As the world’s eyes turned to Russia for the Sochi Olympics, and for the increasingly anti-gay policies of the Putin government, People For the American Way Senior Fellow Peter Montgomery spoke with PFAW supporters on an activist teleconference about the destructive export of homophobia by American Religious Right groups and political leaders.
Montgomery discussed the contents of a new Right Wing Watch In Focus report, “Globalizing Homophobia: How the American Right Supports and Defends Russia’s Anti-Gay Crackdown.” The report exposes the active involvement of Religious Right figures like Scott Lively and Brian Brown in encouraging the passage of anti-gay laws and fomenting a homophobic climate that has contributed to horrific anti-gay violence in Russia. The World Congress of Families, backed by many Religious Right groups in the U.S., is holding its 2014 summit in Moscow with the support of the Russian government.
Montgomery also spoke with callers about Religious Right leaders’ support for anti-gay legislation in other parts of the world, including Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and India.
PFAW President Michael Keegan said the new report, like ongoing coverage of Religious Right leaders on PFAW’s Right Wing Watch blog, gives activists tools to help expose the extremism of right-wing groups and hold them accountable for the harm they are causing to people’s lives and to the values of freedom, fairness, and human rights.
Listen to call here: