Family Research Council

The Family Research Council (FRC) is an organization in Washington, D.C. that grew out of Ronald Reagan's neoconservative "pro-family" domestic agenda.

History
According to the organization's website, "the Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulate public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society."

"The idea of the Family Research Council originated at the 1980 White House Conference on Families. Among the conferees, James Dobson stood out because of his rare combination of Christian social values and academic and professional credentials. A practicing clinical psychologist and noted author, Dobson had recently transitioned into radio broadcasting and also launched a nonprofit, family service organization. He felt that the time was ripe to establish an organization that would drive the national debate on family issues. In 1983, the Family Research Council incorporated as a nonprofit educational institution in the District of Columbia; its founding board included Dobson and two noted psychiatrists, Armand Nicholoi. Jr. of Harvard University and George Rekers of the University of South Carolina," it states.

"Under the leadership of Gerry Regier, a former Reagan Administration official at the Department of Health and Human Services, FRC began to link policy makers with researchers and professionals from a variety of disciplines. Gary Bauer, a domestic policy advisor to President Reagan, succeeded Regier in 1988 and by the mid-1990s the organization had grown into a $10 million operation with a nationwide network of support...", it states.

The FRC is associated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family and William J. Bennett.

Gay escort controversy
In May, 2010, the Miami New Times reported that on April 13, FRC co-founder George Rekers was photographed arriving at the Miami International Airport with a male escort after having taken a ten day trip to Europe. The services of Rekers' companion, identified only by the name Lucien, were found to have been advertised solely on the Web site RentBoy.com, a gay escort/masseur Web site. Lucien's profile on the site was only accessible after the viewer acknowledged he is over age 18 and clicks a button saying he is aware that the site contains "content and materials that are of a graphic and/or sexual nature." Rekers claimed that the man was there to help him carry his luggage, since he had recently had surgery and was unable to carry it himself. Rekers was pushing his own luggage cart when he and Lucien were spotted at the airport. Rekers denied knowing Lucien's line of work, to which Lucien expressed his surprise.

Following the April, 2010 scandal regarding Rekers being caught with a young professional male escort in Miami, the Family Research Council eliminated Rekers from the organization's history and their website at http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=HISTORY_ABOUT.

Personnel

 * Tony Perkins, President
 * Chuck Donovan, Executive Vice President
 * Tom McClusky, Vice President for Government Affairs
 * Charmaine Yoest, Vice President for Communications
 * Robert Morrison, Vice President for Academic Affairs
 * Peter Sprigg, Vice President for Policy
 * J. Kenneth Blackwell, Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment
 * David Prentice, Senior Fellow for Life Sciences, Center for Human Life and Bioethics
 * Patrick F. Fagan, Senior Fellow and Director for Marriage and Religion Center

Opposition to health care reform
On December 16, 2009, FRC held a one-hour "prayercast" to oppose health care reform. The press release promoting the event announced it would be attended by a number of Republican elected representatives who have been among the most vocal opponents of health care reform including Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), Senator Jim DeMint, (R-South Carolina) Rep. Randy Forbes, (R-Virginia) and Rep. Michele Bachmann, (R-Minnesota).

James Dobson of Focus on the Family, speaking at the prayercast, referred to President Obama as the “Evil One,“ saying "I just pray that you will frustrate the plans of the Evil One and revive us again with conviction and forgiveness,” said Dobson. Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in San Diego, California made the case that the proposed health care reform bill violated nearly all Ten Commandments. Bachmann led the group in a prayer asking for forgiveness of governmental leaders who have not looked to God in crafting healthcare reform legislation.

Contact information
http://www.frc.org/

SourceWatch Resources

 * Justice Sunday
 * The Bush Theocracy
 * theocracy
 * Robert Knight
 * George Rekers

External resources

 * RentBoy.com