Concerned Women for America
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Concerned Women for America is a conservative Christian group that is active in politics in the United States. The group was founded in 1979 by Beverly LaHaye. Concerned Women for America says of itself:
- "We are the nation's largest public policy women's organization with a rich 28-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy."[1]
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[edit] Intentions
The group is staunchly anti-gay and strongly opposed to:
- all GLBT people and all GLBT rights
- same-sex marriage
- abortion
- hate crime legislation
- comprehensive sex education
- pornography
- stem cell research
- emergency contraception, even in the case of rape
The group advocates:
- the elimination of homosexuality from society
- the belief that homosexuals are sick and need to be cured
- mandated prayer in public schools
- the mandated teaching of intelligent design in public schools
- preaching only abstinence until marriage education
[edit] Core issues
It attempts to advance its views on six "core issues":[2]
- Family - "CWA believes that marriage consists of one man and one woman. We seek to protect and support the Biblical design of marriage and the gift of children."
- Sanctity of Human Life - "CWA supports the protection of all innocent human life from conception until natural death. This includes the consequences resulting from abortion."
- Education - "CWA supports reform of public education by returning authority to parents."
- Pornography - "CWA endeavors to fight all pornography and obscenity."
- Religious Liberty - "CWA supports the God-given rights of individuals in the United States and other nations to pray, worship and express their beliefs without fear of discrimination or persecution."
- National Sovereignty - "CWA believes that neither the United Nations nor any other international organization should have authority over the United States in any area. We also believe the United States has the right and duty to protect and secure our national borders."
[edit] Mission statement
Its mission statement is: "The mission of CWA is to protect and promote Biblical values among all citizens - first through prayer, then education, and finally by influencing our society - thereby reversing the decline in moral values in our nation."
The CWA Statement of Faith is as follows:
- We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God and the final authority on faith and practice.
- We believe Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, rose bodily from the dead on the third day and ascended into Heaven from where He will come again to receive all believers unto Himself.
- We believe all men are fallen creations of Adam's race and in need of salvation by grace through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We believe it is our duty to serve God to the best of our ability and to pray for a moral and spiritual revival that will return this nation to the traditional values upon which it was founded.
[edit] Controversy and criticism
[edit] Opposition to mandating cervical cancer vaccination
CWA is heavily active in opposing mandating vaccination against HPV, the virus which can lead to cervical cancer, since Gardasil, the vaccine, was released. Instead, CWA is suggesting that because there are questions about the long term effect of the vaccine, parents, not the government should be making this decision. The Center for Disease Control has withdrawn their call for mandating the HPV vaccine, as has Merck, who recently ceased lobbying efforts in state legislatures. CWA does not object to the vaccine itself, but is objecting to any mandate. It is true, however that CWA points out that this virus is only contracted through intimate sexaul contact. CWA does advocate abstinence before marriage as the best way to fight contracting viruses like HPV. However, it is still very possible that a woman could be abstinent until marriage and still contract this disease through the past sexual contact of her husband. It is for this reason, CWA does not object to the vaccine, but instead advocates it being made available.
[edit] Homosexuality
- See also: Christian views on homosexuality
CWA is anti-homosexual, suggesting that homosexuality is against the Christian idea of God's wishes. CWA has been a leading opponent of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment. Recent initiatives sponsored by CWA have placed increased emphasis on preventing discussions and programs geared towards LGBT teenagers, as well as opposing protections from bullying for sexual minority youth. They support their position by claiming that homosexuals do not "suffer from a history of discrimination," and therefore should not qualify for protection as a minority group.
[edit] Abstinence-only sex education
Critics claim that the strong abstinence-only stances taken up by CWA based upon Christian principles have not been more effective that those of secular democracies of Western Europe in terms of preventing unwise teenage sexual activity and sexually transmitted diseases among teenage segments of the population.[3]
[edit] Hotel pornography
On August 22, 2006 CWA announced they "strongly believe" hotel porn is prosecutable, and have issued an "urgent appeal" to the Department of Justice to "immediately investigate" two leading in-room adult movie distributors.[1]
In a joint effort with thirteen other groups, it released an ad "DOJ and FBI should immediately investigate whether 'adult' videos being sold in hotels by OnCommand and LodgeNet violate long-established Federal and State laws regarding distribution of obscene material." The ad continues, "Adult hardcore pornography can tragically lead to sex crimes against women and children," the ad states. "Yet sex videos are available in millions of U.S. hotel rooms which we strongly believe are prosecutable."[4]
[edit] Use of automatic dialers for telemarketing
As of late 2006, the CWA has been executing a telemarketing campaign using automatic dialers that frequently hang up after the phone is answered. Calls are generally made to a given number once a day in an attempt to determine what time of day the residents are home. As a non-profit organization, they are not required to abide by the national Do Not Call list maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. However, they are required to cease any further calls upon request. Their use of non-answering autodialers can make the creation of such a request difficult. Even after a request is made, the CWA will continue to call for up to 30 days, claiming that they cannot immediately remove a number from their calling lists. Calls are made from at least two different numbers, 702-835-0051[5] and 202-552-1966[6]. To make this request, you can call either number. If the automated service answers, it will offer more information by pressing "one." After stating the vision and purpose of the group, they give an option to not receive any more calls. Upon selecting this option, you will be able to enter the number you wish to have removed from their calling list. Interestingly, the CWA has posted an article[7] on its website praising the creation of the FTC's Do Not Call list.
[edit] Principals
- Beverly LaHaye, Founder and Chairwoman, wife of best-selling author Tim LaHaye[8]
- Wendy Wright, President, a frequent guest on national and international media discussing moral, social and political issues[9]
- Lee LaHaye, Chief Financial Officer
