Political activism of Focus on the Family in Canada

We received an email regarding the appointment of a new supreme court judge in the USA. The bulk of the message is as follows:

"[A] gay judge's sexual preference will, without any question whatsoever, 'interfere with their job.' It's not possible for it to be otherwise... We simply should not elevate to the highest court in the land people who are known for engaging in sexually abnormal behavior which would technically make them felons in a quarter of the states over which they will have jurisdiction." -- Bryan Fischer, American Family Association



Disqualified.

That's what the American Family Association and Focus on the Family -- both right-wing religious organizations -- think of gays and lesbians potentially serving on the Supreme Court following the retirement of venerable liberal Justice John Paul Stevens.

Their outrageous position is that gays and lesbians are "sinners" and since character is a consideration in approving judges, they should be automatically disqualified.

Sexual orientation should NOT be a factor in the appointment of a Supreme Court justice. Period.

With Focus on the Family, the American Family Association and the rest of the religious right firing up their massive lobbying machine, we need you to make your voice heard right now. Sign our letter to President Obama ASAP:

Courage Campaign | President Obama: Sexual orientation should NOT be a factor in selecting a Supreme Court nominee

Last year, we thought that Focus on the Family -- the leading organization lobbying on behalf of the religious right -- might be turning over a page when they said being LGBT should not automatically disqualify someone from serving on the Supreme Court.

But now Focus on the Family wants a "do over" because they still think gays and lesbians are unfit immoral sinners. Check out their latest statement:

"To be honest, this is one of those conversations we'd like to 'do over.' We can assure you that we recognize that homosexual behavior is a sin and does not reflect God's created intent and desire for humanity. Further, we at Focus do affirm that character and moral rectitude should be key considerations in appointing members of the judiciary, especially in the case of the highest court in the land."

This truly scandalous attempt to marginalize and dehumanize LGBT people, shared by countless others in this country, is exactly why we need legislation like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And it is exactly why we need to draw attention to this discrimination.

Now what does this have to do with Canadian politics? Well, Darrel Reid, former head of "Focus on the Family" in Canada was appointed to Deputy Director of Policy and Research to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007. In August 2009 he was given further powers as Deputy Chief of Staff, becoming also the Prime Minister's Director of Regional Affairs.

"I think every Christian is under an obligation to change laws to reflect biblical values," Reid said on the website CanadianChristianity.com. (from Linda Diebel's article at Boom times for PMO's God squad - thestar.com)

Does this not create just a little anxiety in every atheist's heart?