GOP gubernatorial candidate attacks anti-domestic violence grant for LGBT individuals

A federal grant to a Huntsville organization addressing bullying and domestic violence among LGBTQ individuals became an issue in the Republican race for governor Tuesday.

In a statement and news conferences around the state, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Dawson accused incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) of using taxpayer dollars for “the promotion and normalization of gay and transgender lifestyles among Alabama children.”

The money in question was a federal grant to the Huntsville-based Free2Be, aimed at combating bullying and domestic violence among LGBT individuals. Ivey's office said Tuesday that under federal rules, funds received under the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) must go to groups serving underserved populations, including the LGBTQ community.

Free2Be’s website says it provides counseling, support groups, advocacy and professional training to address bullying, domestic violence and sexual assault among the LGBT community. A 2010 Centers for Disease Control report found that lesbian and bisexual individuals experienced higher rates of domestic violence and sexual assault than heterosexual individuals. A 2015 CDC survey found 29 percent of gay, lesbian or bisexual youths attempted suicide in the previous year, compared to 6 percent of heterosexual youths.

The first grant was awarded in 2014, under the administration of then-Gov. Robert Bentley. According to documents provided by the Dawson campaign, the group has received at least $727,000 in federal funds.

The grant lists Free2Be as a “Crime Victim Assistance Program.” Free2Be has shut its doors. Ivey’s office said Tuesday the organization is being audited amid an investigation of a debt owed to the IRS. Attempts to reach Free2Be on Tuesday afternoon or its representatives Tuesday were unsuccessful.

"Free2Be has worked to provide valuable mental health resources to the entire state of Alabama, reaching an underserved population that may not have had other ways to receive this care," Eva Kendrick, director of the Human Right Campaign Alabama, an LGBTQ rights group, said in a statement Tuesday. "It’s unfortunate that the impact of this work in the lives of everyday Alabamians is lost in these political games.”

Ivey’s office Tuesday distanced the governor from Free2Be, saying its views and the grant itself “do not represent Governor Ivey’s personal views.”

In his statement, Dawson accused Ivey of a “wholesale betrayal of conservative Alabama taxpayers.”

“The information revealed to voters today epitomizes everything that’s wrong with Montgomery politics,” Dawson said in a statement. “Conservative values have been betrayed in secret with almost one million dollars coming from the pockets of hard-working Alabamians.”

Ivey’s office said ADECA last year administered federal grants totaling $168.6 million, and said Free2Be had complied with federal requirements to provide matching funds for grants.

“Any suggestion that the Free2Be grant is an expense of state dollars which could have been used for any other purpose is simply wrong, and illustrates a lack of understanding of federal grant processes,” the statement said. “Compliance with federal regulations is required to ensure that Alabama continues to receive federal grant dollars.”

State primaries for the Democratic and Republican parties will take place June 5. Ivey; Dawson; Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle; and Sen. Bill Hightower, R-Mobile, are seeking the GOP nomination for governor.