The Trump administration has given the top vitriolic ANTI-LGBT hate groups and transphobic employers millions in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) pandemic relief funding. This according to NBC News after an analysis of data released last week by the Small Business Administration.
The Small Business Association was forced to reveal recipients of loans under 150,000 after losing a lawsuit brought by The Center for Public Integrity.
Seven of the organizations that received funding — the American College of Pediatricians, American Family Association, Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam), Church Militant/St. Michael’s Media, Liberty Counsel, Pacific Justice Institute and Ruth Institute — have been designated as “anti-LGBTQ hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) due to their alleged vilification of queer people. These seven groups received nearly $2.5 million combined.
The lion’s share of that money went to the American Family Association, which received nearly $1.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds. The Mississippi-based organization uses its resources, in part, to combat what it calls the “homosexual agenda.” Through its One Million Moms initiative, the organization rallies its supporters to boycott brands and media outlets that promote “homosexuality and transgenderism.”
Liberty Counsel, which received $428,000 in pandemic relief funds, is a conservative legal organization that, according to the SPLC, advocates for “anti-LGBT discrimination under the guise of religious liberty.” The organization made national news last year after trying to get gays removed from protection in a federal anti-lynching bill.
At least four other organizations that received Paycheck Protection Program funding — Concerned Women for America, Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, Family Leader and First Liberty Institute — have a demonstrated track record of anti-LGBTQ advocacy or espousing an anti-LGBTQ ideology, though they have not been designated “hate groups” by the SPLC. These organizations received nearly $2 million in pandemic relief money combined.
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The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, which received $663,700, is dedicated to combating what it calls the “radical homosexual agenda.” The Colorado-based organization has described LGBTQ-inclusive sex education at a public school district as “vile” and “indoctrination of the most horrible variety.” The group’s founder, James Dobson, has also warned of the “dangerous transgender movement targeting our youth.”
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, which received more than $150,000, was part of a landmark Supreme Court case that resulted in the justices ruling that workplace discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity violates federal civil rights law. The Michigan funeral home’s involvement in the case stemmed from its termination of an employee after she came out as transgender. In November, the business agreed to pay $250,000 to the estate of the terminated employee, who died earlier this year, to settle the lawsuit.
