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While praising Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito鈥檚 reasoning in a recent case to which ADF submitted an amicus brief, Fowler accused the longtime FACT ally of supplying 鈥渋nconsistent鈥� information to state legislators about the legal power of state governments to encode conservative 鈥減arental rights鈥� into state law.

According to Fowler, Alito鈥檚 opinion highlights weaknesses in the testimony an ADF lawyer recently gave to the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee about a 聽called the Families鈥� Rights and Responsibilities Act (FRRA). The testimony also contradicts ADF鈥檚 federal lobbying efforts, according to Fowler, suggesting a strategy to encourage state lawmakers to adopt anti-LGBTQ+ regulations that the group also claims are the purview of the federal government. Ultimately, Fowler claims, ADF鈥檚 鈥渋nconsistent鈥� lobbying practices are evidence of a plan among prominent 鈥淐hristian legal or policy鈥� groups to increase the power of the federal government over so-called 鈥減arental rights.鈥�

The dispute reveals potential cracks in the anti-LGBTQ+ coalition over how to define and enforce their conception of parental rights.

A 鈥榳hopping inconsistency鈥�: ADF and federal regulation of parents鈥� rights?

Fowler鈥檚 article primarily takes issue with the way ADF lobbies at the state and federal level for so-called 鈥減arental rights鈥� bills 鈥� proposals that generally create broad protections for religious objections to educational and medical practices that ultra-conservative Christian activists typically disagree with, such as LGBTQ+-affirming health care or counseling. In Tennessee, the FRRA proposal includes penalties for public employees and doctors who violate the new 鈥減arental rights鈥� spelled out in the bill.

Fowler criticizes ADF for encouraging state legislators in a Feb. 20 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to adopt the bill by saying that Congress has no power to regulate 鈥減arental rights,鈥� while the group previously endorsed a federal law, also called FRRA, allowing Congress to exercise that power. This 鈥渨hopping inconsistency鈥� between what ADF told the state legislators and its actions at the federal level is 鈥渄isingenuous at best,鈥� Fowler said.

Fowler accused ADF of 鈥済iving to Tennesseans in one hand what is necessary to placate me 鈥� while, with the other hand, working in D.C. to take it away.鈥� According to Fowler, ADF is helping establish federal control over 鈥減arental rights,鈥� which he said is what ADF 鈥渋s after, regardless of what it tells Tennessee鈥檚 legislators.鈥� He said that he would 鈥渧iew with skepticism鈥� any potential language developed by ADF to 鈥渇ix鈥� the problems he sees with the state bill.

In a footnote to the piece, Fowler also criticizes multiple anti-LGBTQ+ hate and antigovernment groups and their allies, including ADF, Family Watch International, and Moms for Liberty聽for supporting 鈥渇ederalizing parental rights.鈥�

Softening the edges

Fowler is a longtime crusader against marriage equality in Tennessee, having 聽against a bill banning child marriage in 2018 because, he argued according to local media, it would interfere with his legal challenges to marriage equality in the state. Like other family policy councils operating in more than 35 states, FACT claims on its website several 鈥渟trategic alliances,鈥� including partnerships with Focus on the Family, Family Research Council聽and ADF. In his Feb. 23 blog post, Fowler never mentioned ADF by name, but the article links to ADF鈥檚 website.

While the original post was published Friday, Feb. 23, the blog was republished the following Thursday, according to a Hatewatch review of cached copies of the page stored on several internet search sites and Fowler.

The updated language appears to soften some of the critiques. For example, Fowler removed his description of ADF鈥檚 lobbying tactic as a 鈥渨hopping inconsistency鈥� and his 鈥渟kepticism鈥� about any legislative language ADF proposed to 鈥渇ix鈥� the state FRRA. Fowler also removed his assessment that ADF was attempting to 鈥減lacate鈥� him, because he 鈥渞aised a huge stink," while the group continued its federal lobbying efforts to support a national FRRA.

In a statement to Hatewatch, Fowler said the blog was deleted and republished to clarify language related to the federal FRRA, but said, 鈥淣othing was changed with respect to links showing ADF鈥檚 support of the federal bill鈥� and added that ADF鈥檚 leadership is 鈥渨ell aware鈥� of his position.

Two days before Fowler published the edited post, local media reported that an ADF attorney 聽the Tennessee state Capitol to hold a press conference with state lawmakers about a different bill. Neither Fowler nor FACT was listed on the ADF press release announcing the press conference.

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