family values : Gay & Black Glossary

you might think this has to do with seeing to the welfare of children, or promoting activities involving entire families, but it is actually a Christian code phrase for a constellation of right wing values including:

• discriminating against and persecution of homosexuals, which they consider the holiest of virtues. Part of family values is taking children away from gay parents.

  Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
  ~ Ezekiel 16:49

• Mandatory teaching creationism in schools.
• Mandatory Christian prayer by all students.
• No abortion, even to save the life of the mother or when the baby will die anyway.
• No birth control permitted even when babies would likely be deformed or have serious genetic illnesses.
• Prevent people suffering at end of life from accessing physician assisted suicide.
• S.C. Johnson, a family company may be using the term innocently and then again it may not. Corporations rarely do anything without great deliberation, so they must be aware of the bigoted connotations.

People holding these values believe their religion’s perfection gives them the right to impose these values on others. They refuse to acknowledge that their religion is only one of many, and every adult has equal right to choose their own values.