Traditional Values Coalition

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The Traditional Values Coalition is a Christian Right organization that claims to represent 43,000 conservative Christian churches throughout the United States of America. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the group's website proclaims its belief in Bible-based traditional values as "[a] moral code and behavior based upon the Old and New Testaments." The group considers traditional values to include a belief "that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that the Lord has given us a rule book to live by: The Bible" and a commitment to "living, as far as it is possible, by the moral precepts taught by Jesus Christ and by the whole counsel of God as revealed in the Bible."

The organization was founded by Rev. Louis P. Sheldon who is the current chairman. Mrs. Andrea Sheldon Lafferty is the executive director.

Contents

[edit] Traditional Values Defined

The group's beliefs can be categorized under the topics of:

1) Right to Life (supporting the unborn and the elderly with opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and family planning)

2) Deviant Sexual Behaviors (crimialization of pornography, opposition to all sexuality outside of monogamous Christian marriage)

3) Patriotism, Loyalty to Country, and Political Involvement (supporting the Armed Forces and law enforcement, political participation, free enterprise, limited government, low taxes, and personal responsibility)

4) Culture (promoting a preferred status for Christianity and the English language)

5) Addictive Behaviors (with opposition to gambling and video games, the legalization of addictive drugs, alcohol, smoking)

6) Evil (defense against all evil things through intolerance and discrimination where necessary, promoting the death penalty)

7) Love and Hate (it is a loving response to oppose behaviors that destroy individuals and families). They have condemned such organizations as GLSEN and Planned Parenthood, and they support the teaching of creationism. They have worked against Sen. Arlen Specter's top position on the Judiciary Committee in Bush's 2nd term and protested the release of Kinsey the movie.

8) Secularism and science (advocating that judicial rulings must follow Biblical teaching above the US Constitution, opposing the teaching of evolution and scientific inquiry in schools)

[edit] Views on homosexuality

The TVC is especially opposed to homosexuality and the LGBT rights movement. Some of their views most often noted and criticized by LGBT rights groups:

  • Homosexuals "recruit" children.
  • Homosexuality has been linked to pedophilia, bestiality and sexual predators.
  • Homosexual activity must be punishable by execution as directed by the Bible (Leviticus 20:13).
  • Homosexuals were born without souls and can be killed for any reason.
  • "Cities of refuge" are needed to keep AIDS patients from infecting the general population.

[edit] Perceived enemies

Headlines in materials from the organization are often sensationalized. For instance, one headline from the group's site called homosexuals "brownshirts". In a 2005 posting on the TVC website, Sheldon wrote:

A dangerous Marxist/Leftist/Homosexual/Islamic coalition has formed – and we’d better be willing to fight it with everything in our power. These people are playing for keeps. Their hero, Mao Tse Tung is estimated to have murdered upwards of 60 million people during his reign of terror in China. Do we think we can escape such persecution if we refuse to fight for what is right?[1]

(It should be noted that, from the referenced link, the quote refers to an advertisement run in the New York Times. The ad was placed by a group called the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Thus the Marxist/Leftist component of the quote. Other signatories included ACT UP (New York City) and Queers for Economic Justice, thus the homosexual reference. And finally, the Islamic Circle of America and Imam Tabib Abdur-Rashid of the Islamic Brotherhood mosque in New York signed it -- thus the Islamic reference. Therefore, from context, one can see the correlation; whether one might call that a "coalition" is questionable but it is useful to see the quote in the context of the original article.)

Those mentioned in the article, including California State Senator Carole Migden and California State Assemblyman Mark Leno, objected to having their efforts to outlaw anti-gay discrimination and legalize same-sex marriage compared to the genocide of millions of human beings.

[edit] Views on discrimination

The TVC believes in what they call a positive view of discrimination, a discerning between good and bad choices. They appear willing to grant freedom to pursue what they call destructive behaviors, yet they are unwilling to tolerate these behaviors as the norm in society.[2] A video on the group's website—Gay Rights, Special Rights—is available.

The TVC also opposes hate crime legistation, fearing that it will force Christians to either stop criticizing homosexuals or be arrested.

[edit] NPR-Anthrax-controversy

In 2002, after a series of anthrax attacks were sent to several Democratic Senators' offices in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., National Public Radio reporter David Kestenbaum telephoned TVC executive director Andrea Sheldon Lafferty to ask if the group had been contacted by the FBI. Kestenbaum reportedly told Lafferty that TVC's criticism of Democratic U.S. Senators for opposing the use of the phrase "so help me God" in oaths sworn before Congress made 'TVC a likely suspect in the anthrax attacks.

Lafferty was indignant that disagreement on a policy issues was seen by an NPR reporter as a likely indicator of criminal behavior. TVC issued a press release condemning NPR and Lafferty later testified before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, calling for Congress to end government funding of NPR.[1]

[edit] Religion

The TVC has issued statements attacking Congressional Representatives Pete Stark (a California Unitarian) and Keith Ellison (a Michigan Muslim) for their non-Christian religious beliefs.

[edit] Criticisms

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has added TVC to its list of watched hate groups.

[edit] Coalition Members

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ The War on Christianity from TVC website
  2. ^ http://www.traditionalvalues.org/defined.php
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