Posted on 10/05/2015 9:05:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Liberty Counsel, a law firm representing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, has been termed as hate group for spreading false information by a nonprofit legal advocacy group, the Associated Press reported Sunday. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s senior official Mark Potok said that people at the firm "are way, way over the line" according to AP.
The law firm is representing Davis’ stance for not issuing marriage licenses to homosexuals on religious grounds. Davis also spent five days in prison last month after being found in contempt of court for denying the licenses.
The Liberty Counsel is reportedly of the opinion that hate crimes should be banned across the country because it curbed freedom of speech and conversion therapies that claim to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals should be implemented as it believed in "personal autonomy." The Liberty Counsel argues that homosexuality is associated with increased rates of promiscuity and incest, despite scientific evidence contradicting the statements, Potok said.
However, Mat Staver -- founder of the Liberty Counsel -- said that the firm could not be deemed as a hate group because it loved God’s creation, AP reported. "It is irresponsible and reckless to call someone a hate group because you disagree with them," Staver said. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, called Staver a courageous legal scholar.
However, other civil rights advocates were of a different opinion.
"There is an enormous amount of bluster amid his [Staver’s] legal arguments," Barry Lynn, a minister and executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said, according to AP. "It looks to me like he's making claims that will get his clients great publicity, but not necessarily get them victories," Lynn added.
Late September, 50-year-old Davis -- in a court filing -- accused Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear of her legal troubles. After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country in June, Beshear sent a directive to Kentucky’s 120 county clerks instructing them to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Davis said that his directives to abide by the Supreme Court’s decision forced her to defy the court and spend prison time. The Liberty Counsel had argued that that Beshear’s warning was "ominous."
Beshear’s lawyers, in reply to the suit, said that Davis’ arguments for not issuing gay marriage licenses on religious grounds were “absurd,” “obtuse” and “forlorn.”
Scr#w the Southern Poverty Law Center. What a bunch of dirtballs.
Well the SPLC should be the authority on hate groups! They are the most hateful of them all. Credit where due.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate Group.
Thus sayeth a hate group which is "way, way over the line".
Really?
I termed it a First Amendment Protection Group and Freedom of Speech Organization.
Where’s the headline for that?
I can’t believe that the use of our language has become so Orwellian that I am compelled to side about 99% of the time with “hate” over “love”....
God help us.
Ambulance chasers castigating ambulance chasers?
At what point did the SPLC gain the authority to label hate groups and why is what the SPLC reported as news? Who the hell are they to judge?
That is like the devil labeling you bad. You would worry if he didn’t.
Between the law firm and the SPLC, only one group has had one of their followering actually try to kill people they didn’t agree with.
SPLC - telling you what to think about conservatives for decades.
Here is the liberal fascist strategy:
* Say that what you do is for the benefit of X groups.
* State that those who oppose your actions do so because they hate X groups.
* Seek to ban hate speech and hate crimes, which includes expressing opposing view points, because they are supposedly motivated by hate of X groups.
* No one disagrees with the official views anymore, for fear of being labelled a hater (ostracism) or actual punishment (jail time).
The hate crimes laws, hate speech prohibitions and “ban hate” campaigns are a potent political weapon.
You smear your opposition with the label, get to ban their political views in the name of “tolerance” and bully them for being intolerant haters with public approval because your side is “love”.
It is fascism with better branding than WW2 had.
I interned with Liberty Counsel. Good people. I’ve got to wonder about the writer of this article. Talk about bluster without substance. Yikes! Do people actually get paid to produce that drivel?
Peace,
SR
I just hate that!
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate group attacking Kim Davis and those that would assist her and defend her rights. There, that makes more sense.
The SPLC played the FBI for fools... tried their best to turn them away from traditional Americans... it’s a bad bunch.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.