Tony Perkins: GOP Convention Had A Pro-Gay Speaker, But Democrats Won’t Allow An Anti-Gay Speaker

Most of us would object to homocon Peter Thiel being characterized as pro-gay. Just in via press release:

Last night, I could hardly walk 20 feet on the convention floor without being stopped by a reporter. They all asked the same question: Was I outraged that Peter Thiel, an openly gay businessman, was speaking at the RNC Convention after me? My answer — no. While I may disagree with someone’s choices, this is a political party (unlike the Democrats’) that allows people with differing views to take part.

That said, the stated principles of the Republican Party clearly reflect the view of the majority of Republican voters, which is that natural marriage and sexuality are sacred. While most of the press were looking for an opportunity to divide conservatives and create controversy, Thiel’s speech highlighted a significant contrast between the GOP and Democratic parties. Does anyone honestly believe that the Democratic National Convention would allow a proponent of natural marriage to speak on next week’s program? Of course not. As I explained last week, the GOP Platform Committee allowed these minorities’ views about homosexuality to be introduced and debated, and the result was that the elected delegates from the states soundly rejected them.

To suggest that the Republican Party shouldn’t allow people to participate because we disagree with them is unreasonable. If we’d invite them to our churches, which we absolutely should, why not a political party? Of course, the purpose of inviting them to join us in our churches is to introduce them life-transforming truth of the gospel. Likewise, we should use the opportunities within the confines of the GOP to have a conversation about those same truths. This means we have frank conversations; we challenge views where necessary. For example, Thiel’s claim that “Fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline,” is…well a fake claim. Social science has proven, quite convincingly, that the attack on moral values and faith is real. And it’s the demise of those faith and family bedrocks that’s helping to drive our nation’s economic decline. We cannot tax, spend, and borrow enough to substitute for marriage.

Most of us think of marriage as a cultural and religious institution — but it’s also an economic one. And what happens to the family has big implications for federal and state spending. Each year, as Georgia State University found a few years ago, the government has to fork over $112 billion dollars in welfare, anti-poverty programs, criminal justice bills, and education initiatives just to keep broken families afloat. In one decade, that means the decline of marriage is taking $1 trillion dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets.

Unlike the Left, we aren’t afraid to have the conversations — and even the debates — about our positions because we stand on the side of truth. We must simply refuse to be silent, because silence is no longer an option.