During a Sunday debate on same-sex marriage on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” host Bob Schieffer introduced Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, as the leader of an “anti-gay hate group.”

“You and your group have been so strong in coming out against this, and against gay marriage, that the Southern Poverty Law Center has branded the Family Research Council an anti-gay hate group,” Schieffer told Perkins. “We have been inundated by people who say we should not even let you appear because they, in their view, quote, ‘You don’t speak for Christians.’ Do you think you have taken this too far?”

Perkins said he has not taken his opposition to gay marriage too far.

“The court is not going to settle this issue. In fact, I think it does a disservice to both sides if the court weighs in on public policy like this,” he said. “The courts are decided to interpret the constitution and the constitutionality of laws, not create public policy. When they do that they create division and they erect barriers to reaching consensus on — on public policy like this.”

Schieffer then asked Perkins about his previous comments that “if the court rules in favor of gay marriage it would be open season on people of faith.”

“I mean, how can you say that?” Schieffer asked.

Perkins said that it’s not just about marriage, but “about fundamentally altering the culture.”

After Schieffer mentioned that polls show that a majority of Americans support gay marriage, Perkins dismissed that statistic.

“The nation really is evenly divided,” Perkins said.

Watch the clip via CBS:

H/t Raw Story