LGBT Rights Groups Silent As Clinton Foundation Accepts Millions From Countries That Hate, Imprison Gay People

Hillary Clinton, presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2016 presidency, has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT groups during her campaign. Now, LGBT rights groups have remained silent as the Clinton Foundation has accepted millions from countries that hate and imprison gay people. Ms. Clinton frequently mentions her support for the gay community while disparaging policies she claims discriminates against them. In her speech to the Human Rights Campaign in October 2015, she elaborated on her outrage against the slights.

“It’s outrageous that, in 2015, you can still be fired for being gay. You can still lose your home for being gay. You can even be denied a wedding cake for being gay.”

Contrary to her outspoken opinions, she’s not convincing everyone that she’s fully on the side of LGBT rights. The Clinton Foundation has provided published reports of their donors, including millions they’ve accepted from countries that prosecute gay people, imprisoning them and and doing far worse than denying a wedding cake. And it’s been reported by Breitbart that the Clintons have routinely failed to disclose all the information concerning donations to their foundation.

After the terrorist attack mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub last weekend, Hillary Clinton said on Facebook that she was a friend to the LGBT community. But, says a report from Newsbusters, donations to the Clinton Foundation show the Clintons are “willing to overlook LGBT abuse when there’s money on the line.”

https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/posts/1168540426535818

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, ILGA, has provided the following overview of those contributions by certain donor countries, including their policies.

For example, Algeria has donated $250,000 – $500,000, which the Clinton Foundation accepted. Algerian law states “Anyone guilty of a homosexual act is punishable with imprisonment.”

Jamaica has given $50,000 – $100,000 and their law states that “gay men caught having sex face up to 10 years in prison.”

ILGA lists several countries from which the Clintons have accepted funds in spite of their clear anti-gay laws and policies. Some of the worst of which are in the middle east. United Arab Emirates, who’s been said to have donated up to $5 million, states only that all sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage are banned in the UAE, but does not reveal the punishment.

Saudi Arabia has given anywhere from $10 million to $25 million. Islamic law in Saudi Arabia enforces punishments for homosexual acts ranging from public flogging to death. If a non-Muslim commits sodomy with a Muslim, the penalty is death by stoning. None of Ms. Clinton’s campaign speeches appear to have addressed these policies of her most generous donors.

The question remains, however, as to why so many LGBT and human rights groups have been so silent on the controversy between Ms. Clinton’s speeches and the donations she willingly accepted. One of the few who have been outspoken is Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen.

“Unquestionably, they’re not standing up for their principles.”

Chatter among rights groups has been surprisingly limited. It appears that either these groups haven’t been privy to the donor information or that they don’t recognize the apparent disconnect. Another of the few who have dared to speak out is Matthew Vadum, vice president of the Capital Research Center. The center has analyzed donations to the Clinton Foundation and made their findings public.

“The Clinton Foundation probably should have to give the money back because they shouldn’t make money from these totalitarian countries that punish and torture and execute gay people for being gay.”

Particularly of interest, however, is the overwhelming number of LGBT and human rights groups who haven’t uttered a single statement against the obvious disconnect. More than a half-dozen prominent gay rights organizations were contacted by Fox News. The Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, the International Gay and Lesbian Rights Human Rights Commission, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and the Gill Foundation all declined to comment on what Clinton’s opponents consider her hypocrisy. None of them has mentioned that Hillary Clinton promises to protect gay rights while at the same time accepting donations to her foundation from excessively repressive and punitive countries. Some of her most generous donors openly violate the very same rights she speaks of protecting.

Halvorsson elaborated on his feelings about Ms. Clinton’s acceptance from these oppressive governments, speaking of the discrepancy between her campaign rhetoric claiming to support the LGBT community and the controversial enrichment of her foundation by those nations that are openly against their rights. He suggested these governments are buying their way to being on the good side of a woman with an extreme amount of political power.

“… essentially buying their way into the good graces of someone who could be the next president. The Clintons constantly talk about how they are friends and allies of the gay community, yet here they are receiving tens of millions of dollars from governments that actually execute people for being gay.”

Representatives of the Clinton Foundation have not returned calls or emails asking if they had any intention of refusing donations from regimes that suppress the rights of LGBT citizens. Matthew Vadum has said he recognizes the openly opposing Clinton campaign speeches and the acceptance of the controversial donations.

“The controversy lies in the fact that Hillary Clinton’s foundation takes money from countries where gay sexual acts can be punished by death or by flogging or by other nasty punishments. And so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to get upset about comparatively trivial problems here in America that gays face compared to death and torture and dismemberment as they experience every day in countries where Islamic and Sharia law prevail.”

It’s still a guessing game as to whether the LGBT human rights groups will remain silent about the Clinton Foundation accepting millions from countries that hate and imprison gay people.

[Photo by Chip Somodavilla/Getty Images]