The following is excerpted from the National & International Religion Report, January 25, 1993:
"Frankly, we have had enough," said spokesmen for Focus on the Family. At issue, they say, are unsubstantiated but widely circulated rumors that the group requested from Colorado Springs public school officials the names of single teachers without dependents. Their alleged purpose is to screen the lists in an apparent attempt to identify homosexuals to remove from their positions. Focus says the rumors have persisted all year, despite school boards' repeated denials of their truth. But the allegations, Focus says, came to national attention when broadcast by Linda Fowler, chair of the Denver Gay and Lesbian Advisory Committee. On the Dec. 7 edition of the Gil Gross Show, a three-hour phone-in talk show carried on 100 CBS radio affiliates, Fowler repeated the rumors, dating them to the passage of Amendment 2.
The group maintains that her "obvious intent was to attack Focus on the Family" and "to place [the] organization in a false light." Gross, too, is said to have "re-emphasized her lie" by calling it "sort of an empowerment to discriminate." Focus attorney Stephen Reed said in a letter to Fowler that she could have easily found the allegations untrue had she attempted "the most cursory inquiry beforehand." Reed has demanded that Fowler issue a written apology acknowledging the fact that her statements were false and have no factual basis. She must also provide Gross and Denver's KOA-AM (on which the program aired locally) copies of her apology and request that they be read on the air. If Fowler can substantiate her statements, Reed will not seek monetary and punitive damages in Colorado courts for defamation. Focus continues to build its case while its attorneys await a response.
. . . The rumors may have some basis in fact, says Amy Divine, cofounder of the Citizen's Project. She and her husband, Doug Triggs, established the group to counteract the conservative influence of the growing evangelical community. The more than 2,000 members of the Citizens Project include educators, mainline clergy members, parents, and business leaders who say "the religious right" is too aggressive in promoting its political agendas. Divine told reporters she has heard first-hand reports about requests for information about local teachers, but she doubts Focus on the Family is involved. "It is not their style," she said, but "somebody who is concerned about gay and lesbian teachers is using Focus' name for leverage."
. . . Focus on the Family President James Dobson says a concerted effort is trying to make him and his group "look extremist, hate-filled, and vicious" in dealing with the homosexual community. Although the group has publicly announced "that all people have the right to live their lives as they choose under the law," Focus, Dobson says, is targeted by supporters of the "juggernaut called the homosexual agenda." As the largest of more than 55 national religious groups in the area, Dobson's organization has taken more hits than others. Local bumper stickers read "Focus on Your Own Damn Family," and news accounts report the group's downtown building has had bricks thrown through windows, animal intestines dumped at the doorstep, a few bomb threats, and a thorough postering with "Hate is not a family value" signs. "When you talk about hate," Dobson said, "you need to find out which direction that hate is flowing."
