American Family Association Voices Support for Duggar Family

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of '19 Kids and Counting' share a passionate kiss on their social media page. | (Photo: Instagram/Jessa Seewald)

The American Family Association has voiced its support for the Duggar family and their reality show, "19 Kids and Counting," following a petition calling for the show's cancellation.

A petition was started on Change.org earlier this month calling on the Learning Channel to cancel the show, which features the lives of the highly religious Duggar couple and their 19 children. The petition, which has gained over 100,000 signatures, argues that the Duggar family practices "fear mongering" against the LGBT community, allegedly for deleting a photo of a same-sex couple kissing from their Facebook page.

The petition also takes issue with a robocall Michelle Duggar participated in earlier this year that opposed an ordinance that would allow transgender people to use whichever restroom they choose.

According to One News Now, Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the American Family Association, described the recent petition as a "malicious attack" against the Duggar family and their evangelical beliefs.

"But in reality this isn't a message about the homosexual activists trying to silence a Christian family," Sharp told the media outlet. "This is a homosexual activist group that's trying to silence the Word of God."

The Duggar family has not officially responded to the petition currently circulating the internet. A pro-Duggar petition has also received thousands of signatures, calling on the Learning Channel to keep the well-known and wholesome reality show.

The pro-life website LifeSiteNews has also launched a petition with the hashtag #DefendtheDuggars to support the evangelical reality show family.