Anti-Gay Group Loses Tax Exemption Status

By aaroncynic in News on Aug 2, 2011 6:50PM

Peter La Barbera of Americans for the Truth about Homosexuality, left, and "Cao." (Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist)

The Naperville-based Americans For The Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), a “national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda” has lost its tax-exempt status.

Huffington Post Chicago reports the organization, officially designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, had the status revoked for failing to file tax forms with Illinois for three years. This time last year, the group hosted an event in Carol Stream called the “Truth Academy,” intended to “train pro-family advocates how to counter so-called ‘homosexual’ misinformation.”

Ex-Gay Watch reports AFTAH only had one 990-EZ form on file for the year 2009, which lists receipts totaling $110,000, $75,000 of which went to President Peter LaBarbera. The revocation went into effect on June 10 and there is no appeal process. A statement on the ATAH website reads "is working to comply fully with IRS regulations, whether we end up as a 501(c)3, c-4, or LLC. As always, we will endeavor to report information on the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) movement that is ignored by the liberal, pro-homosexuality “mainstream” media."