Tony Perkins Challenged to Debate

From the Huffington Post:

Dear Mr. Perkins,

Let me again express my strong condemnation of the shooting at the Family Research Council offices, as well as my support and concern for all those affected. Security guard Leo Johnson, who took a bullet (and luckily did not lose his life, and is currently in stable condition), is a hero who saved others from being shot. I'm enormously grateful for that. As I wrote here last week, whatever the gunman's motives, they are twisted and utterly unacceptable. This shooting is an outrage and should send a chill through everyone on both sides of these debates. You and I have debated gay rights, civilly, on TV and in other media. That's how these disagreements should always be addressed: via civil discourse, never through violence.

In that post last week, I also stated that no one should be exploiting this tragedy for political gain. That's why I and many others are greatly disappointed by the press conference you held last week, and I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you to have a public discussion with me about hate (more on this below). Without providing any facts, you claimed that the Southern Poverty Law Center's labeling your group a "hate group" gave the alleged shooter a "license to shoot." You went on to obscure why you were put in the hate group category, implying that it was because of your position against same-sex marriage.

But let's be clear about why FRC is in that category. After all, there are thousands of conservative and religious groups across the country that are opposed to marriage equality, many of which also believe homosexuality to be a sin, but the SPLC does not deem them all hate groups. It's only a tiny handful of conservative groups that have been given that distinction by the SPLC. They are listed as hate groups "based on their propagation of known falsehoods -- claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities -- and repeated, groundless name-calling." Also, two years ago, an FRC official said "homosexual behavior" should be outlawed. You wouldn't repudiate him. It was also revealed that the FRC contributed $25,000 to stop a congressional resolution to condemn the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda, which would have made homosexuality punishable by death. You worried that the resolution could make it appear as if homosexuality is acceptable. If that Ugandan bill, and even tacit approval of it, isn't "hate," what is? 

~

But maybe we are misunderstanding you. Maybe you have incontrovertible proof behind these and many other claims. Maybe you can convince me that the hate group label is unfair, or maybe I can convince you that some or all of these claims are erroneous. Or perhaps we will each realize that we've misunderstood one another in some ways. So I'm asking you here and now to engage with me in a civil public discussion to debate these and other claims and to talk about hate. We can do it here on HuffPost, or on my radio program on SiriusXM. 

It's vitally important to have this dialogue now if you agree that we've all got to bring down the temperature, and if you sincerely want to clear up what you believe are misunderstandings. Let's take this instance, this latest tragedy, and turn it into a moment of understanding and insight.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Michelangelo Signorile