Jackson Free Press

The campaign working in support of the Personhood Amendment has launched a fake website to attack the Political Action Committee working against the ballot measure that would redefine the word person in the state Constitution. "Yes on 26" is using the site to call out Mississippians for Healthy Families' registered officers Nsombi Lambright of the ACLU and Kay Scott of Planned Parenthood. The site attacks the organizations for their position on abortion rights.

Mississippians for Healthy Families issued a statement on its official website today:

"It's offensive that Yes on 26 would set up a fake website to undermine real issues that impact Mississippi families. We aren't surprised by this dirty campaign trick. Initiative 26 will make birth control and IVF illegal and will cost the state millions in legal fees, and these facts will not be eroded by a bogus website."

"Yes on 26" is registered as a nonprofit through the Mississippi Secretary of State's office. Patrick Vaughn is attorney for the American Family Association and filed articles of incorporation for "Yes on 26" on June 8, 2011.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has named the American Family Association a hate group for its campaigns against homosexuals.

Previous Comments

ID

165067

Comment

The "Yes on 26" people are pulling all kinds of dirty tricks and throwing out deceptions and distractions as fast as they can. Not only is the AFA - listed as an anti-gay hate group - a major backer of the initiative, but Les Riley, a extremist Christian Secessionist is the chairman of the "Yes on 26" Their accusations are flimsy and ethereal. For instance, it is technically correct to state that i26 will not outlaw birth control pills. However, i26 sets up an legal environment where any pill, injection or other means of delivering the most common birth control medicine will be Illegal due to the secondary effect of preventing a fertilized egg (which 26 makes a full person) from attaching to the wall of the uterus - thereby presenting a possibility of having an abortion effect. So, while i26 doesn't actually "Do" anything other than define a fertilized egg as being a full person and having the same - or more - rights than a woman, it does create a legal environment that has a wide range of implications. Also, while Mississippians for Healthy Families is a 'major player' against 26, the Grassroots, concerned citizen movement against this disaster has been gaining momentum long before MHF got organized. (Read more on my blog posts : http://goo.gl/JVQyj and http://goo.gl/nxshm )

Author

BobbyKearan

Date

2011-09-26T10:10:50-06:00

ID

165070

Comment

Actually, the SPLC has not designated AFA as a hate group. This is from the website that you linked as a reference in the article: 'A Mighty Army' A dozen major groups help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade. Inspired by the organizing successes of early anti-gay crusaders like Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, fundamentalist political activists have turned the anti-gay movement into a virtual industry over the last three decades. Below are profiles of a dozen of today's most influential anti-gay groups. Groups designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center are marked with an asterisk. Alliance Defense Fund American Family Association American Vision* Chalcedon Foundation* Christian Action Network Concerned Women for America Coral Ridge Ministries/Center for Reclaiming America Family Research Council Family Research Institute* Focus on the Family Summit Ministries Traditional Values Coalition

Author

crpiii

Date

2011-09-26T14:52:30-06:00

ID

165076

Comment

According to the SPLC's 2010 Intelligence Report and this link the SPLC added them as a hate group in 2010. The link I posted before was from 2005. I have also called to confirm that they are still on the SPLC's hate group list and I am waiting for a call back to confirm.

Author

Lacey McLaughlin

Date

2011-09-27T09:09:08-06:00

ID

165089

Comment

Yes, SPLC lists AFA as a hate group. That is why they have an "Intelligence" file on them and their activities. "Anti-gay" is a hate group ideology. AFA Listing Hate Groups List

Author

BobbyKearan

Date

2011-09-29T13:04:14-06:00