscenity filters go wrong | date=September 2, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2008/06/30/afa/ |title=Auto-replace is not always your friend – War Room |work=Salon.com |date=June 30, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sideswipe/news/article.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10519824 |title=Sideswipe: Friday |series=NZ Herald News |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=July 4, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2011 |first=Ana |last=Samways}}</ref> ''OneNewsNow'' similarly altered the name of basketball player Rudy Gay, naming him "Rudy Homosexual".<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/1613716181.html?dids=1613716181:1613716181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+17%2C+2008&author=Bob+Kimball&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=No.+10%3A+Mistakes+part+of+the+Internet+game&pqatl=google |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724225438/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/1613716181.html?dids=1613716181:1613716181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+17%2C+2008&author=Bob+Kimball&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=No.+10%3A+Mistakes+part+of+the+Internet+game&pqatl=google |url-status= dead |archive-date= July 24, 2012 |work= USA TODAY |first=Bob |last= Kimball | title=No. 10: Mistakes part of the Internet game |date= December 17, 2008}}</ref> The LGBTQ rights website GoodAsYou.org, which "has long chronicled the AFA's practice of changing AP copy to suit its conservative agenda", spotted the errors. Tyson Gay was upset with the mistake.<ref>{{cite book |last= Losh |first= Elizabeth |title= Virtualpolitik: an electronic history of government media-making in a time |year=2009 |publisher= MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-12304-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hC35pomwgrgC&q=%22tyson+gay%22+homosexual&pg=PA377 |access-date= October 19, 2010 |page=377}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/07/christian_sites_ban_on_g_word.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Christian Site's Ban on 'G' Word Sends Homosexual to Olympics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523123310/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/07/christian_sites_ban_on_g_word.html |archive-date=May 23, 2011 }}</ref>
In 2019, Fischer wrote on AFA's website that homosexuality is 'inescapably' linked to pedophilia.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-01-09|title=The Inescapable Link between Homosexuality and Pedophilia|url=http://afa.net/the-stand/culture/2019/01/the-inescapable-link-between-homosexuality-and-pedophilia/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=American Family Association|language=en}}</ref>
=== Intellectual freedom === Individuals in the media industry have criticized Donald Wildmon, the founder of AFA. Gene Mater, a senior vice president of CBS in 2007, stated, "We look upon Wildmon's efforts as the greatest frontal assault on intellectual freedom this country has ever faced"; Brandon Tartikoff, then the NBC president, stated that Wildmon's boycott campaign was "the first step toward a police state."<ref>[http://www.afa.net/carpentersbench/aboutdw.asp About Don Wildmon]. American Family Association. Retrieved on June 16, 2007. ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206191028/http://www.afa.net/carpentersbench/aboutdw.asp |date=February 6, 2007 }})</ref>
=== Marilyn Manson === {{further|Dead to the World Tour}}
Paul Cambria, lawyer for rock band Marilyn Manson, sent a cease and desist letter to AFA on April 25, 1997, in response to allegations published in the ''AFA Journal'' that Manson encouraged audience members to engage in sexual and violent acts in its concerts. ''AFA Journal'' relied on testimony by two anonymous claimed teenage concertgoers.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432997/19970428/osbourne_ozzy.jhtml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100109004619/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432997/19970428/osbourne_ozzy.jhtml |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 9, 2010 |title= Ozzy, Slayer Turn Up On "Ozzfest Live" |date=April 28, 1997 |publisher= MTV News |access-date= July 18, 2009}}</ref> The allegations were independently proven to be false.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/marilyn2.asp |title= Dead Puppies |author= Mikkleson, Barbara |date=May 15, 2007 |work=Snopes |access-date= June 14, 2010}}</ref> Wildmon responded that his organization as a whole was not responsible, but rather the AFA's Gulf Coast chapter in Biloxi, Mississippi.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1426055/19970502/black_sabbath.jhtml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070509151637/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1426055/19970502/black_sabbath.jhtml |url-status= dead |archive-date= May 9, 2007 |title=Ozzy, Manson File Suit Against Meadowlands |date=May 2, 1997 |publisher= MTV News |access-date= July 18, 2009}}</ref>
===Hate group listing=== The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), in a 2005 report, stated that the AFA, along with other groups, engaged in hate speech to "help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade".<ref name=Hall2005>{{cite news |url= http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1337955/ |first=Randy |last=Hall |date= June 30, 2005 |access-date= June 27, 2009 |title= Christian 'Hate Groups' Accused of 'Anti-Gay Crusade'|publisher= Crosswalk.com}}</ref> Mark Potok of the SPLC identified 2003's ''Lawrence v. Texas'' as a critical turning point, in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated Texas's anti-sodomy laws. Subsequently, the Christian right invested millions in advertisements and briefings for Christian pastors, coordinated by activists like born-again Christian David Lane.<ref name=Hall2005/><ref name=Besen2011>{{cite web |url=http://fcnp.com/2011/04/06/extremism-flying-beneath-the-radar/ |title=Extremism Flying Beneath The Radar |date=April 6, 2011 |last=Besen |first=Wayne |work=Falls Church News Press |publisher=Falls Church News-Press Online |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=Indeed, the AFA's noxious views were on full display this week, when the group's star radio personality, Bryan Fischer, insulted African Americans. 'Welfare has destroyed the African-American family by telling young black women that husbands and fathers are unnecessary and obsolete,' said Fischer. 'Welfare has subsidized illegitimacy by offering financial rewards to women who have more children out of wedlock. We have incentivized fornication rather than marriage, and it's no wonder we are now awash in the disastrous social consequences of people who rut like rabbits.'}}</ref> Lane helped AFA put mixed-sex constitutional opposite-sex marriage amendments on the ballots of 13 states.<ref name=Hall2005/>
In November 2010, the SPLC changed its listing of AFA from a group that used hate speech to the more serious one of being designated a hate group.<ref>* {{cite news|last=McEwen|first=Alvin|date=November 23, 2010|title=Family Research Council, American Family Association Named as Anti-Gay Hate Groups|work=The Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alvin-mcewen/family-research-council-a_1_b_787313.html|access-date=April 22, 2011|quote=Yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center added five more organizations to its list of anti-gay hate groups, including some names that are long overdue. The new groups are: 1. American Family Association...|series=HuffPost Politics}} * {{cite web|last=Schlatter|first=Evelyn|date=Winter 2010|title=18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/the-hard-liners|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215185726/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/the-hard-liners|archive-date=December 15, 2010|access-date=December 17, 2010|work=Intelligence Report|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center}} * {{cite news|last=Waddington|first=Lynda|date=November 23, 2010|title=Groups that Helped Oust Iowa Judges Earn 'Hate Group' Designation; SPLC Adds American Family Association, Family Research Council to List|newspaper=Iowa Independent|url=http://iowaindependent.com/47947/groups-that-helped-oust-iowa-judges-earn-hate-group-designation|url-status=live|access-date=November 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202172049/http://iowaindependent.com/47947/groups-that-helped-oust-iowa-judges-earn-hate-group-designation|archive-date=December 2, 2010}} * {{cite web|date=December 23, 2010|title=SPLC's Anti-Gay Hate List Compiled With Diligence and Clear Standards|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-s-anti-gay-hate-list-compiled-with-diligence-and-clear-standards|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317014553/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-s-anti-gay-hate-list-compiled-with-diligence-and-clear-standards|archive-date=March 17, 2011|access-date=March 19, 2011|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center}} * {{cite web|last=Eichler|first=Alex|date=November 23, 2010|title=13 New Organizations Added to Anti-Gay 'Hate Groups' List|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2010/11/13-new-organizations-added-to-anti-gay-hate-groups-list/22153/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915011202/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2010/11/13-new-organizations-added-to-anti-gay-hate-groups-list/22153/|archive-date=September 15, 2011|access-date=April 22, 2011|work=The Atlantic Wire|publisher=The Atlantic Monthly Group|quote=In the winter issue of ''Intelligence Report'', the quarterly magazine of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Evelyn Schlatter takes a look at 18 advocacy groups that speak out against homosexuality. The report says that the groups, which include the American Family Association and the Family Research Council, are responsible for 'demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities.' Schlatter notes that 13 of the 18 groups will make SPLC's list of 'hate groups' next year.}} * {{cite web|last=Benen|first=Steve|author-link=Steve Benen|date=December 18, 2010|title=This Week in God|url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_12/027153.php|access-date=April 22, 2011|work=Political Animal|publisher=Washington Monthly|quote=In November, the SPLC, a respected source for decades on monitoring extremists and hate-based organizations, raised quite a few eyebrows with its updated lists, which included some leading religious right entities – including the Family Research Council and the American Family Association – alongside mainstays like the KKK.|archive-date=December 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223115332/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_12/027153.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Potok said that the AFA's "propagation of known falsehoods and demonizing propaganda" was the basis for the change.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/RNS-Hate-group-watchdog-adds-Family-Research-Council-to-its-list.aspx |title=Religion News Service: Hate group watchdog adds Family Research Council to its list |date=November 29, 2010 |last=Banks |first=Adele M. |work=The Pew Forum |publisher=The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=Mark Potok, director of the center's Intelligence Project, said the groups were not chosen because of their beliefs that homosexual activity is sinful. 'The religious nature of these organizations has absolutely nothing to do with our listings,' he said in an interview Monday (Nov. 29). 'The listings are based on the propagation of known falsehoods and demonizing propaganda.'| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110423023651/http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/RNS-Hate-group-watchdog-adds-Family-Research-Council-to-its-list.aspx| archive-date= April 23, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_0d224deb-9ca4-5f17-9ae0-cdd5c98e47f5.html |title=Judge-ouster supporters blast 'hate' label |date=November 29, 2010 |last=Nelson |first=Josh |work=WCFCourier.com |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=The law center, which has monitored extremist groups and hate speech for 40 years, is known for its successful litigation against white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations. The group said it listed groups like the American Family Association because they 'have continued to pump out demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities.' The report said mere opposition of same-sex marriage is not enough to get listed as a 'hate group.'}}</ref>
The AFA was greatly displeased with the designation as a hate group,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-united-outrage-over-splc-hate-group-designations |title=Religious Right United In Outrage Over SPLC Hate Group Designations |date=November 29, 2010 |last=Mantyla |first=Kyle |work=Right Wing Watch |publisher=People For the American Way |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=Many influential Religious Right groups found themselves placed upon the SPLC's updated list, including the Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, National Organization for Marriage, and Liberty Counsel. And to say that they are not happy about it would be a massive understatement.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110411073152/http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-united-outrage-over-splc-hate-group-designations| archive-date= April 11, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> calling the list "slanderous".<ref name=Rayfield2010>{{cite web |url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/boehner-cantor-join-frc-to-oppose-splc-hate-group-list.php |title=Boehner, Cantor Back Family Research Council Campaign Against SPLC |date=December 15, 2010 |last=Rayfield |first=Jillian |work=TPMDC |publisher=Talking Points Memo |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=Unsurprisingly, the FRC was not happy about the designation, and labeled the list 'slanderous.' And today they launched a 'Start Debating, Stop Hating' website, and took out a full page ad in Politico, Dave Weigel reports. The ad says: 'The surest sign one is losing a debate is to resort to character assassination. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal fundraising machine whose tactics have been condemned by observers across the political spectrum, is doing just that.' ... Ironically, the ad argues that 'our debates can and must remain civil – but they must never be suppressed through personal assaults that aim only to malign an opponent's character,' right after it refers to the SPLC as 'the radical Left' that's 'spreading hateful rhetoric.'}}</ref> In response to the SPLC's announcement, some members of the Christian right "called on Congress to cut off their funding".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/485715575.html |title=Southern Poverty Law Center Defames Mainstream Pro-Family Groups as 'Hate Groups'; DefendChristians.Org Calls on Congress to Defund the SPLC |date=November 24, 2010 |work=Christian News Wire |publisher=Christian Communication Network |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=The Southern Poverty Law Center has released a new list of 'hate groups' that includes many highly regarded, mainstream Christian organizations because of their opposition to homosexuality. 'The Southern Poverty Law Center has utterly discredited themselves by this provocative attack on organizations that promote traditional family values,' said Rev. Gary L. Cass, of DefendChristians.Org, a ministry of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. 'Labeling mainstream conservative organizations as "Hate groups" is defamatory and is simply an intimidation tactic. We call on Congress to cut off their funding.'}}</ref> J. Matt Barber of ''The Washington Times'' said that the SPLC was "marginalizing" themselves by giving the AFA the same hate group designation shared by the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/26/splc-the-wolf-who-cried-hate/ |title=SPLC: The wolf who cried 'hate' – Self-marginalizing left turns itself into a punch line |date=November 26, 2010 |last=Barber |first=J. Matt |work=The Washington Times |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=Most notably, the SPLC has placed alongside the Klan and other neo-Nazi organizations, the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council (FRC) and the Mississippi-based American Family Association (AFA). Their crime? 'Anti-gay ... propagation of known falsehoods' (read: recognition of stubborn, politically incorrect scientific and theological facts that are beyond serious debate). I say 'most notably' because these two groups alone contain membership rolls in the millions.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110427013750/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/26/splc-the-wolf-who-cried-hate/| archive-date= April 27, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> Tony Perkins, the president of Family Research Council (FRC) – an organization also named a hate group – asked the SPLC to strike the new designation, but they held their position.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} Ken Williams commented that in reaction, the FRC and the AFA joined with other "pro-family" organizations targeted by the SPLC to establish a new website, an online petition<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdgln.com/commentary/2010/12/17/commentary-bravo-southern-poverty-law-center-calling-out-hate-groups-nom-famil |title=Commentary: Bravo to Southern Poverty Law Center for calling out hate groups like NOM, Family Research Council |date=December 17, 2010 |last=Williams |first=Ken |work=San Diego Gay & Lesbian News |publisher=Hale Media, Inc. |access-date=April 22, 2011}}</ref> called "Start Debating/Stop Hating" to counter the SPLC,<ref name=StartDebating>{{cite web |url=http://startdebatingstophating.com/ |title=Start Debating/Stop Hating |date=December 15, 2010 |publisher=Family Research Council |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women of America, National Organization for Marriage, Liberty Counsel and other pro-family organizations that are working to protect and promote natural marriage and family. We support the vigorous but responsible exercise of the First Amendment rights of free speech and religious liberty that are the birthright of all Americans.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110420084038/http://www.startdebatingstophating.com/| archive-date= April 20, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> and they took out full-page ads in two Washington D.C. newspapers, defending their work "to protect and promote natural marriage and the family".<ref name="SPLC Responds">{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2010/12/15/splc-responds-to-attack-by-frc-conservative-republicans/ |title=SPLC Responds to Attack by FRC, Conservative Republicans |date=December 15, 2010 |last=Potok |first=Mark |work=Hatewatch |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=This morning, 22 members of Congress and a large number of other conservatives signed on to a public statement attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for listing several anti-gay religious right organizations as hate groups. Published in two Washington, D.C., newspapers as a full-page ad, the statement was organized by the powerful Family Research Council (FRC) and other 'pro-family organizations that are working to protect and promote natural marriage and the family.' The statement, whose signatories included House Speaker–Designate John Boehner and the governors of Louisiana, Minnesota and Virginia, ran under the headline, 'Start Debating/Stop Hating.' It accused 'elements of the radical Left' of trying to 'shut down informed discussion of policy issues' and decried those who attempt to suppress debate 'through personal assaults that aim only to malign an opponent's character.' The SPLC, it said, was engaging in 'character assassination.'| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110420085730/http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2010/12/15/splc-responds-to-attack-by-frc-conservative-republicans/| archive-date= April 20, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> The advertisement stated the "undersigned stand in solidarity" with the organizations designated as hate groups, and that they "support the vigorous but responsible exercise of the First Amendment rights of free speech and religious liberty that are the birthright of all Americans".<ref name=StartDebating/> House Speaker–Designate John Boehner and the governors of Louisiana, Minnesota and Virginia were among those signing the statement.<ref name="SPLC Responds"/> The SPLC addressed the new website statement; Potok was quoted by David Weigel of ''Slate'' magazine as saying, "the SPLC's listings of these groups is based on their propagation of known falsehoods – claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities – and repeated, groundless name-calling."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/weigel/archive/2010/12/15/boehner-cantor-bachmann-pence-and-more-against-the-southern-poverty-law-center.aspx |title=Boehner, Cantor, Bachmann, Pence and More Against the Southern Poverty Law Center |date=December 15, 2010 |last=Weigel |first=David |work=Weigel: Reporting About Politics and Policy |publisher=Slate |access-date=April 22, 2011}} Mark Potok is quoted as saying, "the SPLC's listings of these groups is based on their propagation of known falsehoods – claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities – and repeated, groundless name-calling."</ref> The American Independent News Network (AINN) noted that the AFA had recently denounced Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan as a lesbian unfit for office – AINN stated that "she's not" a lesbian – and that Fischer said Hitler's savage and brutal methods were only possible because he and most of his stormtroopers were gay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iowaindependent.com/49054/king-hurley-sign-letter-of-support-for-%E2%80%98hate-groups%E2%80%99 |title=King, Hurley sign letter of support for 'hate groups': Conservatives come to the defense of Family Research Council, American Family Association |date=December 15, 2010 |last=Birkey |first=Andy |work=Iowa Independent |publisher=The American Independent News Network |access-date=April 22, 2011 |quote=The Mississippi-based American Family Association recently said Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan should be disqualified from office because she's a lesbian (she's not). The group's director of issue analysis for government and public policy, Bryan Fischer, has said nearly all of Hitler's stormtroopers were gay, because 'he could not get straight soldiers to be savage and brutal and vicious enough to carry out his orders, but that homosexual soldiers basically had no limits and the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict on whomever Hitler sent them after.' Fischer has also argued for laws making homosexual sex illegal, claiming it is as lethal as intravenous drug use. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410232933/http://iowaindependent.com/49054/king-hurley-sign-letter-of-support-for-%E2%80%98hate-groups%E2%80%99 |archive-date=April 10, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Jillian Rayfield of ''Talking Points Memo'' noted the irony in the website calling the SPLC a "radical Left" group "spreading hateful rhetoric" yet elsewhere declaring that the debates of the Christian right "can and must remain civil – but they must never be suppressed through personal assaults that aim only to malign an opponent's character".<ref name=Rayfield2010/>
== See also == {{portal|Conservatism}} * Abiding Truth Ministries * National Center on Sexual Exploitation * Christian fundamentalism * Christian nationalism * Christian right * Culture war * LGBTQ rights opposition * List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-LGBTQ hate groups * New Right * Radical right (United States) * Religion and homosexuality
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{Cite book|last=Hunter|first=James Davison|title=Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America|url=https://archive.org/details/culturewars00jame|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=BasicBooks|place=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-465-01533-7}}
==External links== * {{Official website}} * {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|640607275}} * [http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00008/ American Family Association Collection (MUM00008)] owned by the University of Mississippi, Archives and Special Collections.
{{American Social Conservatism}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American Family Association Category:American organizations established in 1977 Category:501(c)(3) organizations Category:American Christian political organizations Category:Boycott organizers Category:Censorship in the United States Category:Christian organizations established in 1977 Category:Christianity in Mississippi Category:Conservative organizations in the United States Category:Non-profit organizations based in Mississippi Category:Obscenity controversies Category:Anti-abortion organizations in the United States Category:Tupelo, Mississippi Category:Charities based in Mississippi Category:Organizations that oppose transgender rights in the United States