Two psychotically anti-gay advocates who have been spreading hatred overseas held a press conference on Friday in Washington, DC to announce a new group: Coalition for Family Values.
The two American fascists, Scott Lively of Defend the Family International and Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality were joined at the National Press Club by “ex-gay” 
activist Greg Quinlan and Diane Gramley of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania. Michael Lavers of the The Washington Blade reports that at the event Lively reiterated his praise of the anti-gay law put in place by Russian president Vladimir Putin:
“We want to praise the Russian Federation for providing much-needed leadership in restoring family values in public policy,” Lively said, adding he hopes other governments will enact laws similar to the gay propaganda law that Putin signed. “By taking these steps in the face of intense criticism and hostility by some Western governments and NGOs, the Russians have demonstrated the high value that they place on their children and the natural family model of society. We believe that God will bless the Russian people for their faith and courage.”
Matt Barber of Liberty Council Action, Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern and Brian Camenker of MassResistance are among the more than 70 anti-gay activists and religious leaders from the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Brazil who have thus far joined the coalition.
In today’s New York Times, conservative columnist Ross Douthat, whom I rarely agree with, wrote a terrific column, “The Games Putin Plays,” that really pegged the losers behind the new anti-gay group launched in DC:
The Soviets’ claim to be in history’s vanguard, meanwhile, earned them allies and fellow travelers not only in Latin America, Asia and Africa, but among the best and brightest of the liberal West. No comparable Western fifth column seems likely to emerge to enable Putin’s goals. A few voices on the American right have praised his traditionalist rhetoric — but only a few. As beleaguered as America’s social conservatives sometimes feel, we’re a long distance from signing up as useful idiots for a thuggish, obviously opportunistic “family values” crusade.
Thanks, Ross. You really nailed it when you described people like Lively, LaBarbera as “useful idiots” for a thuggish crusade.
