This Sunday, ahead of the anti-LGBT World Congress of Families (WCF) conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, HRC will place a two-page ad in The Salt Lake Tribune, standing in support of all families and against hate, writes Hayley Miller on the HRC Blog.
“As the harmful and divisive World Congress of Families descends upon Salt Lake City, we stand in support of all families,” the ad reads. “ Hate is not an American value, it has no place in Salt Lake City. We fundamentally reject the World Congress of Families and its destructive agenda.”
The ad features the name of 14,000 Americans who added their names to HRC’s action to stand up for all families and against WCF.
Active across five continents, WCF has organized large international “pro-family” conferences that bring together a wide range of vehemently anti-LGBT activists. WCF’s activities range from holding conferences in Nigeria focused on denying rights to LGBT people to working to silence the Russian LGBT community.
In addition to the ad, HRC is sponsoring an Inclusive Families Conference just days before the WCF’s conference begins.
“The best way to combat the hateful messages of rabidly anti-equality groups like the World Congress of Families and their affiliates is to simply let their track record speak for itself,” said HRC President Chad Griffin said earlier this year. “Try as they may to mask their views in sunshine and rainbows, their positions and support for policies that target and marginalize LGBT people and incite animus around the world are undeniable. As many Utahns have come to agree, LGBT people are their friends, family and neighbors and they deserve to be treated with love and respect. As we stand with these Utahns in support of families, the definition of family for WCF and other American extremists is divisive and dangerous, as it actively excludes.”
