ABC trusted the SPLC. Update to this story.
Via Townhall:
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) sent a letter to the president of ABC News, James Goldston, Monday expressing “serious concern” over an ABC article that labeled the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a nonprofit legal organization dedicated to protecting religious freedom, a “hate group.”
“The July article covering Attorney General Sessions’ speech, classified a religious liberty non-profit, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), as a hate group using a standard set by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC),” Lankford writes. “I found it odd that ABC would designate ADF as a hate group not based on any actual crime or action, but apparently based on their belief in religious liberty or traditional marriage.”
“Since I think I can confidently assume that ABC News is a strong supporter of the First Amendment, why would ABC News label a peaceful group as a ‘hate group’ simply because of a difference of opinion?” he asked.
“The label of ‘hate’ cannot be taken lightly,” he emphasized. “The Supreme Court has been clear that ‘the public expression of ideas may not be prohibited merely because the ideas are themselves offensive to some of their hearers.’ Street v. New York, 394 U. S. 576, 592 (1969).”
“SPLC’s definition of a “hate group” is overly broad and not based in fact or legal accuracy,” he added. “The Alliance Defending Freedom is a national and reputable law firm that works to advocate for the rights of people to peacefully and freely speak, live and work according to their faith and conscience without threat of government punishment.”