The right wing fundamentalist Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) has announced that the keynote speaker at their annual fund raising banquet on October 15 will be Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri. In addition to opposing same-sex marriage, MFI also opposes civil unions and domestic partnerships. The organization frames LGBT civil rights as “special rights” and claims that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. They offer the typically offensive statements about sexual orientation that are expected from radical right wing Christianist groups:

MFI does not consider homosexual behavior to be merely an alternate lifestyle or sexual “preference”; it is an unhealthy practice and destructive to individuals, families and society. Our compassion for those plagued by same-sex attraction compels us to support the healing of those who wish to change their behavior. MFI strongly opposes any efforts by political activists to normalize homosexual behavior and all attempts to equate homosexuality with benign characteristics such as skin color, or the “gay rights” movement with the civil rights movement.

Lately, MFI seems to be obsessed with preventing rights for trans-gender citizens. They vigorously oppose what they gratuitously refer to as “bathroom bills.”

MFI does not seem to have filed a form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service beyond the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005. At that time, they claimed an annual budget of $600,000 with assets of $83,000 and an annual operating deficit of $65,000. The president of MFI is Kris Mineau.