Interviewed on MSNBC by guest host Luke Russert on Wednesday, April 11, 2012, Tony Perkins, president of the so-called Family Research Council, stated that he does not support the granting of “special business rights” to “homosexuals” in national or state legislation, and especially with regard to ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) that has come up for passage over the past decade.
I am frequently asked to explain why lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people “deserve special privileges” by specifically having sexual identity and gender identity and expression included as protected categories in state and local hate crimes, bullying prevention, educational and business nondiscrimination policies, and other legislation.
To begin, in all but a very few states in the United States and countries throughout the world, we are not accorded the rights of legal civil marriage, with all the benefits given to different-sex couples, and in this case, we are being treated specially.
