LYNNWOOD — Officials from Watchmen on the Walls, the anti-gay religious group meeting this weekend at the Lynnwood Convention Center, held a pre-event press conference this afternoon.
“There have been a lot of false or misleading statements about us,” said co-founder Scott Lively, a California attorney and president of Defend the Family.
“We are an international coalition of people who believe in the superiority of the natural family and traditional marriage. We don’t apologize for our views. We’re not intimidated by those who call us hateful for holding them. It’s not hateful to be opposed to homosexuality.
“There are people who do hate homosexuals, but we’re not among them.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate groups, watchdog group, has called Watchmen on the Walls virulently anti-gay and that the group’s rhetoric may spur violence.
Watchmen on the Walls does not promote or condone violence, Lively said.
The group has scheduled four meetings this weekend beginning at 7 p.m. tonight.
They expect as many as 700 people.
Protests are planned for Saturday and Sunday.
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