The Christian Family Council, a group whose name distracts from the fact that their main mission is battling against LGBT right in Miami-Dade County, recently released something of an infomercial for their Citizen Leadership Institution in which a wide array of local citizens testify that they feel "empowered" after going through the program.
Missing from the video is what the institute actually does: trains people to how to argue against an expansion of Miami-Dade Human Rights Ordinance that would include transgendered people. Yes, empowerment through disempowering other. Which isn't much a surprise from a group that claims attempts to end discrimination against others is actually discrimination against themselves. Doublespeak much?
Here's the video, or to put it more bounty a collection of faces of bigotry in 2013:
The accompanying press release posted on Gay South Florida that hawks admittances in the 2014 program makes the purpose of the program a little more clear:
"This video contains powerful testimonies of individuals who have attended the CFC's Citizen Leadership Institute (CLI) and are now ready to educate their county commissioners on why we must ALL reject the proposed, discriminatory "transsexual" ordinance in Miami-Dade County."
The Miami-Dade County Human Rights Ordinance already protects from discrimination in employment, housing and services to people based on race, gender, sexual orientation and religious affiliation, and a recent push would add gender identity to that bill to protect transgendered people. On its first reading the amendment passed the Miami-Dade Commission passed it 11-1, but then the bill was held up in the Health and Social Services Committee by conservative commissioner Lynda Bell.
The CFC, best known for waging a failing fight against protections based on sexual orientation, is now rallying against the amendment with a bunch of doublespeak, out-of-context cases and nonsensical logic.
Another video they've released on the matter starts with the question? "Are you prepared to be discriminated against?" Because in their eyes ending discrimination actually somehow discriminates against people who like to discriminate.
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