Politics

UPDATE: AFA Official Responds to Reports on His Comments Regarding Google ‘Legalize Love’ Campaign

Editors note: An important update on this story is located at the bottom of the page.

Over the weekend, Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe, the head of diversity for the search giant Google, made an official announcement at an LGBT professional summit in London: His company has launched a worldwide “Legalize Love” initiative to promote human rights and tackle employment discrimination in countries with “anti-gay laws on the books.”

(Related: Google Pushing for Gay Rights With Worldwide ‘Legalize Love’ Campaign)

Controversy and backlash following the announcement of businesses taking sides in the culture wars is not new and, on Monday, an official for one conservative nonprofit group announced an attempt to boycott Google, which includes the Internet’s most visited website, Android phones, GMail and YouTube, among other popular websites and tech products.

Buster Wilson of the American Family Association said during a July 9 AFA Today video broadcast that it would be difficult to boycott the Google family of products, as the nonprofit has previously done with Home Depot and Oreo cookies for advocation of similar positions, but that it will “test the meat of our convictions.”

The American Family Association is a non-profit 501(c3) organization with the mission to inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture, and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission.

MSNBC.com notes that a boycott of Google products may be especially difficult, as most major tech companies advocate similar positions on LGBT issues:

Sustaining such a boycott in tech won’t be as easy as changing cookie brands. Microsoft has openly supported gay marriage laws in its home state of Washington, IBM is renowned for being gay-friendly, and Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, is believed to be gay (though he has never discussed it), which gives an indicator of the company’s position on the topic.

Danny Sullivan of MarketingLand.com questioned that if the AFA were to move forward with a boycott as Wilson suggests, will the organization be removing themselves from Google search shortly? If Viacom over YouTube and book publishers over Search copyright issues were unable to follow through with their attempts to remove themselves from Google’s search engine, will the AFA hold strong?

Watch Wilson’s comments below:

Update 7/12/12

Buster Wilson, General Manager of the AFR Radio networks and speaker in the above video clip, has contacted The Blaze to clarify that his comments Monday were a reflection of personal feelings regarding the Google “Legalize Love” campaign, and he was not signaling any official opinions or positions of the American Family Association. Wilson commented to The Blaze by email Thursday:

AFA can only call a boycott under the direction of our president, Tim Wildmon.  When AFA has called boycotts in the past, it has been through our massive, multi-million email list, our print publications, our vast internet delivery systems, and over our 204 radio stations in 35 states.  There will no mistake about any boycott that AFA chooses to make.  It will NOT announce one through the personal musings of a talk show host, imbedded within a single segment of a daily radio show.  
On Monday, I was simply sharing the story of Google’s new campaign, Legalize Love, and the personal implications upon me as an avid Google customer.  I personally love Google products and have no plan to stop using them any time soon.
I never called for a boycott.  I don’t have the authority to do so.  I was simply speaking of my own personal convictions.

 

Comments (79)

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  • tiredofbeingtired
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:17pm

    Consider GOOGLE gone.

    Thanks for the tip on Ixquick, just set is as my search engine and home page looks really good so far.

    Report Post »  
    • weisja4
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:52pm

      You don’t really think a boycott, if they even can sustain it, by AFA will have any real impact on Google do you?

      Report Post »  
    • tiredofbeingtired
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 4:46pm

      not a boycott just moving to a better and safer search engine.

      Report Post »  
  • GibOnFire
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 11:53am

    I use Ixquick in my browser as a default and have Ghostery installed to block web crawlers. Ixquick claims to not store or use search results and deletes them after 24 hours from their system. I don’t know if it works on mobile devices (as a default). One search engine having this much political power and a near monopoly is a real life threat to individual freedoms. The best way to fight it is to empower other companies and encourage alternatives …that’s the free market way.

    Report Post »  
  • Individualism
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 10:12am

    boycott them because they track you and sell your information to private companies and the goverment.

    Report Post » Individualism  
  • sWampy
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 9:12am

    Pandering to gays promotes child abuse, so I’m 100% against any organization that panders to their cause.

    Report Post »  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:21pm

      Complete and total B.S.

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • TrueSoundsOfLiberty
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 5:40pm

      By that logic pandering to the Catholic Church promotes pedophilia.

      In the epic words of Slayer “Corruption breeds the pedophile, don’t pray for the priest. Confession finds the lonely child, God prays on the weak”.

      Report Post » TrueSoundsOfLiberty  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:48pm

      Truesoundoftyranny – I’ll bet you have no problem with sending children to government schools, where they’re much more likely to molest children than the Catholic Church.

      Report Post »  
  • searching for the Truth
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 9:05am

    It is difficult to effect the immutability of an offending object that is so resistant to change – if one tosses the offending object up in the air at the rate of 26.2 m /sec., then at an approx. height of 35m, it will fall at a rate of -9.8 m /sec. – regardless of the initial velocity of the offending object, it still only falls at a rate of -9.8 m /sec.; however, if one stands on the edge of a cliff and tosses said same object, up in the air, over the cliff , a greater affect can take place; therefore, the once immutable can become mutable.

    Report Post »  
    • weisja4
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:20pm

      it does not fall at 9.8 m/s, it accelerates at a rate of 9.8m/s^2.

      Report Post »  
    • searching for the Truth
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:28pm

      I stand corrected – accelerates at – 9.8 m/ s/s – but, stand under it and see if it doesn’t fall !

      Report Post »  
  • roostercogburn
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:56am

    So now Google is going to endorse the gay pedophile lifestyle, glad I all ready removed their software from my computers, now will use a different search engine as well.

    Report Post » roostercogburn  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:26pm

      Stop using your computer. The computer is possible due to the efforts of Alan Turing, a homosexual.

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:49pm

      Bruce – Stop lecturing us on who we’re supposed to be tolerant and accepting of. Apparently you don’t like the fact that this is a free country.

      Report Post »  
  • macpappy
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:37am

    Careful with all the boycott talk, if Christians are not careful they are going to get their feelings hurt again. If you call for a boycott and not enough folks participate to make it stick, you might find out that despite all the theological propaganda, the community of believers is shrinking to the point of having no polictical clout at all.
    The concept of privacy on the web is laughable, Bing, Google, Chrome, whichever you use, will harvest, and farm out your info. To think otherwise is foolish.

    Report Post » macpappy  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:55pm

      Yet you want us to never hurt the feelings of sexual deviants b/c they might kill themselves over it. Looks like JC Penney is taking a huge hit since supporting homosexuality with over a 50% decline in their stock price. Looks like the perverts who hypocritically scream for tolerance and diversity and all of that other BS isn’t working out so well.

      Report Post »  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:11am

    I encourage it. I am in the process of cutting google from my life as I write this and strongly suggest everyone do the same.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:28pm

      Cut the computer from your life. Without the contributions of Alan Turning, a homosexual, the computer you use to spread your vile hate would not be possible.

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:44pm

      And yet you‘re not spreading hate if you don’t like people who commit incest or polygamy? LOL

      Report Post »  
  • Molaki
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:52am

    I removed everything “google” from my computer, meaning all of their software over a year ago. I use Bing for my searches and I am quite happy with them. Don’t forget about not shopping at WalMart since they have dropped their support of ALEC…I contacted them and while they said this had nothing to do with the Van Jones boycott threat, I don’t believe them. It is getting to the point where my shopping choices are getting slimmer each day!!

    Report Post »  
    • captainbars
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 9:23am

      I agree that the world is getting so evil that, trying to avoid monetary support of sin is nearly impossible. I’d like to share an insight the Lord showed me years ago. Naaman was captain of the Syrian army, but the bible says he was a leper. (He didn’t have true leprosy, since he was close to the king and moved about in public. That word was used for a variety of skin diseases. Read 2 Chronicles 26:16-21; even a king wasn’t allowed near people if he truly had leprosy.) After he went to Elisha and God healed him, he chose to worship the God of Israel Who heals. But, he asked for a pardon. Apparently, it was his duty to accompany his king to worship their god Rimmon. In those days, kings punished disobedience by death. So he asked Elisha if God would pardon him for this. God knows the heart, so Elisha said; “Go in peace.” In other words, yes (2 Kings 5:17-19). As more and more companies support this sin, we need to pray that God will forgive, or pardon us, if we should buy something from a company that supports the gay agenda. I believe Naaman was sincere in switching allegiances, because he took home trunks full of dirt, so he could kneel on soil from the place where he got his miracle. Whatever you treasure, that‘s where you’re heart will be (Matthew 6:21).

      Report Post » captainbars  
  • JStrick
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:38am

    They’re ALL off my list. I won’t do business w/ Google. No maps, no searches, no bookmarked sites…. nothing.

    Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:46am

      I use Dogpile & AltaVista. I don’t want to generate any revenue for Google or Microsoft (Bing). I have been boycotting Google for 3 months now, because of previous activism.

      Report Post »  
  • noproblems
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:23am

    dont forget about general mills, starbucks and target and Jc penney.

    Report Post »  
    • JStrick
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:37am

      They’re ALL off my list. Won’t do business w/ ANY of them.

      Report Post »  
  • KingCanon
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 5:41am

    Already there. Already talking it up. In fact,
    I need recommendations for a new search
    engine and homepage. Any suggestions?

    Report Post » KingCanon  
  • Verceofreason
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:06am

    Sin does not exist for non believers.
    What’s with the sin, thing.

    Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:09am

      There is large overlap between what is considered sin & what works biologically & psychologically.

      Are the promiscuous better protected from STDs if they are atheists?

      Adultery works out better for atheists than believers?

      Report Post »  
    • 4truth2all
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:05pm

      Sin exists for ALL people, especially for “non-believers’, due to the fact that you are not forgiven from them. When it rains, it rain on the “good” and the “evil”.

      Report Post »  
  • watersRpeople
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:02am

    I expect people will believe what they want to believe, especially in the United States because all you folks are unto Adam in the Garden of Eden for the most part. This existence you have is an illusion. Those one people think they are gods. Moreover you have taken the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil which is illusion, and this monies you think you have isn’t real and never has been. You have been made to believe you are naked when you are not truly naked. Moreover when America falls hard you will be under the fig tree all naked and ashamed. But if you understand this then you won’t be naked and ashamed.

    Report Post »  
  • PICAPOI
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:01am

    If anyone has ever asked himself/herself how we, as a country, ever got to this point – listen to the episode of ‘This American Life’ at

    http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/204/81-words

    This is a classic example how a few words (81 in this case) of a few ‘experts’ [sadly, often with their own agenda] are taken as truth and the world turns 180 degrees.

    The transcript to the audio is linked there also.

    Report Post »  
  • SUMTHINSTINKS
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:54am

    GOOGLE SUCKS!!! It’s high time that people STOP listening to the Drivel that is being pumped out by the Left! The Left Wing News along with these IDIOTS continue to PUSH their OPINIONS on the rest of society. The SAD part is that SO Many Idiots are being BRAINWASHED by the Liberal Left. DON’T BELIEVE THE LIBERAL MEDIA!!!! THEY SUCK!!!!!!!!

    Report Post » SUMTHINSTINKS  
  • watersRpeople
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:36am

    Maybe if people want to live to throw open their gates to the Lord which is also the same as throwing open their tombs, perhaps they should want to understand that ‘Cave’ that Elijah hid in so as to avoid getting killed by all your idolatry. You should be informed he sealed himself in to protect his soul to not become deadened like so many have with all the glitter before you.

    Report Post »  
  • Michael
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:18am

    I switched to Microsoft Bing along time ago, much less invasion of privacy.

    http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9778718&rrid=_341faca1-3090-8dc4-176e-f8250230df6e

    Report Post » Michael  
    • weisja4
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:23pm

      Microsoft supports gay rights as well. Face it, you are on the wrong side of history and the march of progress steadily beats on

      Report Post »  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:43pm

      You mean it’s progress towards Marxism, LOL.

      Report Post »  
  • watersRpeople
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:51am

    It does make one wonder how many people have been made to believe they are homosexual when they are not. Just as there are those whom are made Eunuchs by others and those who choose to be Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Of course it is that Eunuchs are also like those who dwell within their own mind. John 5:4 regarding Jesus and a certain man suffering an ailment being not whole by the pool of ‘waters’ is also very similar to Acts 8:30 when Philip joins himself to the Eunuchs chariot to show the Eunuch the meaning of the waters.

    Report Post »  
    • watersRpeople
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:59am

      But oh yes people, even back then they enjoyed enlisting the assistance of artists to detract and confuse. You wouldn’t believe them to be master pieces if you knew the truth.

      Report Post »  
    • watersRpeople
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:01am

      How can people let go of 2000 years of illusions when they can’t even let go of 25 years of illusions.

      Report Post »  
    • watersRpeople
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:13am

      But wait there’s more. Jesus went “Up” to Jerusalem by the [sheep's gate] by the healing pool. That same gate that is also the door the Hebrews marked with the blood of the lamb so the plagues would bypass them. Maybe you should spend more time understanding rather than just sublime routine reading and repeating mere rote.

      Report Post »  
  • Verceofreason
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:43am

    Who is this silly queen?

    Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • ModerationIsBest
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:37am

      Wait, is this one of those groups, that cares about the “family” so much that they won’t let gay couples adopt a baby? Are these the types of people that would rather a kid get put through our sub-standard system then go to the home of a loving gay couple who actually wants to raise a child?

      Is this one of those groups that agree with Rick Santorum that a kid is better off having a father in jail then being adopted by a gay couple that is composed of two loving, law abiding citizens?

      Report Post »  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:49pm

      Two idiots who thinks that love is based on feelings.

      Report Post »  
  • jzs
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:37am

    Hey, there’s no problem. Van Jones and “liberals” do this is all the time. They kicked Glenn Beck off of FOX and got all those companies to stop supporting Rush Limbaugh (just yesterday UPS dropped Rush thanks to the “liberals”).

    Here’s how you do it. I learned this from the Blaze so I‘d like to pass it on in case you’ve forgotten how easy and diabolical this is. Liberals do it all the time!

    You just have a couple of conservative people, or maybe a big conservative group like the “American Family Association” sit on the phone and complain and talk to Google representatives about how they seem to be supporting through their advertisements some controversial group like the LGBT community, just like the libs said Rush was slamming women or Glenn Beck was saying President Obama was a racist.

    Then these huge, multinational corporations like Google will just roll over and stop their support for the LGBT community.

    Liberals do this all the time. They call IBM, AOL, UPS, or whomever, complain, and those companies stop supporting Glenn or Rush or whatever AM radio host and, poof, the support for those guys is gone because of all the “pressure.” Simple. Those companies bow down and beg forgiveness after a couple of calls.

    Google will do the same. Give ‘em a call and watch them roll over too. All it takes is a little conservative “pressure.”

    Report Post » jzs  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:21am

      196 Countries in the world. Some are small in size & population. There are 57 Muslims dominated countries or 29%. Noting that some countries are small is size & influence like Monaco or Kiribati, 29% is on the low side when one considers population. Sure Muslim countries have minority populations, but they are & have been in the process of purging them. Meanwhile Western populations are growing in Western countries.

      So the point is the platform is burning & Google are patting themselves on the back for being gay friendly. That is so gay. But so is buttzex, HIV, syphilis & tapeworms.

      Report Post »  
  • Prairie
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:22am

    I had been thinking of dropping gmail and google for searches. I read this article and the one that came out the week before and knew it was time. I do admit that I love gmail, BUT I did it!!!! I changed email providers to something more secure and more amenable to my personal views. I have deleted google chrome, and all google items and programs on every computer in my household. I use startpage (as Glen reported on a few weeks back) for all my searches now. I will miss the ease of Gmail and the google stuff that they used to suck us all in, but I will get over it. GOOD RIDDENS GOOGLE!!! It feels SOOOOO good to have finally made the switch. It’s the small things in life, ya know? :)

    Report Post »  
    • Kenszen
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:41am

      You did the right thing. I haven’t used Google for years now, ever since our fight in CA with Prop 8. I also do not use the word “Google” as in “Google this.“ I say ”Yahoo“ this or ”DuckDuckGo this” instead.

      Report Post »  
    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:44am

      Riddance
      It’s good riddance.
      Try GOOGLING it.

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • ModerationIsBest
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:59am

      If changing the way you search the internet has that big of impact on your life I suggest you find something more productive to do with your time.

      Report Post »  
    • Chet Hempstead
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:20am

      I tried Startpage, but I don’t like it. It seems like whatever you search for the top few hits are ads and you have to read down the list to get to the first one that might be what you ‘re looking for. I hate when I get that on Google, but when I tested them side by side there were always more on Startpage and you get them no matter what you look for –historical figures, names of countries, everything. When I tested them both doing video searches with the names of a few very famous musicians like Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Rolling Stones, etc., the top hit on Startpage was always somebody talking about them rather than a song by the actual artist. I decided that neither I nor anything I search for is so interesting that I need to trade relevance for privacy.

      Report Post »  
  • lylejk
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:17am

    May attempt? I’ve actually stopped using the search engine several years ago; never trusted them and my gut’s been right. Too many other search Engines to worry about using Google or clicking on any ads from their site. Still, way too many companies have already embraced what more then a few consider perversion that it may be a lost cause but if you can hurt their bottom line, then I’m all for doing that. Google, though, has their tenticles into way too many things to completely rid yourself of their clutches if you have an online presence, but I do continue to try. Don’t (and will never) use Chrome, don’t go to Google unless I use a webpage that uses Google and I have no choice (a few websites do use Google so have little choice, but those sites are non-political) and will never buy a Google device of any kind either. :)

    Report Post » lylejk  
  • watersRpeople
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 12:45am

    Never at any time in recent history has the gay population received so much attention and sympathy, and so why is it they are seemingly so miserable.

    Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:30am

      The gays are not have approval of their lifestyle choice in the 50% range. They want 90% to 100% approval of their lifestyle choice. The people in the middle might change their minds, if they learned more about the gay lifestyle, fall away from gay dogma & become apostate.

      So everything pre-gaymic must be refuted or erased from the scientific literature. The scientist who de-listed the gay lifestyle as a mental illness in 1973 was hounded for publishing his ~2000 research that becoming ex-gay was possible for a small number of gays. He didn’t say a large number he said a small number. Nonetheless they pilloried him until he recanted. Now he might be able to live his last few years without assault & may have a decent eulogy & funeral which can be attended now because it won’t be career suicide.

      For people who think gays are winning. Try being gay in the most liberal of Nordic countries. Winning political battles losing the war.

      Report Post »  
  • watersRpeople
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 12:43am

    I’m perplexed (but not really), I’m perplexed by why it is the gay population is receiving so much attention and apparently rights, and yet supposedly gay teen suicides are at an all-time high.

    Report Post »  
    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 1:46am

      Do you have a point?

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • bullcrapbuster
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:18am

      Gays will never find happiness in their sinful sexual behavior.

      Report Post » bullcrapbuster  
    • ModerationIsBest
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:35am

      Maybe because so many people hate them for who they are?

      It seems silly to me to see people constantly ragging on gay people for who they are:

      Telling them that your God hates them
      That they’re freaks
      That what they are and what they do is essentially the same thing as having sex with a dog
      That they’re abominations
      That they’re going to suffer on an alternate plane of existence for an eternity

      Then let’s not get into the physical nature of getting threaten constantly, getting beaten up and potentially getting killed by some lunatics

      and then when these people get depressed you say, “why are you so miserable!? See, your lifestyle IS wrong!”

      Well here’s an idea moron, you’re the one making them miserable.

      Report Post »  
    • watersRpeople
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 2:41am

      Verceofreason,
      Apparently no point to you, and you are one chariot that must be getting missed.

      Report Post »  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 3:32pm

      BULLCRAPBUSTER — “I will never find happiness as long as gays are allowed to exist and live life as they see fit.”

      There, fixed it for you.

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:51pm

      Bruce – “I will never find happiness as long as people are allowed to pick and choose who they‘re tolerant of and if they don’t accept homosexuals as normal.”

      Fixed it accurately.

      Report Post »  
    • Git-R-Done
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:10pm

      Moderationisbest – So you’re trying to manipulate people and thought police us by claiming that insulting homosexuals will cause them to commit suicide. If they‘re so thin skinned that they’ll commit suicide over insults, then the problem lies with them, not with the people insulting them.

      Report Post »  
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