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[[Category:Political organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Political organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:LGBT rights opposition]]
[[Category:Hate groups]]


[[de:Family Research Council]]
[[de:Family Research Council]]

Revision as of 20:36, 5 May 2010

File:Family Research Council Logo.jpg
Logo of the Family Research Council.

The Family Research Council (FRC) is a conservative, Christian right group and lobbying organization. It was formed in the United States by James Dobson in 1981 and incorporated in 1983. The group was designed to be a lobbying force for conservative legislation on Capitol Hill. In the late 1980s, the group officially became a division of Dobson's main organization, Focus on the Family, but after an administrative separation, FRC officially became an independent entity in 1992. Its function is to promote what it considers to be traditional family values. It contains a 501(c)(4) PAC known as FRC Action. Tony Perkins is the current president.

The FRC promotes socially conservative views on many issues, including divorce, homosexuality, and abortion.

History

"The idea of the Family Research Council originated at the 1980 White House Conference on Families. Among the conferees, James Dobson stood out because of his rare combination of Christian social values and academic and professional credentials. A practicing clinical psychologist and noted author, Dobson had recently transitioned into radio broadcasting and also launched a nonprofit, family service organization. He felt that the time was ripe to establish an organization that would drive the national debate on family issues. In 1983, the Family Research Council incorporated as a nonprofit educational institution in the District of Columbia; its founding board included Dobson and two psychiatrists, Armand Nicholi, Jr. of Harvard University and George Rekers of the University of South Carolina," it states.

"Under the leadership of Jerry Regier, a former Reagan Administration official at the Department of Health and Human Services, FRC began to link policy makers with researchers and professionals from a variety of disciplines. Gary Bauer, a domestic policy advisor to President Ronald Reagan, succeeded Regier in 1988 and by the mid-1990s the organization had grown into a $10 million operation with a nationwide network of support..."[1]

The FRC is associated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family and William J. Bennett.

Edgar Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation, helped Gary Bauer start the Family Research Council.[2]

Mission statement

"Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulates public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society."[3][4]

Issues

  • Human Sexuality
    • Abstinence and Sexual Health
    • Homosexuality
  • Human Life & Bioethics
    • Abortion
    • Euthanasia and End of Life Issues
    • Stem cells and Biotechnology
    • Conscience Protection
    • Women’s Health
  • Marriage & Family
    • Family Structure
    • Family Economics
    • Parental Rights
  • Religion and Society
    • Religious Liberty
    • Religion in Public Life
    • Research on Religion
  • Media
    • Pornography
    • Broadcast and Cable Decency
  • The Courts
  • And Other Issues[5]

Politics and policies

The Family Research Council supports the following policies:

  • The outlawing of homosexual behavior and an enforcement of "criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior". [6]
  • An increase in abstinence-only sex education.
  • Wide availability of a vaccine for human papilloma virus (HPV), a virus that causes cervical cancer, but the only public policy measure which they would oppose in promoting the vaccine is an effort to make it mandatory for school attendance. Their reason for that is that it would infringe upon parental rights to decide their own children's medical care, without sufficient public health justification (because HPV is not transmitted through casual contact).[7]
  • Intelligent design and the movement's "Teach the Controversy" campaign.
  • Tighter regulation of pornography, especially internet pornography and pornography on broadcast-TV. Actively opposed the introduction of a .xxx domain name, and lobbied for an increase in indecency fines from the Federal Communications Commission. Believes hotel pornography should be prosecuted.[8]
  • Preclusion of (in order to overturn) all legislative, executive, or judicial action at any level of state or local government designed to protect the status of persons based on their 'homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships.'[9][10]
  • Lower taxes and limited government.
  • Military action against radical Islamic terrorists and other terrorists.
  • Simplifying the tax code, increasing the child tax credit, and permanently eliminating the marriage penalty and estate taxes.

It opposes:

  • Legal abortion.
  • Research which involves the use of human embryos, instead advocating research using adult stem cells.
  • Legal recognition of same-sex domestic partnerships (in the form of either marriage or civil unions).
  • Population control measures.
  • The idea that humans are responsible for global warming.[11]
  • All forms of gambling because it believes it negatively affects one's family, personal, and professional life.[12] This position has created some controversy within the Christian community, as gambling is not prohibited in the Bible. This schism is evidenced by the fact that many churches hold gambling contests, especially bingo, to raise funds. Focus’ insistence on this position, as a result, has been interpreted as “extra-Biblical doctrine” that was created by some within the Christian Right who are personally opposed to gambling.

Publishing and lobbying activities

  • FRC mailed copies of over 425 different information products, including books, research reports, speech and radio transcripts, booklets and brochures, and audio and video tapes.
  • Information requests were filled for over 20,000 recipients based on telephone and mail contacts of over 15,000 each month. A total of over 105,000 educational items were shipped.
  • FRC’s regular informational newsletter, Washington Watch, reached an average of 42,000 recipients.
  • FRC’s radio show, Washington Weekly, is being aired on two major radio networks. And the FRC Daily Radio Commentary is carried on approximately 300 radio stations nationwide.
  • FRC served as a resource for the United States Congress, handling dozens of requests for data, research, and analysis of family policy issues; developed and distributed action alerts for cata-lyst recipients; and responded to executive branch activity affecting the family. Particular focus included measures for strengthening the institution of marriage, tax relief for families, pornography on the internet, religious liberty issues, education policy, sanctity of human life issues, family structure, and human rights.
  • The FRC staff developed policy papers, legal briefs, and regular publications on a wide variety of family issues, which include booklets, perspective papers, pamphlets, insight papers, lecture summaries, “From the Podium” papers, and InFocus papers.
  • FRC was responsible for the production and distribution of an annual version of Family Policy Review, and updated version of Family Portrait outlining key family statistics; Getting it Straight and Outrage, publications filled with statistical information regarding the homosexual community, and undertook mailings of public policy memoranda and fact sheets to over 1,200 key policy makers.
  • FRC distributed specialized publications in several areas including: Culture Facts, a monthly newsletter sent to over 3,800 recipients on key cultural indicators, press release list that relates approximately 9,000 media specialists, and catalyst constituent alerts to over 100,000 recipients.[13]

In their report Funding the Culture Wars, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy[14] lists the Family Research Council as one of the leading organizations funding the activities of the conservative movement. As a non-profit organization, FRC is completely dependent on donations from supporters.

The FRC publishes frequent e-mail updates, usually in the form of short articles, and can also be viewed on their website. These articles typically take the form of advocacy for a conservative Christian perspective on current political and social issues.

Values Voter Summit

Every fall, FRC Action (the political arm of FRC) holds an annual summit composed of hundreds of conservative Christian activists and evangelical voters in Washington, D.C. In the past, the summit has been a place for social conservatives across the nation to hear Republican presidential hopefuls' platforms, and also a means of providing an early prediction of which candidate will win the endorsement of Christian conservatives.[15] Featured guests at previous summits include Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Mike Huckabee[16], George Allen, Tony Snow, Bill Bennett, Stephen Baldwin, and many others. Co-sponsors of the event included other political action arms of major Christian Right groups: Focus on the Family Action (Dr. James Dobson), Americans United to Preserve Marriage (Gary Bauer), and American Family Association Action (Donald Wildmon).[17]

Hate group listing

The Southern Poverty Law Center has described the Family Research Council as an anti-gay hate group. [18]

Personnel

Sister organizations

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ http://www.frc.org/historymission
  2. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/472/000130082/
  3. ^ Family Research Council Mission Statement Page
  4. ^ http://www.ministrywatch.com/profile/Family-Research-Council.aspx
  5. ^ http://www.frc.org/issues
  6. ^ http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/02/02/family-research-councils-peter-sprigg-lawrence-v-texas-was-wrongly-decided/
  7. ^ http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LH07B02
  8. ^ Brynaert, Ron (2006). "Coalition of conservative groups believe hotel porn may be prosecutable". www.rawstory.com.
  9. ^ "Petition Exposes Family Research Council's Support for Antigay Violence". Truthwinsout.org. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  10. ^ "Don't Keep Don't Ask Don't Tell?". Hardball with Chris Matthews. Retrieved 2010-03-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |airdate= ignored (help)
  11. ^ "One-Size Politics Doesn't Fit All". Christianity Today. April 27, 2007. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/may/10.22.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  12. ^ May 6, 2003, Moral Crusader Says He Will Gamble No More, New York Times
  13. ^ from http://www.ministrywatch.com/profile/Family-Research-Council.aspx
  14. ^ http://www.ncrp.org/
  15. ^ Michelle Vu, "Presidential Hopefuls Highlight 'Values' to Christian Conservatives," "The Christian Post," October 20, 2007 http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071020/29775_Presidential_Hopefuls_Highlight_'Values'_to_Christian_Conservatives.htm
  16. ^ American Thinker Blog: Romney, Huckabee Top Straw Poll at Value Voters Summit http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/10/romney_huckabee_top_straw_poll.html
  17. ^ http://www.valuesvotersummit.org
  18. ^ http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2005/spring/a-mighty-army?page=0,2#8
  19. ^ Stossel, John (2008-07-15). "Sex Sells, but at What Cost?". ABC News (ABCNews Internet Ventures). http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5370536. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
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