LOOK: George W. Bush Just Sent a Letter of Support to an Infamous Anti-Gay Hate Group

Former US President Brags He ‘Took Steps to Preserve the Sanctity of Marriage’

President George W. Bush has written and sent a “welcome message” to be delivered to the delegates of the World Congress of Families conference at the anti-gay hate group’s opening ceremony on May 16. The WCF has managed to operate mostly under the radar, seeking to quietly manipulate foreign governments’ policies in favor of anti-gay hate. This year’s conference will be held in the country of Georgia.

“Around the world, families provide that beacon of freedom and the source of help, hope, and stability for individuals and nations,” the Republican former President said in the statement that will be given to each attendee Monday. “As one of the pillars of civilization and the bulwark of liberty, families must remain strong and we must defend them.”

Bush then bragged that to “ensure that future generations are prepared to face new opportunities and challenges, as President, I took steps to promote strong families, preserve the sanctity of marriage and protect the well-being of children.” By “sanctity of marriage” he means one-man, one-woman marriages only. Remember, Bush spent $500 million on a failed marriage preservation program.

The World Congress of Families appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of active anti-gay hate groups, along with its big-money founder, the Howard Center for Family Religion and Society. National Organization For Marriage (NOM) President Brian Brown, Janice Shaw Crouse of Concerned Women for America are among its active Board of Directors members. Dallin Oaks, head of the Mormon Church, is an honorary Board member. 

The SPLC, in a report notes that the World Congress of Families (WCF) is “one of the key driving forces behind the U.S. religious right’s global export of homophobia and sexism,” and say it “pursues an international anti-choice, anti-LGBT agenda, seeking to promote conservative ideologies — and codify these in regressive laws and policies — that dictate who has rights as “family,” and who doesn’t.”

How extreme are they?

In 2014 the WCF held their annual conference in Moscow, at the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin was on hand for part of it. NOM’s Brian Brown told attendees, “Russia is the hope for the world right now.” Allies of Putin – whose anti-gay laws have led to sanctioned and increased rates of violence against LGBT people – funded the event.

At last year’s conference, disgraced anti-gay researcher Mark Regnerus was asked if he would support a policy of cutting welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, or Medicare from single parents, including unwed mothers, in an effort to force them to marry. He said yes. 

At that same conference, in Salt Lake City, Rafael Cruz – Ted Cruz’s father – was filmed casually speaking with attendees, warning that what LGBT people “are going to push is to try to legalize pedophilia.”

The former President’s message concludes, “I commend your efforts to recognize the importance of families in building nations. Your work improves many lives and makes the world better.” 

Here’s the letter:

 

 

Image of Pres. Bush by The Bush Center via Flickr and a CC license
Letter via World Congress of Families