Editing Focus on the Family (section)

===Opposition to LGBTQ rights===

One of Focus on the Family's notable political stances is its strong opposition to [[same-sex marriage]], [[civil union]]s, and [[domestic partnership]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nieves |first=Evelyn |date=August 17, 2003 |title=Family Values Groups Gear Up for Battle Over Gay Marriage |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4132-2003Aug16.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919170122/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4132-2003Aug16.html |archive-date=September 19, 2016 |access-date=August 28, 2017 |newspaper=Washington Post |quote=Focus on the Family, which Dobson&nbsp;... began 25 years ago to strengthen and promote the traditional family unit using conservative Christian interpretations of scripture.}}</ref>

The organization has referred to the [[LGBT movements|LGBT rights movement]] as a "particularly evil lie of Satan".<ref name=":0" />

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson drew criticism for using the group to oppose homosexual members in the [[United States Military]]. Similarly, Dobson and the organization supported a 1992 amendment to the Colorado constitution which stopped laws that allowed for protections from LGBTQ discrimination.<ref name=":3" />

Dobson spoke at the 2004 rally against gay marriage called Mayday for Marriage. The event marked the first time that Dobson publicly endorsed a presidential candidate, [[George W. Bush]]. During the event he denounced the Supreme Court rulings in favor of gay rights, and he urged rally participants to vote so that the battle against gay rights could be won in the Senate.<ref name="KirkPatrick">{{cite news|last=KirkPatrick|first=David D.|title=The 2004 Campaign: Same-Sex Marriage; Rally Against Gay Marriage Draws Thousands to Capital|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 16, 2004|page=12|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/16/national/16gays.html|access-date=January 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528051651/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/16/national/16gays.html|archive-date=May 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an interview with ''[[Christianity Today]]'', Dobson also explained that he was not in favor of [[civil unions]]. He stated that generally agreed civil unions were merely same-sex marriage under a different name. He claimed his main priority in opposing the same-sex marriage movement was first and foremost to define marriage on the federal level as being exclusive between a man and a woman, and that afterward he wished to combat the passage of civil unions on a state-by-state basis.<ref name="Rutledge">{{cite journal|last=Rutledge|first=Kathleen K.|title=Dobson on the Gay Marriage Battle|journal=[[Christianity Today]]|volume=49|issue=1|date=January 2005|page=60|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/january/21.60.html|access-date=January 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203232105/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/january/21.60.html|archive-date=February 3, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Civil rights advocacy groups identify Focus on the Family as a major opponent of [[gay rights]]. The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], a civil rights and hate group monitoring organization,<ref>{{cite web |title=Southern Poverty Law Center: LGBT Rights |url=http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do/lgbt-rights |access-date=November 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029030621/http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do/lgbt-rights |archive-date=October 29, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> described Focus on the Family as one of a "dozen major groups [which] help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/spring/a-mighty-army?page=0,0|title=A Dozen Major Groups Help Drive the Religious Right's Anti-Gay Crusade|access-date=April 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406061624/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/spring/a-mighty-army?page=0,0|archive-date=April 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved May 21, 2012.</ref> The SPLC does not list Focus on the Family as a [[hate group]], however, since it opposes homosexuality "on strictly Biblical grounds".<ref>{{cite web|title=Southern Poverty Law Center: Frequently asked questions about hate groups|url=https://www.splcenter.org/20171004/frequently-asked-questions-about-hate-groups|access-date=February 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223051545/https://www.splcenter.org/20171004/frequently-asked-questions-about-hate-groups|archive-date=February 23, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Focus on the Family was a member of [[ProtectMarriage.com]], a coalition formed to sponsor California [[Proposition 8]], a ballot initiative to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples, which passed in 2008,<ref>{{cite news|title=Coalition seeks male-female marriage definition / New ballot push for constitutional amendment|first=John M. |last=Hubbell|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 28, 2005|page=B.3}}</ref> but was subsequently struck down as being unconstitutional by a federal court in ''[[Perry v. Schwarzenegger]]''.