Robert H. Knight (born April 23, 1951) [1] is an American conservative writer and activist. He was a draftsman of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage. DOMA was invalidated by the Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor (2013). [2] He is senior fellow of the American Civil Rights Union and a regular columnist for The Washington Times. [3] He was senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries (now D. James Kennedy Ministries) and director of the Culture and Media Institute, a project founded in 2006 by the Media Research Center in Alexandria, Virginia. [4] Knight has also served as director of the Culture & Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America. [2]
Knight worked as an editor and writer for the Los Angeles Times and was a 1989–1990 media fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He was a senior fellow for cultural policy studies at The Heritage Foundation before becoming director of cultural studies at the Family Research Council. [5]
Knight is a social conservative. [6] He is an outspoken opponent on same-sex marriage and civil partnerships and has written prolifically on that topic. He believes that recognizing same-sex couples "will destroy marriage" [7] and "would threaten families, children, and ultimately civilization." [8] In 1995, Knight accused the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay Republicans, of being a "small group trying to harness government power to force affirmation of unhealthy, immoral and destructive behavior." [6] Knight has stated: "The end goal of gay activism is the criminalization of Christianity" and has accused gays of advocating pedophilia and attempting to recruit youth. [9] He has referred to abortion, pornography, and gay rights as part of an "iron triangle." [9] In the aftermath of the 1998 torture and murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student, Knight denounced the murder but opposed proposals to extend hate crime laws, [10] believing them to be "the precursor toward thought crimes." [9]
In a 1995 interview, Knight asserted that, " Lesbianism is the animating principle of feminism. Because feminism, at the core, is at war with motherhood, femininity, family, and God. And lesbians are at war with all these things." [11]
Knight is on the advisory board of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, which promotes abstinence-only sex education. [12]
His 2018 manifesto, A Nation Worth Fighting For: 10 Steps to Restore Freedom, calls upon Evangelical Christians to "go on offense against the darkness, not cower in our church buildings, hoping it will go away." [13]
He has a B.S. in 1973 and M.S. in 1975 in political science from American University in Washington, D.C. [3] In 1981, he married his wife Barbara, with whom he now lives in the Washington, D.C. area. [2]
Robert H. Knight (born April 23, 1951) [1] is an American conservative writer and activist. He was a draftsman of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage. DOMA was invalidated by the Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor (2013). [2] He is senior fellow of the American Civil Rights Union and a regular columnist for The Washington Times. [3] He was senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries (now D. James Kennedy Ministries) and director of the Culture and Media Institute, a project founded in 2006 by the Media Research Center in Alexandria, Virginia. [4] Knight has also served as director of the Culture & Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America. [2]
Knight worked as an editor and writer for the Los Angeles Times and was a 1989–1990 media fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He was a senior fellow for cultural policy studies at The Heritage Foundation before becoming director of cultural studies at the Family Research Council. [5]
Knight is a social conservative. [6] He is an outspoken opponent on same-sex marriage and civil partnerships and has written prolifically on that topic. He believes that recognizing same-sex couples "will destroy marriage" [7] and "would threaten families, children, and ultimately civilization." [8] In 1995, Knight accused the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay Republicans, of being a "small group trying to harness government power to force affirmation of unhealthy, immoral and destructive behavior." [6] Knight has stated: "The end goal of gay activism is the criminalization of Christianity" and has accused gays of advocating pedophilia and attempting to recruit youth. [9] He has referred to abortion, pornography, and gay rights as part of an "iron triangle." [9] In the aftermath of the 1998 torture and murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student, Knight denounced the murder but opposed proposals to extend hate crime laws, [10] believing them to be "the precursor toward thought crimes." [9]
In a 1995 interview, Knight asserted that, " Lesbianism is the animating principle of feminism. Because feminism, at the core, is at war with motherhood, femininity, family, and God. And lesbians are at war with all these things." [11]
Knight is on the advisory board of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, which promotes abstinence-only sex education. [12]
His 2018 manifesto, A Nation Worth Fighting For: 10 Steps to Restore Freedom, calls upon Evangelical Christians to "go on offense against the darkness, not cower in our church buildings, hoping it will go away." [13]
He has a B.S. in 1973 and M.S. in 1975 in political science from American University in Washington, D.C. [3] In 1981, he married his wife Barbara, with whom he now lives in the Washington, D.C. area. [2]