On Thursday, much of official Washington, from the President to Supreme Court Justices to Members of Congress to Cabinet Officials to Ambassadors will flock to the Washington Hilton to attend the National Prayer Breakfast. Sounds relatively innocuous, but it isn't. The event is sponsored by “The Family":
This fringe group uses the visibility and support from the National Prayer Breakfast (attended by many politicians and business leaders) and other events to further its world-wide campaign against LGBT individuals. Associates of “The Family” continue to promote a proposed law in Uganda that would imprison for life and murder LGBT people — just for being who they are — while also criminalizing knowing an LGBT person without reporting them.On Thursday morning, GetEQUAL is holding a protest outside of the Hilton: "Breakfast without Bigotry."
“The Family” has invested much in mentoring current and future world leaders, including David Bahati, a Ugandan legislator and author of the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill (a.k.a. the Ugandan “Kill the Gays” bill).
Elected officials need to explain why they're attending an event sponsored by "The Family." We've reached a point where enough people know this event is hosted by haters. Attendees must be aware of the role played by "The Family" in Uganda.
The President shouldn't be there. Nor, should any member of Congress or the Judiciary. But, instead of letting people know this breakfast is hosted by haters, too many of our elected officials scurry to this creepy event to curry favor with the right-wing religious types. It's sickening. By legitimizing "The Family" and its hate agenda, everyone who attends has blood on their hands.
Here's some background via Press Release from GetEQUAL:
On Thursday, February 3, GetEQUAL -- a national direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization -- in partnership with multiple LGBT and human rights organizations will host a “Breakfast Without Bigotry” protest outside of the National Prayer Breakfast. The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event, keynoted by the President and attended by many politicians and business leaders, that is organized by a secretive religious group called "The Family" and is tied to the Ugandan lawmaker who authored the “Kill the Gays” bill in the Ugandan legislature.Details are here. I'll be there.
In front of the Washington Hilton Hotel (1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW) from 6:00am – 8:00am (ET), civil rights activists, faith leaders, human rights organizers, and LGBT advocates will gather during the National Prayer Breakfast to ask that both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress and our President stand against the hatred and bigotry that the National Prayer Breakfast organizers have promoted worldwide. Groups joining GetEQUAL in this event include the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Unitarian Universalist Association, Soulforce, and others. (An updated list will be available at www.getequal.org on the day of the event.)
In the wake of the murder of Ugandan gay activist, David Kato, and the pending deportation of Brenda Namigadde from the UK back to Uganda, organizations across the country are uniting to make sure that “The Family” is exposed for their influence on world affairs, including the annihilation of LGBT people worldwide. "History has proven time and again that the kind of hatred, bigotry, and prejudice promoted by 'The Family' cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. 'The Family' already has blood on its hands, and must be stopped before it can kill again in even greater numbers. Uganda today serves as a lethal preview of what 'The Family' hopes to accomplish worldwide," said Michael Dixon, a lead organizer for GetEQUAL DC.
