Spreading lies

At first glance, it seems hyperbolic for the Southern Poverty Law Center to add the Family Research Council and other anti-gay-rights organizations to the list of hate groups it monitors. The label "hate group" evokes the disquieting fringe of virulent bigotry, not highly visible advocacy groups with large constituencies.

But not all hate comes from the fringe. And according to the SPLC—a top authority on hate groups—the term doesn't necessarily imply violence or illegal activity. Instead, the SPLC defines hate groups as those with "beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

Do the FRC and the other antigay groups qualify? The SPLC makes a persuasive case that they do. An article in Intelligence Report, the organization's magazine, details how these groups trade in "demonizing propaganda" characterized by widely discredited junk science and "repeated, groundless name-calling." The FRC quickly responded by placing an ad—in the form of an open letter signed by more than two dozen top Republicans—accusing the SPLC of "trying to shut down informed discussion of policy issues."