When it comes to sex, the Family Research Council clearly prefers sticks to carrots.
The right-wing lobbying group is coming out swinging against pre-marital sex, suggesting those who engage in it should be punished.
Senior fellow of the Christian lobbying group, Pat Fagan, recently made the argument on the radio show, Washington Watch, where he was accompanied by the FRC head Tony Perkins.
On Monday, Fagan argued that the 1972 Supreme Court decision Eisenstadt vs. Baird--which overturned a law banning the distribution of birth control to unmarried individuals in Massachusetts--is the “single most destructive decision by the Supreme Court.”
He added it gave young people the greenlight to have sex outside of marriage even though “functioning societies don’t’ do that. They stop it. They punish it. They corral people. They shame people, they do whatever.”
Talk about alienating the young? As Think Progress points out, 80% of unmarried evangelical Christians say they’re having sex.
Fagan’s remarks also come as recent polls find there is overwhelming support for birth control coverage. According to a survey from last year conducted for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the majority of Americans–63%--support a government requirement that private health insurance plans cover the cost of birth control. That includes roughly 8 in 10 Democrats, 4 in 10 Republicans and 6 in 10 independents.