FBI: Uses group that classify Christians who disagree with Homosexuality as Hate Crime candidates
WASHINGTON, D.C., – The FBI is still under fire for listing the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – which considers organizations that oppose same-sex “marriage” hate groups – as a resource on its Hate Crimes website alongside official government resources.
While a spokesman for the FBI has twice refused to comment to LifeSiteNews.com about the listing of the SPLC as a resource, one spokesperson told CNS News that "the Resource link to SPLC is for informational purposes and not an endorsement of the organization or the information on their website.”
Gay activist Floyd Corkins opened fire on the Family Research Council headquarters, and admitted he targeted the organization based on SPLC's designation of the group as a "hate group."
The SPLC’s targeting of pro-family groups has been linked to at least one terrorist act, a shooting at the Family Research Council's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The shooter said he used the SPLC's “Hate Map” to find the headquarters. The FRC’s security guard, Leo Johnson, was shot in the process of wrestling the gun away from the attacker, ending his plot.
Under federal law, according to the FBI, “[a] hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. … Hate itself is not a crime—and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties.”
According to the SPLC, hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.” It also says that “[h]ate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing. … Listing here does not imply a group advocates or engages in violence or other criminal activity.”
The FBI and SPLC have worked together since at least 2007. One project examined unsolved Civil Rights-era racial crimes, and in 2012 the Department of Justice invited a SPLC co-founder to present on diversity. The military has used the SPLC for data and information on equal opportunity.
LifeSiteNews.com asked a FBI spokesman about the FBI's rationale for considering the SPLC a “resource” in the same way as official government resources, and “why the FBI list[s] an organization as a resource when it doesn't endorse the information on the organization's website.” The spokesman said he has “no comment.”
