Illinois Family Institute Announces David Smith as New Executive Director as LaBarbera Launches National Venture

The following is the press release issued by Illinois Family Institute August 16th:

GLEN ELLYN–Illinois Family Institute today announced the appointment of David E. Smith as its new Executive Director, to succeed Peter LaBarbera, who is resigning to pursue his goal of creating a national organization dedicated to confronting the homosexual activist agenda.

Smith, 37, has served as Senior Policy Analyst at the Institute since coming on board in March 2004, and is leading the push for a statewide Marriage Protection Referendum in Illinois. He gained national respect as a decency advocate after filing 70 FCC complaints against Chicago shock-jock Eric “Mancow? Muller, resulting in a $300,000 fine against Mancow’s parent company, Emmis Communications Corporation.

“It is a great honor to be chosen to lead Illinois Family Institute,? Smith said. “I will do my best to defend marriage, life, and decency for the families of this state against the determined efforts of liberal groups to disqualify Biblically-informed thought and action.?

LaBarbera, 44, who joined IFI in September 2003, is recognized as a leading opponent of the “gay? movement. Under his tenure, IFI?s visibility and grassroots network grew tremendously. In the weeks leading up to the November election, he will stay on at IFI as an advisor to help with the transition. LaBarbera?s group, Americans for Truth, will be based in Naperville, Illinois.

“One of the best decisions I made at Illinois Family Institute was hiring Dave Smith, a godly man who works harder than anyone I have ever met for the pro-family and pro-life cause,? LaBarbera said. “I share Dave?s vision of a broad-based family movement that crosses racial and denominational lines, and am confident that IFI will prosper and grow under his leadership.

“It has been a privilege to serve IFI and the hundreds of thousands of Illinois families it represents who yearn for a more just society that protects innocent unborn life and the God-ordained family,? LaBarbera said. “I am thankful to IFI?s Board of Directors for this opportunity, and will continue to support the Institute?s work, which is needed now more than ever.”Said Smith: “For the past two years, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Peter LaBarbera. I will miss him and the passion he brought each and every day to the office. Yet I fully understand his desire to counter the powerful and well-funded homosexual lobby,” Smith said. “I have learned many important lessons from Peter, and plan to continue to work with him and Americans for Truth here in Illinois. I wish him and AFT success in the battle for truth.”

 

An alumnus of the Family Research Council’s Witherspoon Fellowship, Dave graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998. Smith, who has lived in Chicago his entire life, and his wife of 11 years are the parents of three young children.

IFI is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy group that works to protect marriage, family and the sanctity of life in the Land of Lincoln.

Posted in News

It’s the Behavior, Stupid! – And Other Observations of a So-Called ‘Homophobe’

by J. Matt Barber

Whether you like him or not – Bayou Brat James Carville, notable Democratic Party strategist and Bill Clinton advisor, was appropriately credited for his pivotal role in helping to put the former adulterer-in-chief in the oval office back in 1992. Carville boiled down the theme of the Clinton candidacy to four simple words: “It’s the economy, stupid.” By focusing like a laser beam on the hot button issue of the day (the economy) Carville helped Clinton to co-opt that issue and to make it his own.

The economy is always a major area of concern for most Americans from a fiscal standpoint; however, on the field of battle in today’s culture war, one of the most significant and contentious issues, particularly to people of faith, is the rapid destruction of traditional family values, liberty of conscience, and freedom of speech at the hands of leftist and secularists who condone, promote, and/or participate in dangerous, unhealthy, and traditionally shameful sexual behaviors.

Take it from someone who knows, for those who value the sanctity of marriage, and respect the Biblical model of human sexuality (one-man/one-woman within in the bounds of holy matrimony), it’s not a very safe time to publicly express those values and beliefs…

Posted in Christian Persecution, Corporate Promotion, Corporations, Freedom Under Fire, GLBTQ Lawsuits & Retribution, News