PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

160 Peaceful Coexistence Report
II.
These laws and proposals represent an orchestrated, nationwide effort by extremists
to promote bigotry, cloaked in the mantle of “religious freedom.”
The current spate of anti-LGBT laws is not the result of a spontaneous, populist revolt. It is a
carefully-planned strategy, being undertaken to punish LGBT people for having the temerity to
pursue equality and prevailing in the U.S. Supreme Court. 23
Liberty Counsel, which calls itself a Christian ministry and litigation agency, 24 but which the
Southern Poverty Law Center defines as a hate group, 25 is spearheading this assault on LGBT
dignity, safety, and rights in at least twenty states. It is no secret that this effort is in retaliation
for the pursuit of equality. The leader of Liberty Counsel, Mat Staver, has stated bluntly, "The
Supreme Court in the 5-4 opinion on marriage in 2015 lit the house on fire. … All we're trying to
do is control the fire at this point in time." 26
Fighting LGBT equality under the law provides Liberty Counsel its bread and butter. Staver is
reknown for his inflammatory rhetoric. For example, he states that
[The marriage fight] is the thing that revolutions literally are made of. This would
be more devastating to our freedom, to our religious freedom, to the rights of
pastors and their duty to be able to speak and to Christians around the country,
than anything that the revolutionaries during the American Revolution even
dreamed of facing. This would be the thing that revolutions are made of. This
could split the country right in two. This could cause another civil war.” 27
Staver also urges civil disobedience in one of the most offensive, incendiary ways possible; by
claiming that Christians opposed to marriage equality are akin to persons of conscience facing
the Nazi regime:
23
See, e.g., United States v. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013); and Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S.Ct. 2584 (2015).
24
“Advancing the Mission Through Three Pillars of Ministry,” Liberty Counsel, available at https://lc.org/aboutliberty-counsel.
25
See, e.g., “Liberty Counsel: Extremist Group Info,” Southern Poverty Law Center, available at
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/liberty-counsel; and “SPLC Adds Seven New
Organizations to Anti-Gay Hate Group List,” Truth Wins Out, Feb. 28, 2014, available at
https://www.truthwinsout.org/news/2014/02/39681/.
26
“Who’s Behind the New LGBT Bathroom Laws?,” CBS Evening News, April 13, 2016, available at
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/whos-behind-the-new-lgbt-bathroom-laws/.
27
“Liberty Counsel Continues Penchant for Inciting ‘Revolution,’” Good As You, April 14, 2014, available at
http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2014/04/liberty-counsel-continues-penchant-for-inciting-revolution.html.