TLC Reality Star to Work for Anti-Gay FRC

EDGE READ TIME: 2 MIN.

Yesterday, on "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins", the Family Research Council's daily online talk radio broadcast, 25 year old reality star Josh Duggar of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting? announced that he, has accepted the position of Executive Director of the anti-gay Christian organization FRC.

The announcement did not come as a surprise to many who have been speculating for months when the eldest Duggar announced plans in March to move to the nation's capital to "work in politics."

As reported on GLAAD's blog, "Duggar has said in the past that he "will be working with a Christian organization to help promote 'family values and right to life." But FRC has spent decades attacking same-sex couples and their families, as well as the families of LGBT young people. Duggar said that he will be working on the 501c4 side of the organization, which is more politically driven. He can't even claim he's just going to shape the culture."

The conservative Christian Family Research Council which actively lobbies against LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption, was classified in 2010 as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and is considered by many to be one of the country's most fervently anti-gay organizations.

Concerns were raised that Duggar's new position with the FRC might place him in America's living rooms in the form of entertainment. As stated on GLAAD's blog, "What does this mean for TLC's 19 Kids and Counting? Will TLC allow it to become a mainstream outlet for FRC's dangerous message? What about the Duggar family's appearances in other media? Will his work with one of the most vile anti-gay organizations in America be legitimized there? "

There is no record of an Executive Director position previously existing with the FRC, so it is unclear whether the job was created for Duggar, a former used car salesman whose highest level of completed education is a high school GED, or whether Duggar's placement was part of a search for talent.

The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American conservative Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was incorporated in 1983.[2] In the late 1980s, the FRC officially became a division of Dobson's main organization, Focus on the Family, but after an administrative separation, the FRC became an independent entity in 1992. Tony Perkins is the current president.

Watch FRC's Tony Perkins predict how Romney's position on same-sex marriage will help him win swing states in the 2012 election.


by EDGE

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