Charity That Helps Families May Be Latest Victim of SPLC 'Hate Map'
09-12-2017
Ruth Institute, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to helping families, thinks that being labeled a "hate group" is the reason a company that processed its donations has severed ties with the organization.
Vanco Payment Solutions, which processed Ruth Institute's online donations, emailed the charity to say "we are severing our relationship with you," Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of Ruth Institute, told The Daily Signal.
"The most logical conclusion is the fact that we were in the news with this hate map that the Southern Poverty Law Center puts out, but no one has said that directly," Morse said.
Ruth Institute, which takes a biblical stance on issues such as gender identity and same-sex marriage, was labeled a hate group by the SPLC, which has done the same to several Christian and conservative organizations.
Ruth Institute Board member Walter Hoye, who is black, told the Washington Times that listing Ruth Institute alongside racist groups such as the KKK is "reprehensible." He said the Klan lynched his great-grandfather and set his house on fire while his 14 children were inside.
"I understand what the Klan is, and with that understanding, there is just no way that the Ruth Institute should be on that list," Hoye told the newspaper. "The Ruth Institute is about healing the black family."
"I think people need to understand that the left takes the sexual revolution very seriously," Morse said in an email to The Daily Signal. "This is a core issue for them. They think that being against gay marriage is the equivalent of being a skinhead or a member of the Klan. That's how they are treating things."
Ruth Institute has switched to PayPal for donations.
