Unlike the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council has had no reservations about partnering with the Illinois Family Institute to fight marriage equality in Illinois. In FRC’s Washington Update Monday, Tony Perkins boasted that the marriage bill did not come up for a vote, cheering the tearful announcement by Rep. Greg Harris (D) as an accomplishment:
The LGBT lobby, who assumed their bullying would have the same effect on these legislators as it’s had in other states, were completely blindsided by the churches’ powerful resistance. On Friday, while the Left was preparing for a victory lap, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), tearfully announced on the last day of the session that he didn’t have the votes to bring the bill to the floor.
For our side, which has had its share of setbacks, it was a reminder of what can be accomplished when we stand together. Illinois voters refused to buy the line that same-sex “marriage” is inevitable — and because of their courage, it wasn’t! Join us in congratulating the Illinois Family Institute and the hundreds of pastors who stood their ground on marriage! It was a victory well-deserved, and more than that, a success story every state can learn from.
Harris has defended his decision not to hold a vote amid criticism from advocates for not forcing lawmakers to voice their position on the record.
But FRC doesn’t seem concerned with why Harris, who is openly gay, might have been upset by his bill’s setback. Indeed, by claiming that the LGBT lobby was engaging in “bullying,” the group is trying to paint opponents of equality as victims of some kind, even though allowing same-sex couples to marry would have no impact on their lives. Promoting and cheering the continued second-class status of the gay community is one of the many reasons both FRC and IFI are classified as hate groups.