Anti-Trans Extremist Groups Unite to Attack Marriage Equality

Dozens of groups are coming together to challenge marriage equality, using the “desires of adults over the needs of children” argument

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

When it comes to hate groups, most of the time, people envision Klansmen or neo-Nazi skinheads. Rarely do people think of a suit and tie-wearing sharp dresser with connections and money operating right in front of their faces. However, over the last few decades, these groups have evolved and hide under the “think tank” or “institute” monikers. They register as charities and rake in cash from billionaire elites who can fund them almost clandestinely.

They’ve created media companies and sell merchandise to help fund their endeavors. As the money rolls in, they get louder and more brazen. The targets are always marginalized groups. As we watch Latinos, immigrants, and allies being targeted and sometimes killed by federal agents, fueled by a decade of hateful rhetoric, other communities are also being targeted. Police are still disproportionately killing Black people, racism continues to grow unabated, and bigots are again targeting the LGBTQ community with their religious zealotry.

Recently, a coalition of individuals and more than 45 groups launched a campaign titled “Greater Than” to challenge same sex marriage, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. The groups and individuals involved are part of a highly interconnected ecosystem, the (mostly) white Christian nationalist far-right. Linked by shared funding, various networks, and unified messaging and legal strategies, their power can be traced to a handful of key groups.

We’re going to name every group, but let’s start with how they all connect. For example, most state-level groups are connected through the Family Policy Alliance, founded by Focus on the Family, an umbrella of almost 40 state-based “Family Policy Councils.” These groups coordinate on “model legislation” that sets baseline standards to lobby for laws, such as banning gender-affirming care or creating parental rights bills. This strategy ensures that the laws will be as similar as possible across states.

The leadership represented in this group often sits on the same boards and attends many invitation-only meetings that are part of the collection of organizations. Namely, the secretive Council for National Policy, where two of the biggest names in Christian nationalism, Albert Mohler and Tony Perkins, meet with politicians and wealthy elites. It was created in 1981 and serves as a networking hub for conservative activists and religious right leaders to meet with wealthy donors, who then provide them with funding through confidential donor-advised funds.

Many of these groups base their religious framework on that of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. That framework revolves around child-centric messaging that shifts the rhetoric from “traditional marriage” to “children’s rights,” an opposition to “gender ideology” focused on restricting gender-affirming care and trans youth participating in sports, and “equipping” young people to view life through a biased biblical lens. This agenda was invoked in Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission several times in 2025.

It should be noted that countless studies have shown no detrimental effects for children with same sex parents. A review by Cornell University of nearly 80 studies found no differences in children’s well-being. The studies reporting negative outcomes cited by the extremist groups mentioned here have been widely criticized for methodological flaws, including misclassifying children who experienced family disruption as having been “raised” by same-sex parents.

So let’s talk about some of the people and groups mentioned, starting with the people.

Albert Mohler

Mohler is the President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is not without controversy. He faced backlash for racism after a 1998 CNN interview resurfaced. In that interview, he argued that while the Bible doesn’t endorse slavery, it required slaves, including those like Harriet Tubman, to obey their masters. He later disavowed those comments, calling them “incredibly stupid.” However, the accusations of harboring a “white nationalist ideology” and maintaining a “legacy of white supremacy” continued to surface.

Mohler is also often criticized by advocacy groups for his opposition to same-sex marriage and gender-affirming care. He’s promoted discredited theories about sexual orientation and targeted LGBTQ+ individuals through his daily podcast, The Briefing. Mohler was broadly criticized in 2017 for a document he participated in creating titled “The Nashville Statement,” and published by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The document codified discrimination within religious institutions against the LGBTQ+ community.

Tony Perkins

Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council, one of the largest Christian nationalist groups in the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed Perkins’ group as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group since 2010. They admonish Perkins for spreading “false propaganda” that demonizes LGBTQ+ individuals. Perkins regularly promotes the dangerous and false idea that homosexuality leads to pedophilia. He also suggests gay rights activists intend to round up Christians in “boxcars.”

The Human Rights Campaign labeled Perkins as an “extremist” for his decades of opposition to equality, including his lack of support for policies that would recognize relationships or protect youth from conversion therapy. Other groups like the Hindu American Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union have opposed his government appointments, citing a record of “hateful stances” against non-Christians and Muslims. Perkins faced intense scrutiny for a speech in 2001 to the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist group. He also allegedly purchased a mailing list from former KKK leader David Duke while managing a 1996 political campaign.

Lila Grace Rose

Rose is the founder of Live Action, an anti-abortion extremist group. Reproductive rights groups have described Rose as an “extremist,” after her increased support for the criminalization of abortion nationwide. She has also sought legal protection for embryos under the 14th Amendment. Rose has long been accused of using “deceptively edited” undercover videos to spread “anti-woman propaganda” and false claims about healthcare providers.

Rose has also faced criticism for her stance against same-sex marriage and trans rights. She has publicly characterized the Obergefell v. Hodges decision as creating “inequality for children” and regularly falsely claims that LGBTQ+ rights laws lead to “chaos and confusion.”

Katy Faust

Faust is the founder of Them Before Us and stands in staunch opposition to same-sex parenting. She argues that children have a fundamental right to their biological mother and father, asserting that same-sex parenting intentionally denies children one of their parents. Faust has gone as far as claiming that surrogacy and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are “commodifying” children, using terms like “eugenics” to describe these practices. She also maintains that “no child is born in the wrong body” and opposes “gender ideology.”

Allie Beth Stuckey

Stuckey is a podcast host for Glenn Beck’s “Blaze TV.” She has a history of being suspended from Twitter (now X) for violating “hateful conduct” policies. She regularly misgenders people, which she defends as stating biological reality. Stuckey’s rhetoric has frequently been referred to as “hateful” or “homophobic,” based on her descriptions of LGBTQ+ inclusive policies as “a war on children” and characterizing the “transgender movement” as predatory.

Stuckey has also faced criticism for her views on racial justice issues, Critical Race Theory, and “wokeism.” Critics argue that her rejection of social justice frameworks ignores systemic racism and promotes marginalization. She also holds the position that white Christians are targeted with “anti-white racism” and “white guilt” and referred to discussions about the disproportionate murders of Black people and state-sponsored violence by law enforcement as “selective outrage.”

John Stonestreet

Stonestreet is the president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He has been criticized for promoting hate speech by dozens of advocacy groups, but dismisses the accusations, arguing his views are simply based on traditional Christian ideas. However, Stonestreet is notorious for weaponizing dog whistles, such as claiming that same-sex marriage “puts adult desires over children’s needs.” He has also faced tremendous backlash for his comments about trans people using speculative commentary and outright hatred hidden behind religion.

Stonestreet has extensively criticized Critical Race Theory, calling it an “unbiblical worldview” that minimizes “evil” to racial power dynamics. He also argues that race is a myth, and while it largely is, he attributes poverty to “moral agency” and “family structure,” anti-Black dog whistles that have been used for decades. While Stonestreet publicly disavows racism, he also argues that systems of oppression aren’t the problem and puts the burden back on the oppressed.

Michael Knowles

Knowles is a commentator and author with close ties to the Young America’s Foundation. He’s similar to Charlie Kirk, but nowhere near as popular. Knowles once made comments at CPAC in 2023, calling for the eradication of transgenderism, a comment he refused to apologize for. The language he uses is considered dog whistles because they clearly sound like calls to violence. Knowles’ unapologetic rhetoric is beyond extreme. He once argued that genocide against trans people is impossible because they are “not a legitimate category of being.”

Like Kirk, Knowles also speaks at universities through the Young America’s Foundation. Those events have been labeled as racist or revisionist. He defends colonialism, calling it a natural part of human progress, and claims that the word “racist” is a form of anti-white racism. Knowles also promotes the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that posits a grand scheme to make white people extinct. Many iterations of this suggest Jewish people are funding mass migration into the United States. He also once said there is nothing “inherently wrong” with Blackface.

Jim Daly

Daly is the president of Focus on the Family and has been criticized for anti-LGBTQ+ dehumanizing language. His rhetoric weaponizes Christianity to claim LGBTQ+ people represent ideas that “tear families apart.” Daly also claims that the sexual revolution that occurred between the 1960s and 1980s was a source of “cultural chaos” and describes trans identities as a “painful, tortured, devastating, and chaotic journey,” without acknowledging his own harmful rhetoric.

In addition to his attacks on the LGBTQ community and arguing that marriage equality would lead to the “destruction of civilization,” under the guise of religious freedom, Daly also denies systemic racism exists, was a huge proponent of “All Lives Matter” sloganeering during the civil rights protests in 2020, and led Focus on the Family to embrace Latinophobic anti-immigrant views.

Delano Squire

Squire is a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He has been a vocal critic of the Black Lives Matter movement and DEI programs, arguing that they’re “race-essentialist” programs and “racist” themselves. Squire has wepopanized the stereotypes often used against Black people, blaming them for their own plight, thus overlooking the decades of oppression through various systems like Jim Crow laws, redlining, and mass incarceration. Civil rights groups have condemned his recent 2025 report, “Beyond Moynihan,” which argues that racial disparities are a “function of family inequality” rather than systemic racism.

Squire has also been criticized for promoting a patriarchal culture and has faced extensive backlash for his gender role comments, suggesting that men are not interested in marrying women who prioritize their careers. In a 2023 interview at the Independent Women’s Forum, he weaponized a discriminatory stereotype to declare his opposition to “24-year-old pink and blue hair” teaching his kids.

Josh Hammer

Hammer is the Senior Editor at Newsweek. In August 2025, the Council on American-Islamic Relations accused Hammer of repeating “bigoted, discredited conspiracy theories about American Muslims.” The group characterized his rhetoric as Islamophobic and an attempt to silence advocacy for Palestinian human rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center has also published multiple analyses criticizing Hammer’s tenure as Newsweek’s opinion editor, arguing that he has “embraced the radical right” and “actively elevated racist voices,” such as far-right extremist Jack Posobiec.

Critics have accused Hammer of “stoking anti-Palestinian sentiment” and using racist language, citing his describing certain Jewish critics as “self-haters.” He faced backlash for an article suggesting that Tucker Carlson should be “neutralized” to protect the GOP from “repugnant beliefs.” He is also associated with self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.

Groups

The aforementioned groups and many others are listed below. They represent what the modern hate group movement looks like and are a major reason I stopped covering hate groups on the ground and focused on who keeps them in business. These groups move billions of dollars each year. Much of that money ends up with hate groups on our streets, such as anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests in 2020, the targeting of Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ events, women’s rights, and participation in the Latinophobic anti-immigrant movement.

American Family Association

The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed the American Family Association as an anti-LGBTQ hate group since 2010, saying the designation is based on the group’s “propagation of known falsehoods” and use of “demonizing propaganda” against LGBTQ individuals. The Human Rights Campaign also identifies it as a hate group, citing statements from leadership that link homosexuality to the Holocaust or suggest “underground railroads” to remove children from same-sex households.

Several organizations often refer to the American Family Association as a hate group due to its history of organizing boycotts against companies that support LGBTQ rights, along with its hateful rhetoric regarding Islam.

Colson Center

While the Colson Center is not designated as a hate group, several of the Colson Center’s collaborators, such as the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Research Council, are listed as anti-LGBTQ hate groups. The organization describes itself as a ministry that equips Christians to engage culture through a biblical worldview. Its leadership, including John Stonestreet, has actively criticized the “hate group” label, arguing that it marginalizes groups that hold traditional religious views on marriage and sexuality. Christian groups and online communities have criticized the Colson Center’s Colson Fellows program, alleging it promotes Christian nationalist ideologies and elevates “Seven Mountains Dominionism.”

Family Research Council

As previously mentioned, the Southern Poverty Law Center has listed the Family Research Council as an anti-LGBTQ hate group since 2010. The categorization is based on its use of “discredited research and junk science” to link LGBTQ individuals to pedophilia while arguing that same-sex parents are harmful to children. The Human Rights Campaign also identifies the group as a hate group, pointing to its rhetoric regarding the “criminalization” of homosexual behavior and its past lobbying efforts against LGBTQ rights. GLAAD characterizes the Family Research Council as an activist and lobbying group that spreads harmful, inaccurate claims and uses “homophobic and transphobic” rhetoric to oppose equal rights.

Focus on the Family

The Southern Poverty Law Center has Focus on the Family listed as a hate group, stating that the group “weaponizes Christian rhetoric” to marginalize LGBTQ+ people and opposes their civil rights under the guise of family counseling. It specifically highlighted Focus on the Family’s online publication, the Daily Citizen, for allegedly promoting disinformation and “pseudoscience” regarding transgender identities and conversion therapy. The designation is also based on the group’s long-standing biblical worldview strategy that opposes same-sex marriage and affirms only biological sexual identity.

Them Before US

The Southern Poverty Law Center began labeling Them Before Us as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group in 2024, basing its designation largely on the group’s efforts to overturn marriage equality and its promotion of “debunked” sociological studies regarding the outcomes of children raised by same-sex couples. The organization’s founder, Katy Faust, has made statements suggesting that unaccompanied migrant children are being trafficked into “seedy underbellies” and urging her followers to “breed out” trans people.

CatholicVote

While not listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, CatholicVote is a vocal critic of the Law Center. The group regularly denounces its “Hate Map,” which tracks hate groups around the country, as a tool used to “demonize religious freedom” and silence conservative Christian voices. CatholicVote has faced criticism from various groups for its advocacy. For example, in 2022, it was criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates for urging parents to check out all LGBTQ-themed books from local libraries to prevent children from accessing them.

It should be noted that while the group uses “Catholic” in its name, CatholicVote is a private political advocacy group (a 501(c)(4) organization) and has no official ties to the Catholic Church or the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Some bishops have even discussed regulating the use of the word “Catholic” by such political groups due to their overall negative image.

Live Action

While not listed as a hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center has published articles linking Live Action to “hard-line anti-abortion extremists.” Other organizations have characterized Live Action as an “extremist organization,” alleging the group spreads “anti-woman propaganda” and “deceptively edited” undercover videos to villainize reproductive healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood. Live Action faced several disputes with social media platforms and fact-checkers. Facebook previously flagged content from Live Action president Lila Rose as inaccurate. The organization successfully lobbied for the removal of some of these fact-checks.

Ruth Institute

The Ruth Institute has been widely criticized for its anti-LGBTQ+ positions and for its defense of conversion therapy, which it calls “Sexual Orientation Change Efforts.” The Institute opposes same-sex relationships and marriage equality, claiming they are “intrinsically disordered.” The group regularly draws false connections between homosexuality and sexual abuse. Many groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, have labeled the Ruth Institute a hate group.

The Institute says its mission is to expose the “false promises” of the sexual revolution while using what the Southern Poverty Law Center calls “Catholic right-wing Gospel” to spread misinformation about divorce, same-sex marriage, and trans identities. In 2025, the group publicly campaigned to criminalize gender-affirming care in 2026, a stance the Southern Poverty Law Center cites as evidence of its extremist views.

Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Advocacy groups have criticized the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood for its “discriminatory rhetoric,” pointing to the aforementioned Nashville Statement in 2017, which explicitly denies that transgender or homosexual identities are consistent with God’s purposes. Theologians and other religious groups argue that the Council’s “complementarian” view, which mandates male leadership in the home and church, infringes on the rights of women and can be used to justify patriarchal structures that hurt women. While the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood isn’t listed as a hate group, many of its close theological and political allies, such as the Family Research Council (FRC) and Focus on the Family, are designated.

Center for Christian Virtue

The Center for Christian Virtue is Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization focused on school choice, religious freedom, and “pro-family” legislation. The group has received criticism from local media and national advocacy groups for its leadership in backing bills that limit gender-affirming care and restrict transgender athletes in sports. While the Center for Christian Virtue is not listed as a hate group, it partners with organizations that are, such as the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Research Council.

Alaska Family Council

The Alaska Family Council is not listed as a hate group, but the Southern Poverty Law Center has featured the group on its Hatewatch blog. They describe the Alaska Family Council as a far-right group that uses “inflammatory and erroneous” rhetoric in campaign ads targeting transgender people. The former Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, Dave Bronson, is a cofounder of the Alaska Family Council. Like so many of the individuals and groups mentioned here, the Alaska Family Council is affiliated with the Family Research Council (FRC) and Focus on the Family, both of which are designated as hate groups.

Indiana Family Institute

The Indiana Family Institute, like the Alaska Family Council, isn’t listed as a hate group but has been featured on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch blog. Also, like the Alaska Family Council, the Institute is an official state affiliate of both Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council. With both national organizations being designated as anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups, the Indiana Family Institute is often described as a “hate group.” The group lobbied for bans on gender-affirming care, advocated for a bill that would legalize discrimination under the guise of religious freedom, and advocated for a bill that would teach “success sequence” in schools, prioritizing marriage over children.

The Family Leader

The Family Leader serves as the “Family Policy Council” for Iowa for both the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. While not formally listed, the organization has been featured on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch blog for promoting rhetoric that critics characterize as “anti-gay.” Advocacy groups refer to the organization as a “hate group affiliate,” citing its efforts to oust Iowa Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. It has also hosted speakers from other designated hate groups at its annual Family Leadership Summit.

Maryland Family Institute

The Maryland Family Institute defines itself as a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to advancing “faith, family, and freedom” in Maryland. The group’s focus areas include traditional marriage, protecting parental rights, and opposing abortion and physician-assisted suicide. Like other state groups mentioned here, the Maryland Family Institute is a state partner of several national organizations, including Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council. While the Institute is not listed as a hate group, its affiliation with national groups that are leads many to declare it as such.

North Carolina Family Policy Council

North Carolina Family has close ties to national groups that are designated as hate groups, specifically the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. Critics often refer to NC Family as an offshoot of the Family Research Council because of their shared policy goals. The Council has been a primary advocate for legislation that LGBTQ+ civil rights groups describe as discriminatory. This includes its strong support for North Carolina’s House Bill 2, the “bathroom bill,” and its more recent efforts to ban gender-affirming care and restrict DEI programs in public schools.

Texas Values

Like other state-level groups, Texas Values is an official state affiliate of Focus on the Family and is recognized by the Family Research Council. Critics often characterize the organization’s rhetoric as promoting “fear, hate, and the freedom to discriminate”. In 2018, the group was described as a “hate group” by activists in Laredo for its opposition to LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protections.

Conclusion

This list was exhausting to create, but necessary. It highlights how hateful advocacy focused on a separate issue, in this case, anti-trans rights, can easily shift to another issue, like same sex marriage. When so many extremist and hate groups come together, bringing their collective voices and billions of dollars in financial power to perpetuate hate under the guise of religion, it’s like watching a supercharged Ku Klux Klan that was just handed unlimited amounts of money.

With all the horrors happening on our streets, hate and bigotry growing unabated, and the drums of war beating in the name of dominionism, we are faced with a proverbial army of hate that will inevitably turn on everyone. The common theme among these groups today is anti-LGBTQ+ hatred. However, the misogyny, racism, and xenophobia sprinkled in highlight the white Christian nationalist ideology behind it all, the Ku Klux Klan flavor of Christianity.

With no less than two of the most important names on this list having a long history of ties to the Ku Klux Klan and other wlite white supremacist groups, the times we are facing today are driven by hate for nonwhite people, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and women’s rights. It’s nothing short of fascism. The same fascism is driving war, murder, and the destabilization of entire regions from the Middle East to Latin America, thus connecting them all.

The connection point is white Christian nationalism.

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I’m an independent journalist digging deeper into the stories you see or don’t see on the news. Find my work at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, Orinoco Tribune, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.