Gays have only themselves to blame in Foley affair, says family group

For Immediate Release
October 13, 2006 A.D.

Contact: Martin Cothran
Phone: 859-329-1919

State family advocacy group says Fairness Alliance "almost stumbled on the truth"

"Gay rights groups have created an environment that may very well have made the Foley situation worse," said a spokesman for The Family Foundation of Kentucky today. The comments came on the heels of the release of a statement by a state gay rights blaming congressional leadership for not dealing sooner with gay former congressman Mark Foley.

"Actually, they almost got it right," said The Family Foundation's senior policy analyst Martin Cothran. "The Fairness Alliance is dead on right in its observation that Foley's sexual orientation may have delayed action on Foley. But most likely the only homophobia involved was not fear of gays, but with fear of gay rights groups like the Fairness Alliance who do not want to talk about gays who abuse children and who don't like anyone else to talk about it either."

"House leadership's own homophobia," said the Fairness Alliance's statement, issued to the Lexington Herald-Leader, "and their desire to protect their power led them to this crisis. Their apparent eagerness to avoid talking about Foley's sexual orientation gave them impetus to look the other way."

"If the fear of accusing a gay colleague of sexually predatory behavior really prevented Congressional leaders from dealing with Foley earlier, then gay rights groups have only themselves to blame," said Cothran in response.

"The very groups who are now charging House leadership with failing to deal with the Foley affair are the same groups who have created an environment in which people like Foley are allowed to get away with sexually predatory behavior," said Cothran. "Anyone who has the temerity to suggest that there is any kind of connection between homosexuality and sexually predatory behavior is immediately and unceremoniously read out of polite society. Do you really expect people--congressional leaders or anyone else--to be enthusiastic about outing sexual predators who are gay in that kind of environment?"

The Fairness Alliance accused the House of having an informal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that enabled Mark Foley to continue his behavior uninhibited. But Cothran said gay rights groups like the Fairness Alliance have their own similar policies when it comes to sexual predators who are gay: "Let's call them 'Don't Talk About It At All' policies," said Cothran.

"If gay rights groups are going to lecture other people on how to act when it comes to sexual predators, they should get their own house in order," said Cothran. "In fact, has anyone noticed that it took a lot longer for gay rights groups to expel open advocates of pedophilia from their own midst than it did for congressional leadership to come to terms with Mark Foley?"