‘We’re right here for mothers’: Parents’ rights activists bristle at SPLC branding them a ‘hate’ group

PHILADELPHIA — Parent activists on the Moms for Liberty annual summit roared on the leftwing Southern Poverty Law Center for placing them on the “hate map” and calling them an “extremist group.”

Their message to SPLC: These mothers are defending all the children and all of the mother and father’ voices.

One of the mothers, Allison Shipp, stated the Southern Poverty Law Center had revealed itself to be ridiculous.

“When you break it down, to have something so simple as moms, dads or parents concerned about what’s going on in their schools labeled as extreme — that seems pretty silly to me,” stated Ms. Shipp, 41, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “The reality is, we want all parents, even ones that we might not agree with, to have that voice, even at the school board meeting, because it affects their kids as well.”

Lydia Dominguez, a Christian creator and advocate for home violence victims, took the SPLC’s extremist accusation personally.

“I don’t see myself as an extremist or radical. I see myself as a passionate mom who’s standing up for my child and their education. I don’t believe they should be integrating sexual content into every avenue of subjects in the classroom,” stated Ms. Dominguez, 33, who traveled from Las Vegas for the summit.

“Anyone who has a disagreeing opinion is suddenly called an [extremist]. That’s absolutely absurd. We might think their opinions are wrong, but we have not labeled them,” she stated. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We’re here for moms. We’re here for our children. We’re here to just protect our children’s education.”

The SPLC put Moms for Liberty’s 45 state chapters on the hate map that at the moment identifies a complete of 1,225 “hate and antigovernment groups” throughout the U.S. 

Moms for Liberty earned the designation, in keeping with SPLC, as a result of they allegedly harass LGBTQ individuals, promote anti-gay misinformation and struggle in opposition to range and inclusion in class supplies.

The teams on the hate map are virtually all conservative or spiritual organizations. The map additionally lists organizations described as skinheads, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The map doesn’t embody the violent leftwing group Antifa, although that group is loosely organized and lacks workplaces or chapters that may be simply mapped.

At the summit, Mariya Calkins stated Moms for Liberty is the other of a hate group. 

“We are the most loving group of parents, grandparents and concerned citizens who just want to have quality education for children and that all students will have access to quality education. That’s our main focus,” stated Mrs. Calkins, 37, of Santa Rosa, Florida.

“Certainly, we disagree with whatever that [SPLC] organization says. It’s unfortunate that organizations have basically attacked a grassroots group of parents that just want to advocate for their children to have quality education.”

Moms for Liberty was greeted on the summit by road protests by leftwing advocacy teams, together with the Philadelphia Young Communist League.

The protests included LGBTQ activists in costumes and face paint dancing outdoors the lodge in downtown Philadelphia. They heckled attendees strolling into the lodge and known as them “fascists.”

Demonstrators outdoors of the summit echoed the SPLC’s characterizations of the Moms for Liberty agenda.

“The definition of liberty has never meant imposing your will, your beliefs on other people. Book bans, censorship, attacking people because they’re living as they freely choose in a supposedly free country, it’s very anti-American. I don’t think any of that is a stretch,” stated protester Brion Shreffler, 44, a Philadelphia-based freelance journalist and meals critic.

Moms for Liberty activist Becky McCarron, a mom and grandmother from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, stated the hate wasn’t coming from contained in the summit.