Outspoken anti-LGBT activist Phyllis Schlafly dies

As one of the most outspoken conservative activists over the last 50 years, Phyllis Schlafly saved a lot of her venom for the LGBT community. She has died at age 92.

The right-wing Eagle Forum, which she founded announced her passing and heaped praise on her, saying on their website, “An iconic American leader whose love for America was surpassed only by her love of God and her family, Phyllis Schlafly, an indomitable pro-family grassroots advocate and organizer, was 92 years old.

“Phyllis Schlafly spent an astounding 70 years in public service of her fellow Americans. Her focus from her earliest days until her final ones was protecting the family, which she understood as the building block of life. She recognized America as the greatest political embodiment of those values. From military superiority and defense to immigration and trade; from unborn life to the nuclear family and parenthood, Phyllis Schlafly was a courageous and articulate voice for common sense and traditional values. She authored 27 books and thousands of articles. She spoke tens of thousands of times across the United States.”

One of her greatest claims to fame was the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have banned discrimination based on gender. The amendment read:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Schlafly thought the formation of the Eagle Forum was her greatest achievement. According to the Associated Press’s obituary, “The Eagle Forum pushes for low taxes, a strong military and English-only education. The group is against efforts it says are pushed by radical feminists or encroach on U.S. sovereignty, such as guest-worker visas, according to its website, which describes the Equal Rights Amendment as having had a ‘hidden agenda of tax-funded abortions and same-sex marriages.’

“The group said in a statement on its website announcing Schlafly's death that her ‘focus from her earliest days until her final ones was protecting the family, which she understood as the building block of life.’"

Protecting the family included fighting against LGBT rights for most of her career in public life, even though one of her sons was gay. Schlafly called on states to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision that extended marriage equality across the United States.

According to the AP, “Schlafly remained active in conservative politics well into her later years, when she was still writing a column that appeared in 100 newspapers, doing radio commentaries on more than 460 stations and publishing a monthly newsletter.

“Schlafly endorsed Trump in early March and introduced the then-GOP front-runner at a St. Louis rally.

"’Phyllis Schlafly is a conservative icon who led millions to action, reshaped the conservative movement, and fearlessly battled globalism and the 'kingmakers' on behalf of America's workers and families,’ Trump said in a statement Monday. ‘I was honored to spend time with her during this campaign.’"

She continued her campaign against LGBT rights to the last. According to Towleroad.com, “She has also claimed that marriage equality advocates want to wipe out the Christian religion.

“In an interview with conservative radio host Chuck Wilder last year, Schlafly spoke out for ‘harassed’ business owners:

“’Have you noticed that only Christian small-businesspeople have been harassed and sued for refusing to participate in same-sex marriages even though our fast-growing immigrant populations, you know of Muslims, Hindus and other faiths are also opposed to that concept? They want to wipe out the Christian religion. And most of these other religions do not recognize same-sex marriage. I assume there are some Muslim bakers and photographers and other people who have been harassed, but they’re not being attacked and they’re not being criticized.’

“Schlafly’s final tweet was the promotion of a column she had written attacking Obama’s transgender rights policy for schools, which was halted by a federal judge in late August.”

The Gayly – September 6, 2016 @ 10:40 a.m.