The 2017 Values Voter Summit is as disturbingly anti-gay as expected.
BuzzFeed editor David Mack tweeted a photo of a pamphlet that was distributed on the first day of the three-day D.C. gathering, attended by conservatives since 2006 to “preserve the bedrock values of traditional marriage, religious liberty, sanctity of life and limited government that make our nation strong.”
The pamphlet, written by MassResistance, a “pro-family activist organization that educates people to help them confront the attacks on the traditional family, children, religion, and society” that is listed as an exhibitor at the event, is titled “The Health Hazards of Homosexuality.” It’s promoting a book by the same title published by MassResistance in February that apparently includes topics like “why homosexuality is a public health issue” and “the ‘born gay’ myth.”
A photo of the pamphlet and the bag in which it was handed out was also taken by Right Wing Watch’s Peter Montgomery and was sent to HuffPost by Queer Voices’ Editor-at-Large Michelangelo Signorile, both of whom are attending the summit.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana is set to speak at the summit, just months after a lesbian cop saved his life. Scalise was shot in the leg in June when a gunman opened fire on a Virginia baseball field where Republicans were practicing for an upcoming charity game.
President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to address the anti-LGBT event, sponsored by the Family Research Council, a group known for its anti-gay views. In his speech Friday, Trump spoke about the shooting in Las Vegas, the recent hurricanes damaging the nation and ISIS.
Many noted the irony of his attending.