Focus on the Family Calls For Boycott of Big Brothers Big Sisters

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (EP) - Dr. James Dobson's organization Focus on the Family is calling for donors of United Way to exclude Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) from their charitable contributions to United Way. The call to boycott BBBSA is a result of United Way's decision to allow homosexuals as mentors to children involved in the program.

The announcement was made during a daily radio broadcast Feb. 20 by Bill Maier, vice president and psychologist in residence at Focus. Last July, BBBSA implemented a policy that bans discrimination against open homosexuals as volunteers and mentors of children across the nation.

"The national leadership of Big Brothers has received a landslide of criticism from parents, pro-family groups, members of Congress and even now its local directors," said Maier. "But they stubbornly refuse to reconsider this ill-advised policy, choosing instead to appease homosexual pressure groups at the expense of the well-being of the children they serve."

During the broadcast, Maier also said, "Millions of United Way donors would be shocked to learn that their money is being used to match fatherless boys with homosexual men."

Founder and president of Focus on the Family James Dobson, said, "I have supported Big Brothers Big Sisters for years, but the well-being of children is too important to ignore. It is unfortunate that such a reputable organization has resorted to playing political games with America's children caught in the crosshairs. I hope that even now Big Brothers Big Sisters will reassess its dangerous policy."

Maier pointed to psychological research to assert that homosexual men are more likely to have psychiatric illness, to suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, to commit suicide and to have higher incidences of sexually transmitted disease.

"In fact, one gay organization recently did a poll in which they learned that one out of five gay men report being physically or sexually abused by their partner," said Maier. "But it appears that Big Brothers has chosen to ignore these facts in its zeal to pair impressionable children with homosexuals."

The Family Research Council (FRC) has issued a statement supporting the Focus on the Family decision. "The FRC joins our friends at Focus on the Family in urging pro-family Americans to withhold donations to the United Way unless they call the organization and request that no part of the donation go to BBBSA," the statement said. "Exposing vulnerable and impressionable young boys to homosexuality, not to mention the risks of potential abuse, is simply unconscionable."

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