Biden redirects foreign policy to advance LGBT causes; 132 U.S. embassies celebrate Pride Month

NEWS PROVIDED BY
Family Research Council (FRC)
June 13, 2023

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- Family Research Council today released a new report, titled "Exporting LGBT Ideology: The Biden Administration's Foreign Policy Priority." The report was authored by Arielle Del Turco, FRC's Director of the Center for Religious Liberty and Dr. Chris Gacek, JD, FRC's Senior Fellow for Regulatory Affairs. The authors argue: "Since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration has systematically elevated the importance of LGBT ideology in American foreign policy, utilizing the resources and platform of the U.S. government to promote LGBT policies abroad...The Biden administration's ideological colonialism sometimes strains our relationships with other countries and diverts U.S. attention from focusing on human rights issues. LGBT-identifying persons are already (rightly) protected by international human rights treaties by virtue of their personhood, not their sexual orientation or gender identity. Pushing LGBT-specific policies around the world is a coercive attempt to change foreign cultures and laws from afar and displaces human rights like religious freedom."

The report noted several observations including (but not limited to):

• In 2022, 132 U.S. embassies released Pride month statements, 99 flew Pride or Progress flags, and 49 had staffers who participated in Pride parades.
   
• The State Department has criticized 67 countries for allowing so-called "conversion therapy," 48 countries for not recognizing "LGBTQI+ persons, couples, or their families," and 154 countries for not having "legal gender recognition."
   
• The Biden administration is devoting millions of dollars to LGBT programs through USAID and the State Department and efforts like the Global Equality Fund.
   
• The Biden administration's ideological colonialism alienates other countries and disregards the divided opinions of the American people.

Tony Perkins, FRC president and former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, commented on the report:

"As former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), I saw how the U.S. government can influence other nations for good in advancing the fundamental human right of religious freedom. Now, President Biden is using the full weight of American power to push an ideology that violates the moral code of many of our allies around the world. This report exposes how the Biden administration is pressuring other countries to adopt LGBT policies by weaponizing American foreign policy."

Arielle Del Turco, FRC's Director of the Center for Religious Liberty and author of the report, also commented:

"America's promotion of human rights abroad should rightly be directed to advance internationally recognized human rights, such as religious freedom. Yet, the Biden administration has co-opted American foreign policy to advance a radical social agenda across the globe. The fact that President Biden has devoted so much of his agencies' efforts toward pushing LGBT ideology abroad exposes his divisive partisan priorities. It's unfair for the countries who find themselves on the one hand a recipient of generous U.S. aid, while on the other hand pressured to adopt LGBT policies that contradict their cultural values."

Dr. Chris Gacek, FRC's Senior Fellow for Regulatory Affairs, commented:

"On two levels, we have something important to say about current American foreign policy. First, at the macro-historical level, the Biden administration promotes a hyper-aggressive, ideological vision for the world that includes a major focus on pushing a sexual, LGBT agenda around world. This represents a rupture with past U.S. foreign policies that focused on security concerns while advocating for traditional human rights protections. Second, the paper describes the myriad ways in which the Biden administration has focused the entire government on compelling the world to accept this LGBT vision."

To access the full publication, please visit: FRC.org/ExportingPride

SOURCE Family Research Council (FRC)

CONTACT: Alice Chao, 202-624-3010