Traditional Values Coalition
From dKosopedia
Category: Rabid Right organizations
The Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) is an extreme right-wing evengelical group founded by Rev. Lou Sheldon, which describes itself as the largest church-lobby in the United States. TVC’s mission is to “to restore America’s cultural heritage” by opposing gay and lesbian civil rights, reproductive freedom, the teaching of evolution in public schools, and sex education curricula that does not stress abstinence to the exclusion of information on birth control and disease prevention, and promotes prayer in schools.
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Overview
The TVC was founded by Rev. Louis Sheldon in 1980. His daughter Andrea Sheldon Lafferty serves as the organizations Executive Director. They claim over 43,000 churches nationwide representing 12 denominations.
The gorup produces monthly letters which are sent to pastors of member churches, along with action alerts and special letters from Founder “Lou” Sheldon, and occasionally publishes "reports" of which the objectivity and veracity are seriously in question. Lou Sheldon and Andrea Lafferty have appeared on many mainstream news programs to discuss the TVC perspective on social issues. TVC also runs television ads during political campaigns.
Activities
Most of TVC’s work is concerned with homosexuality, which it opposes by working against civil unions, supporting Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) statutes, and accusing gays and lesbians of “recruiting” children into homosexuality.
TVC is active both as a group that lobbies Congress and as a grassroots organization that gives marching orders to churches to oppose local, state, and federal legislation. It distributes information about gays and lesbians, usually referring to gays and lesbians as “sexual predators” and “pedophiles.”
It has also worked on issues relating to the dangers of pornography, including supporting the use of internet filters at public libraries. Under their “Judicial Nominee Monitoring Project” the group has lobbied for a conservative judicial system and right-wing judicial nominees/appointments.
TVC actively lobbies against hate crime legislation because according to their executive director, hate crime legislation will be “used by homosexual activists to punish any person who has the courage to speak out against the recruitment of children by homosexuals."
In 2001 TVC pressured California’s school board members to reject certain aspects of the California Assembly Bill (AB) 537, the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000, which prohibits harassment and discrimination based on actual or perceived homosexuality and gender identity. TVC not only thought AB 537 as unnecessary, but also instructed California school board members to ignore all of the recommendations because they would be “promoting” homosexuality and anti-Christian bigotry.
TVC and many other religious right groups oppose the rules that prohibit churches from directly supporting political candidates, either through endorsement or campaign contributions. TVC supports the "Bright-Line Act of 2001" (H.R. 2931), a bill that would allow churches to devote 20% of their gross revenues to lobbying and 5% of that 20% toward endorsements of political candidates. The bill has the support of Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay. (Both are Republicans from Texas.)
TVC was active in state battles over constitutional amendments outlawing civil rights protections for gays and lesbians in Colorado and Oregon. TVC has also helped organized anti-gay initiatives in California, Arizona, Missouri, and Washington.
The group was instrumental in convincing the California State Board of Education to reject a health education curriculum that touched on such subjects as homosexuality and AIDS. TVC has also worked to preserve sodomy laws in California.
TVC occasionally runs “soft ads” on televisions in elections in certain congressional districts. TVC offers a weekly e-mail service alerting constituents how their congressional representative voted on TVC issues.
TVC operates an extensive “non-partisan” voter education program. During elections, TVC distributes district specific voter guides which featured side by side profiles of the candidate's positions and/or their voting records.
Andrea Sheldon Lafferty, founder Louis Sheldon’s daughter, is a former Reagan administration official who works out of the TVC DC office as a Capitol Hill lobbyist.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "[Andrea Sheldon Lafferty’s] energy, tenacity and access to Republican leaders impress both allies and enemies. Even those with unvarnished contempt for the TVC acknowledge Andrea's ability to disarm - and even to charm." Lafferty lobbies congress on behalf of TVC.
Affiliations
- Traditional Values Education & Legal Institute, the foundation arm of TVC
- Task Force for the Preservation of the Heterosexual Ethic in America (defunct)
Funding
- Traditional Values Coalition - funding background report by MediaTransparency.org
Contact information
Traditional Values Coalition
100 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite 320
Anaheim, CA 92805
and
139 C Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Related articles
See also
External links
- Traditional Values Coalition - official site
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