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Revision as of 20:24, 23 May 2007
Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins (born March 20, 1963) is the president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think-tank and public policy foundation. He is from Baker in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
Early life and career
Perkins, a graduate of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, entered the United States Marine Corps after graduation. Following his tour of duty, he entered the law enforcement arena, working for the Baton Rouge city Police. During this time, he also worked with the U.S. State Department's Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and instructed hundreds of police officers from around the globe.
After leaving the law enforcement field, Perkins worked at a Baton Rouge television station as a reporter and later a news director. He stayed there until his run for the Louisiana House of Representatives District 64 -- the eastern Baton Rouge suburbs. He won that election by campaigning on a traditional conservative platform of strong families and limited government. Four years later, he was reelected without opposition.
Louisiana House of Representatives 1996-2004
From 1996 to 2004, Perkins was a Republican member of the East Baton Rouge Parish delegation to the Louisiana House. He authored legislation to require public schools to install Internet filtering software, provide daily silent prayer in Louisiana public schools, to establish the first covenant marriage law, and to authorize the American History Preservation Act, the state aim of which is to "prevent censorship of America's Christian heritage" in public schools.
Louisiana Family Forum
In 1998, Perkins helped found Louisiana Family Forum , a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of traditional family values. The organization is headed by executive director Gene Mills. Retired Judge Darrell White and former state Representative and state Senator Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey serve as consultants to LFF.
2002 bid for U. S. Senate
Republican Perkins ran for the United States Senate in the 2002 Louisiana jungle primary and received 10 percent of the vote. The seat remained in Democratic hands, as incumbent Mary Landrieu was reelected in the general election against Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell. After his primary defeat, Perkins endorsed Terrell.
Family Research Council
Perkins became the President of the conservative Christian Family Research Council, a political offshoot of James Dobson's Focus on the Family in September 2003. He succeeded Kenneth L. "Ken" Connor, who returned to Florida to practice law. In taking the Family Research presidency, Perkins abandoned a race for Louisiana state insurance commissioner. The incumbent, Democrat J. Robert Wooley, was then reelected over Perkins' endorsed choice, Republican former state auditor Daniel Guin "Dan" Kyle (born 1937). Wooley later resigned the position, and it was taken by a Republican, Jim Donelon.
Justice Sunday
Perkins was one of the organizers and hosts of the 2005 Justice Sunday event organized by the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, along with James Dobson and R. Albert Mohler, Jr. The event was organized to mobilize the evangelical Christian base in putting pressure on Democrats to end the use of the filibuster to block the confirmation of nominees to the federal judiciary by U.S. President George W. Bush.
Opposition to legal marriages or civil unions for same sex partners
Perkins has urged Congress to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment which would ban same-sex marriage throughout the United States. He has also criticized civil unions. In Perkins' own words, from a July 21, 2006, column in the publication Human Events:
"The definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is rooted in the order of nature itself. It promotes the continuation of the human race and the cooperation of a mother and a father in raising the children they produce.
"This union can only be protected through amending the U.S. Constitution. If it’s not, activists will continue using the courts to sell a five-legged dog. But as we say where I’m from in Louisiana, 'that dog won’t hunt.'"
Ties to white supremacist groups
Perkins has come under fire from various organizations for having appeared in 2002 as a speaker at the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group sometimes considered white supremacist in orientation.
The Nation claims that in 1996 Perkins paid former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,000 for use of his mailing list. At the time, Perkins was campaign manager for Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana. The Federal Election Commission fined the Jenkins campaign $3,000 for attempting to hide the money paid to Duke."
The Family Research Council says Blumenthal's claims about Perkins connection to David Duke are false. They say Duke's "connection was not known to Mr. Perkins until 1999. Mr. Perkins profoundly opposes the racial views of Mr. Duke and was profoundly grieved to learn that Duke was a party to the company that had done work for the 1996 campaign." The response to the Nation article does not address the appearance before the Council of Conservative Citizens.
Media appearances
Perkins' biography page on the Family Research Council website lists the following media appearances:
- FOX's "Special Report with Brit Hume"
- FOX's "O'Reilly Factor" - Monday, June 27, 2005 @ 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. (ET)
- FOX's "Hannity and Colmes"
- MSNBC's "Scarborough Country"
- MSNBC's "Hardball" - Tuesday, June 28, 2005 @ 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. (ET)
- ABC's "Good Morning America"
- NBC's "Today Show"
- NBC's "Nightly News"
- NBC's "Dateline"
- CBS's "The Early Show"
- CBS's "Evening News"
- CNN's "Crossfire" - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 @ 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Stated views
Gay marriage
When the people are given a voice on this important issue, accountable judges cannot help but acknowledge the will of the people and the rule of law. The people of Oregon have clearly supported marriage as a sacred institution, and one in which same-sex couples are not able to participate. New York Times, April 14, 2004, "Oregon's Supreme Court Rules Gay Marriages Null and Void."
External links
- President's website at Family Research Council
- Louisiana Family Forum's website
- The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins is a rising star in a crowded universe of evangelical Christian leaders (Bill Berkowitz, on mediatransparency.com, June 17, 2005)
- People for the American Way: Family Research Council
- http://www.enlou.com/officeholders/housedistrict64.htm
- Conservative Reporting on Perkins and Marriage Bill
- Tony Perkins, "Connecticut Fails to Connect with People on Marriage," Washington Update, Family Research Council, 2005-APR-14
- Blumenthal, Max, "Justice Sunday Preachers", The Nation, April 26, 2005
- "A Response to False Claims made by "The Nation"". Special Publication. Family Research Council. 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-23.