Who is Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)?

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is demanding that the IRS look into the tax status of the liberal hate group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). This extremist organization has managed to position itself among the leftist mainstream media as an arbiter of acceptable beliefs and actions, deeming those who are out of compliance with leftist group-think as "hate groups." Their stock in trade is defamation, and their target is primarily conservatives, especially groups that advocate a Christian perspective on contemporary social issues such as fake homosexual marriage. Many Christian ministries have frequently been in the crosshairs of the SPLC as a result of our advocacy for marriage, the biological nature of gender and our adherence to a biblical worldview of human sexuality. The SPLC has stopped short of declaring some Christian churches as  official "hate groups," but they have frequently defamed many ministries with charges of "intolerance," "anti-gay" and "hateful." While we should not ordinarily pay particular attention to what the SPLC has to say about any ministry, it is worth noting that some of their followers are fully capable of taking their extreme rhetoric to heart and acting on it. This was the case with Floyd Corkins several years ago when he tried to launch a murderous attack at the offices of the Family Research Council. The would-be killer had visited the SPLC for information about so-called antigay groups that opposed gay marriage. He targeted FRC because of their official inclusion among the SPLC "hate group" list, but he just as easily could have targeted your church office since he was apparently motivated by the SPLC's position on marriage. Thankfully, quick action and incredible courage by an FRC security guard, who took a bullet in the process of subduing the assailant, prevented countless people from being killed. The conduct of the SPLC is outrageous and should be condemned by all fair-minded people. Instead, they are rewarded by the left – which showers them in massive funding (Apple, $1 million; JPMorgan Chase, $500,000; George Clooney Foundation, $1 million; etc.). Incredibly, the SPLC has received such lavish support from the left that they have been able to amass several hundred million dollars in surplus funding! We must be committed to fighting against the SPLC's mindless but damaging attack on our church ministries, our mission, and our agenda. What is galling about the actions of the SPLC, and the financial largess that has been showered on it, is that they are supposed to be a charitable group entitling them to avoid paying taxes on their income because they are legally required to act in the public interest. But the SPLC is nothing but a liberal special interest political group hiding behind the tax laws where they attack conservatives and people of faith. And aside from having a terrible mission, it turns out that many of the SPLC's top executives are accused of engaging in terrible acts against their own employees, including harassment and racism. Several have been fired. It's high time that the SPLC be held to account for their campaign of hate against Christian Biblical groups. We commend Sen. Cotton for his leadership in taking on the SPLC. I work for a group, D. James Kennedy Ministries, which the SPLC has falsely designated a “hate group” because we don’t believe in same-sex marriage. That view doesn’t make us unique. Up until the last few years, the majority of Americans did not believe in it either—nor did Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, according to their public statements up until 2012.Yet, according to the SPLC, we’re “haters.” The irony that I’m supposedly a hater is that I am anything but. Daily I strive to pray the Prayer of St. Francis: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me replace it with love…” And so on.