More than 40,000 people have signed a petition created by LifeSiteNews and backed by a number of prominent conservative activists urging The Learning Channel to keep the Duggars’ show, 19 Kids and Counting, on-air.
The petition—launched 18 hours ago—and Tweetfest came after gay activists launched a Change.org petition demanding that TLC take the Duggars off the air. The anti-Duggar petition, which was launched in August, earned about 120,000 signatures after news agencies such as E! News and Huffington Post reported on the effort this week.
Now top conservative leaders are urging Duggar fans to rise up and support America’s most-beloved large family.
This includes TV stars David and Jason Benham, former Fox News contributor Steven Crowder, American Family Association President Tim Wildmon, Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor, radio talk show host Alice Stewart, Father Shenan Boquet of Human Life International and American Thinker deputy editor Drew Belsky.
“The world needs more families like the Duggars to be featured in media, not fewer,” said Father Boquet. “Their joyful, selfless and sacrificial love for one another has warmed millions of hearts, and has certainly caused untold numbers to reconsider their decision to live in an intentionally sterile marriage.”
According to the Benham Brothers, the Duggars face “the same intolerant agenda that attacked our family.”
“The Duggars have always been an example of Christian love for each other and society,” said the Benham Brothers. “It’s time for Americans to stand with them against this latest manifestation of anti-Christian bullying.”
“Silencing those who disagree flies in the face of the ‘free and open’ mantra we often hear from the folks who want adult male strangers joining your young daughter in the bathroom,” said Belsky. “But this is how ‘tolerance’ and ‘open-mindedness’ play out for a movement insisting that concrete concepts—like ‘man’ and ‘woman’—can mean anything one chooses.”
Wildmon was likewise critical, saying that “the homosexual lobby is intolerant of opposing views and castigates anyone who doesn’t wholly embrace their lifestyle. TLC should reject the petition.”
“Rather than being extreme, the Duggars represent the majority of people in state after state who have stood up for the traditional family,” says the petition. “The real extremists are those who are demanding that a TV network penalize America’s beloved family because they support the truth about family, which they have always expressed in a loving, compassionate fashion.”
About LifeSiteNews: Founded in 1997, LifeSiteNews is one of the world’s largest pro-life and pro-family news organizations. With reporters and contributors in 10 countries on six continents, it is a vital resource for the promotion of traditional values around the globe.
