The 2014 Values Voters Summit is Approaching!

It's that time of year again! The 2014 Values Voters Summit will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. on September 26-28. Sponsored by Family Research Council Action and allied groups, the Values Voters Summit is an annual conference in Washington D.C. that draws prominent right-wing political figures. According to its website, the event was created in 2006 as a forum for citizens "to preserve the bedrock values of traditional marriage, religious liberty, sanctity of life and limited government that make our nation strong."

This year's Values Voters Summit will feature current and former political leaders such as Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, and Bobby Jindal. Also on the list of scheduled speakers are influential figures from the Religious Right, including Gary Bauer of American Values, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, right-wing commentator Glenn Beck, and radio host Sandy Rios.

Always a crowd favorite, the Duggar family of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting will deliver an evening plenary session alongside their son Josh Duggar, who will be representing FRC Action. Jason and David Benham, whose anti-gay and anti-choice activism cost them a series on HGTV, will also attend. Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of an Oregon bakery that refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, have confirmed their presence. Hobby Lobby's Green Family has also been invited to participate, but their presence has not yet been confirmed.

This year's scheduled workshops feature titles such as:

• Empowering Students to Reclaim Schools for Religious Freedom


• The Pelletier Story and the Assault on Parental Rights


• Common Core: The Government's Classroom


• The Assault on Constitutional Rights Under a Nanny State


• The Future of Marriage: To the Supreme Court and Beyond


• Pro-Life Battleground 2014: A Look Toward Election Day


• Sexuality in the "Hook-Up" Culture

Between workshops, visitors can always explore the exhibitor room, which will feature tables from Religious Right groups such as World Congress of Families, Concerned Women for America, Family Watch International, American Family Association, Charisma Media, and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX), among dozens of other groups.

Past Values Voters Summits were brimming with homophobia, misogyny, anti-abortion messages, uncomfortable race narratives, and persecution rhetoric. (More here, courtesy of Right Wing Watch.) I expect this year's conference to be no different, and I await coverage of the 2014 summit's troubling messages.


For additional commentary, visit the following links.

Joe.My.God: FRC Announces 2014 Values Voters Summit Lineup: A Cavalcade Of Crackpots

Good As You: FRC Invites Oregon's Discriminatory Bakers to Speak at Values Voters Summit