Steve Sampson
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
Steve Sampson
I read a rather interesting letter to the editor in the Feb. 27 News Tribune. It stated in part, “Last week, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a report on ‘members of Congress who traffic in hate and extremism who have open white supremacist, nativist, anti-LGBT or anti-government ties.’ Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley made the list. Hawley doesn’t want you to have insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions, and he has hired five lawyers to mount a defense against charges that his Missouri Attorney General’s office violated the Sunshine Law. Missouri voters decided very poorly in last November’s election for U.S. senator.” You talk about an organization that promotes hate and extremism and that is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). I think Sen. Hawley should wear that designation from SPLC, with a badge of honor.
The SPLC has designated as hate groups, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an atheist, feminist, and former Muslim who speaks out against female genital mutilation. Ali has many death threats on her life by Islamic radicals but SPLC labels her, and not those who have made the threats, on the hate watch list. When the then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a speech to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and was immediately vilified by the left wing media such as ABC for associating with an alleged hate group. ADF has won seven Supreme Court cases in the last seven years including Trinity Lutheran v. Comer religious liberty case. ADF has also won over 400 victories regarding academic freedom in the university. ADF consistently brings cases to the United States Supreme Court and wins. Regarding LGBTQ issues, ADF argues for the rights of Christians and others to practice their deeply held belief system.
The SPLC evolution is not surprising. As clear as the laws of physics, where leftism is found, hatred, bigotry, and intolerance soon follows. They have no tolerance for those who argue for religious freedom to Christians and even Muslims. SPLC will continue labeling more and more conservative and Christian groups as hate groups. However, the real victim is not just conservative organizations. It is those who need the services of a legal group to defend them because of real hatred. Because SPLC has cried wolf too many times, it has diminished the definition of what a hate group is.
No Sue, SPLC is the hate group.