Bryan Jonathan Fischer (born April 8, 1951) is the former Director of Issues Analysis for the
American Family Association (AFA). He hosted the talk radio program ''Focal Point'' on
American Family Radio and posted on the AFA-run blog ''Instant Analysis'' (formerly ''Rightly Concerned'').
Fischer opposes
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
,
national health care,
gay adoption,
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...
s,
and
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
.
Fischer's comments about homosexuality caused the AFA to be designated a
hate group
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society.
Acc ...
by the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
(SPLC) in November 2010.
To avoid being classified as a hate group, the AFA has officially repudiated Fischer's views on Muslims, Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans, as well his claims that the
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
was
caused by homosexuals, that homosexuality should be outlawed, and that
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
is a lesbian.
''Focal Point'' was abruptly removed from the AFR lineup in 2021 following the 4th of July weekend. AFR offered no explanation for cancelling the show.
Biography
Fischer, born in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
and later raised in Fresno, California
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and holds a graduate degree in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Fischer served at the Cole Community Church in Boise, Idaho
Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...
and founded the Cole Center for biblical studies and was the church's director for thirteen years. Fischer then founded Community Church of the Valley and was a senior pastor for twelve years.
In 2004, he co-founded the Keep the Commandments Coalition, a group dedicated to keeping a Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
monument in Julia Davis Park in Boise. From 2000 to 2005, he served as a commissioner for the city's Park and Recreation Department.
Fischer joined the American Family Association in 2009.
Views and activities
Minorities
Fischer has said that welfare
Welfare may refer to:
Philosophy
*Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group
* Utility in utilitarianism
* Value in value theory
Economics
* Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...
has "destroyed the African-American family" by "offering financial rewards to women who have more children out of wedlock" thereby incentivizing "fornication rather than marriage" creating "disastrous social consequences of people who rut like rabbits." The AFA has repudiated the characterisation of minorities as "people who rut like rabbits,"[ as well as the view that immigration should be restricted because Hispanics are "]socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
by nature" and vote Democratic because it allows them to "benefit from the plunder of the wealth of the United States."
Fischer has argued that "many of the tribal reservations today remain mired in poverty and alcoholism because many Native Americans continue to cling to the darkness of indigenous superstition instead of coming into the light of Christianity and assimilating into Christian culture." The AFA has repudiated his view that "Superstition, savagery and sexual immorality" morally disqualified Native Americans from "sovereign control of American soil."
Religious exercise
Fischer has said that Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
students coming to US campuses are setting up Muslim Students' Associations, whose "agenda is dedicated to destroy the host country" and compared them to parasites, adding "these university campuses are dangerous places for Islamic extremism
Islamic extremism refers to extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideologies adhered to by some Muslims within Islam. The term 'Islamic extremism' is contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations of Is ...
". According to him, the only shot at building a democracy in an Islamic land is a mass conversion of its people to Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, for which he suggests sending missionaries "right after we send in the Marines
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
to neutralize whatever threat has been raised against the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
". He suggests "returning with lethal force if the forces in your country threaten us again.
He has stated that Muslims are worshipping a demon, and "every time we allow a mosque to go up in one of our communities, it's like planting an improvised explosive device right in the heart of your city and we have no idea when one of these devices is going to go off." He stated that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...
protects only the religious practice of Christianity, writing in a blog post "the real object of the amendment was, not to countenance, much less to advance slam or Judaism, or infidelity... so the purpose of the First Amendment was most decidedly not to "approve, support, (or) accept" any "religion" other than Christianity." Fischer has suggested Jews and Muslims are not included in religious freedom protections in the US, saying: "I have contended for years that the First Amendment, as given by the Founders, provides religious liberty protections for Christianity only."
He later wrote: "We are a Christian nation and not a Jewish or Muslim one." He affirmed this belief as well in a 2018 article regarding the First Amendment rights of prisoners to practice their religion under federal law, stating that "religions other than Christianity have no First Amendment rights whatsoever under the federal constitution."
MormonVoices, a group associated with Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, included Fischer on its Top Ten Anti-Mormon Statements of 2011 list for saying "Mormonism is not an orthodox Christian faith. It just is not ... It's very clear that the founding fathers did not intend to preserve automatically religious liberty for non-Christian faiths."
In a 2015 press release denouncing Fischer's views, the AFA stated "AFA rejects the idea expressed by Bryan Fischer that 'free exercise of religion' only applies to Christians. Consequently, AFA rejects Bryan's assertions that Muslims should not be granted permits to build mosques in the United States."
In 2018 he wrote about the "dangerous trend" of Muslims running for political office in the United States, calling Islam a "scourge" and "the Ebola virus of culture". He further called for states to institute religious tests for those in or running for office, citing examples from some states effective during the late 18th century.
Homosexuality and Nazism
Fischer believes that homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
is "immoral, unnatural, and unhealthy". In 2007, Fischer hosted an event with former American Family Association California leader Scott Lively to promote the view that "homosexuality was at the heart of Nazism," a claim which is rejected by historians.
In May 2010, Fischer wrote a blog post on the AFA website and RenewAmerica detailing purported allegations that Adolf Hitler was a homosexual, that "the Nazi Party began in a gay bar in Munich," and concluded by claiming that the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
(which actually included gay victims of Nazi persecution) was caused by homosexuals in the Nazi German military: "Nazi Germany became the horror that it was because it rejected both Christianity and its clear teaching about human sexuality." On American Family Talk radio, Fischer repeated the claim that Hitler was a homosexual, and stated that Hitler recruited homosexuals to be storm troopers, because "homosexual soldiers basically had no limits and the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict".
In April 2013, Fischer claimed that "Homofascists" will treat Christians like Jews in the Holocaust and later that year he repeated on American Family Talk that Hitler started the Nazi party "in a gay bar in Munich" and that " dolf Hitlercouldn't get straights to be vicious enough in being his enforcers."
The Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
, through its '' Teaching Tolerance'' program, has encouraged schools across the U.S. to hold a "Mix It Up at Lunch" day in order to encourage students to break up cliques and prevent bullying. In late 2012, the AFA called the project – begun 11 years earlier and held in more than 2,500 schools – "a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools", urging parents to keep their children home from school on October 30, 2012, and to call the schools to protest the event. "I was surprised that they completely lied about what Mix It Up Day is", Maureen Costello, the director of the center's ''Teaching Tolerance'' project, which organizes the program, told ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'': "It was a cynical, fear-mongering tactic." In October, Fischer was taken off air during a CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
interview with Carol Costello for repeating his belief that "Hitler recruited homosexuals around him to make up his Stormtroopers".
In 2012, as jury selection was to begin in a trial on charges of kidnapping of a lesbian couple's daughter, Fischer wrote on Twitter in support of kidnapping of children from same-sex households and smuggling them to what he calls "normal" homes. Fischer also reiterated his views on his radio show, and on video.[ In January 2013, he compared consensual sex between people of the same gender to pedophilia, ]incest
Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
and bestiality. In January 2013, Fischer compared the Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
's change in views on gay scouts and scoutmasters to Jerry Sandusky, saying allowing gay scoutmasters was inviting pedophiles into the tents of children. In March 2013, Fischer compared homosexuality to bank robbery when Senator Portman announced his views on same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
had changed due to having a gay son. Fischer also stated that homosexuality should be banned like trans fats for being "a hazard to human health" and likened homosexuals to thieves, murderers and child molesters.
On January 28, 2015, Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association demoted Fischer from being a spokesperson. Fischer went on to state that he will still be hosting the AFA's American Family Talk radio. In order to avoid being categorised as a hate group, the AFA issued a press release denouncing some of Fischer's views, rejecting his claim that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, and stating: "AFA rejects the statement by Bryan Fischer that, 'Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.' AFA rejects the policy advocated by Bryan Fischer that homosexual conduct should be illegal. AFA rejects the notion advocated by Bryan Fischer that, 'We need an underground railroad to protect innocent children from same-sex households'."[
When the ]Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled on '' Obergefell v. Hodges'' on June 26, 2015, Fischer described it as an "a date which will live in infamy", tweeting that "6/26 is now our 9/11" and "the day the twin towers of truth and righteousness were blown up by moral jihadists." Fischer described the Supreme Court justices who voted to legalize same-sex marriage as "rainbow jihadists and they blasted the twin pillars" and described social conservatives as "serfs on a plantation that's being run by cultural elites who wear black robes and use their gavels like the slaveholders of old used to use their whips."
Activities
In November 2010, the SPLC changed their listing of the AFA from a group that used hate speech
Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
to the more serious one of being designated a hate group
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society.
Acc ...
. Although these claims have not been confirmed by another group besides SPLC. The SPLC's Mark Potok said that the AFA's "propagation of known falsehoods and demonizing propaganda" was the basis for the change. Fischer's anti-gay comments were given as an example by SPLC in support of the hate group designation.[ The AFA rejected this notion and responded by calling the SPLC "the most dangerous hate group in America".
Fischer has voiced support for the AIDS denial movement. His guest on the January 3, 2012, edition of ''Focal Point'' was prominent AIDS denialist Peter Duesberg; Fischer strongly supported Duesberg's contention that ]AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
is not caused by HIV, but by recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...
.
In the June 18, 2012 issue of ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' magazine ("Bully Pulpit"),[.] author Jane Mayer
Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Un ...
featured Fischer in an article describing his influence in the Republican Party and 2012 presidential election. On April 20, Fischer attacked Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
's national security spokesman Richard Grenell for being openly gay. Other conservatives joined Fischer in calling for Grenell's ouster, and by May 1 Grenell resigned from the Romney campaign, in what Fischer described as a "huge win" for conservatives. During the 2012 presidential primaries, Republican Party candidates Rick Santorum
Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...
, Michele Bachmann
Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...
, Herman Cain
Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist in the Republican Party. Cain graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then earned a master's degree ...
, Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
, and Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...
were guests on Fischer's show, but Romney was not invited.
In the article (the facts of which Mayer says "were ... all checked with Fischer, and where he had factual objections, his caveats were included"), Mayer also quotes Fischer as saying that President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
"despises the constitution, ... nurtures a hatred for the white man", and aims to "destroy capitalism". Fischer believes that sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
is "always a matter of choice", and strongly opposes what he calls the "morally and intellectually bankrupt theory of evolution".
On the issue of religion and tax policy, Fischer believes that the progressive income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
es and estate tax
International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...
es violate the Eighth and Tenth Commandments, because (he feels) by taxing the income and estates of the well-off, the government "steals and covets" their wealth.
In April 2013, Fischer commented on the case of Carla Hale, a lesbian teacher fired from the Catholic school she worked for when her partner was named in her mother's obituary, saying that it was right for the school to fire her based on her "immoral sexual behavior". He argued that just as shoplifters are discriminated against, employers should discriminate against those who engage in aberrant sexual behavior and other supposed forms of immorality.
In January 2014, Fischer called the gay weddings at the 2014 Grammy Awards an abomination and said that same-sex parenting is a form of child abuse. The following month, Fischer, in comments about an Arizona bill that would have allowed businesses asserting their religious beliefs to deny service to gay and lesbian customers, referred to those opposing the bill as "jack-booted homo-fascist thugs, who want to use the totalitarian and tyrannical power of the state to send men of faith to jail. That sounds far more like Nazi Germany than the United States of America."
Departure from American Family Association
On July 6, 2021, Fischer stated on his Twitter page that "My Focal Point radio program has come to an end" and only referenced his personal social media pages as a way people could now "stay in touch with me." American Family Association President Tim Wildmon also announced the end of Fischer's ''Focal Point'', stating among other things, that “American Family Radio will no longer air Focal Point with Bryan Fischer" and "we want to thank Bryan and his wife Debbie for their faithful service and we wish them well in the years ahead." AFR also released a statement claiming that they would not discuss the reason for Fischer's departure, claiming “Folks, I know many of you are frustrated and miss Bryan, but AFR does not discuss internal personnel decisions. That policy leaves us at a bit of a disadvantage, because it gives people opportunity to gossip and slander."
References
External links
Biography of Bryan Fischer
at the American Family Association (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Bryan
1951 births
Living people
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century evangelicals
Activists from Mississippi
Activists from Oklahoma
American anti-abortion activists
American conspiracy theorists
American critics of Islam
American Evangelical writers
American Family Association
American male bloggers
American bloggers
American male non-fiction writers
American political commentators
American talk radio hosts
Christian fundamentalists
Critics of Mormonism
Oklahoma Republicans
HIV/AIDS denialists
Idaho Republicans
Mississippi Republicans
New Right (United States)
People from Boise, Idaho
Stanford University alumni
Tax resistance in the United States
Writers of blogs about home and family