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American Family Association

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The American Family Association (AFA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes Christian values. It was founded in 1977 by Rev. Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi. Wildmon serves as AFA chairman; his son, Tim Wildmon, is AFA president.[1] The organization defines itself as "a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media."[2][3]

Beliefs and goals

The AFA's mission statement is, "The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip citizens to change the culture to reflect Biblical truth."

On its website, the AFA states its belief that the Bible contains the absolute truth of God and is the authority to which all men are divinely judged. "[A] culture based on Biblical truth best serves the well-being of our country, in accordance with the vision of our founding fathers."[4]

The AFA advocates what it considers to be conservative family values and focuses on addressing the influence of media. The AFA is actively involved in multiple issues, including: the church in America, culture and society, education, entertainment industry, marriage and family, gambling, homosexual agenda, money and finance, pornography, and pro-life issues. The AFA pursues these issues through a number of activism efforts, including publications on the organization’s various web sites or in the AFA Journal; broadcasts on American Family Radio, a national network of radio stations; lobbying[5] and legal efforts by the AFA Center for Law and Policy, and boycotts.[6][7]

Activism and viewpoints

The AFA has a long history of activism by organizing its members in boycotts and letter-writing campaigns aimed at promoting socially conservative values in the United States. The AFA has promoted boycotts of Abercrombie & Fitch for "use of softcore pornography in company catalogs," Movie Gallery for being a "distributor of pornographic videos," Kmart for the "sale of adult-rated music CDs," and Nike for "promoting a back door move to legalise homosexual marriage."[8] The AFA has also promoted boycotts of all television shows, movies, and businesses that have promoted what the group considers indecency or homosexuality. The AFA has also launched specific boycotts against Procter & Gamble, Crest, Ford Motor Company[9], Volkswagen, Wal-Mart, Tide, Clorox, Pampers, Microsoft, Burger King, Carl's Jr., Kraft Foods, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Old Navy, NutriSystem, MTV, IKEA,[10] Sears,[11] S. C. Johnson & Son, and American Airlines.[12][13] AFA's boycotts have had mixed success. In 1990, Blockbuster Video decided not to stock films that carried the recently introduced NC-17 rating after pressure from the AFA. But a nine-year boycott of Disney[12] resulted in none of the group's demands being met while Disney enjoyed a surge in profits.

The AFA claims the bible identifies homosexuality as unnatural and sinful and guides the its opposition to what it claims is a "homosexual agenda".[14] The AFA's many publications and statements claim that homosexuality is a choice and that it can be changed.[15] In 2000, Vice president Tim Wildmon spoke out against gay-straight alliance clubs in schools, stating, "We view these kinds of clubs as an advancement of the homosexual cause."[16] The AFA failed in 2000 to persuade Congress to eradicate the National Endowment for the Arts for funding a controversial book, One of the Guys, by Robert Clark Young. In March of 2004, the AFA filed suit in an attempt to prevent the city of Seattle, Washington from recognizing same-sex marriages. In 2004, the AFA raised concerns about the movie Shark Tale because the group believed the movie was designed to brainwash children into accepting gay rights.[17] In 2005, it boycotted the company American Girl, seller of dolls and accessories, because of a charity that the company supported [18], and Target for its lack of the word "Christmas" in its advertising.[19] On the October 11, 2005, AFA broadcast, Tim Wildmon agreed with a caller that cable networks like Animal Planet and HGTV featured "evidence of homosexuality and lesbian people" and added that "[y]ou have to watch out for children's programs today as well because they'll slip it in there as well."[20]

On November 28, 2006, following the election of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, the AFA released an article entitled "A first for America...The Koran replaces the Bible at swearing-in oath". In this article, the AFA, backed by conservative radio hosts such as Michael Savage and Dennis Prager, made the claim that it is un-American to swear an oath on any book other than the Bible, and that such an oath is not valid. This contradicted House procedure, where members of Congress simply stand at their seats, raise their right hand and recite "I do" in unison after the oath is read by the Speaker. The AFA urged members to contact Congressmen to pass a law stipulating that all oaths for federal office must invoke the Bible. Ellison took a ceremonial oath using Thomas Jefferson's personal copy of the Koran at a photo-op after the session.[21] The AFA sent out an "action alert" to urge members to write their Congressional representatives in Congress to draft a "law making the Bible the book used in the swearing-in ceremony of representatives and senators."[22]

Following the Virginia Tech Massacre on April 16, 2007, the AFA released a video in which "God" tells a student that students were killed in schools because God isn't allowed in schools anymore. The video claims that the shootings at Virginia Tech, Columbine, and many other locations, are the result of, among other things, decreased discipline in schools; no prayer in schools; sex out of wedlock; rampant violence in TV, movies, and music, and abortions.[23]

On July 13 2007, the first Hindu prayers were conducted in the U.S. Senate. Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple, read the prayer at the invitation of Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who defended his invitation based on his ideal of Ghandi, a Hindu, as a peacemaker. AFA had urged its members to e-mail, write letters, or call their Senators to oppose the Hindu prayer, stating it is "seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god." [24][25]

Criticism and controversy

In 1998, the popular Internet filtering software CyberPatrol blocked the AFA's web site, classifying it under the category "intolerance," defined as "pictures or text advocating prejudice or discrimination against any race, color, national origin, religion, disability or handicap, gender or sexual orientation..." AFA spokesman Steve Ensley told reporters, "Basically we're being blocked for free speech." CyberPatrol cited quotes from the AFA for meeting its intolerance criteria, with included: "Indifference or neutrality toward the homosexual rights movement will result in society's destruction by allowing civil order to be redefined and by plummeting ourselves, our children, and grandchildren into an age of godlessness"; "A national 'Coming Out of Homosexuality' provides us a means whereby to dispel the lies of the homosexual rights crowd who say they are born that way and cannot change"; "We want to outlaw public homosexuality...We believe homosexuality is immoral and leads ultimately to personal and social decay."[26][27]

Southern Poverty Law Center has stated one of AFA's goals is to "help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade."[28] Organizations, such as Human Rights Campaign,[29] GLAAD,[5] Southern Voice,[30] People for the American Way,[31] The Advocate,[32][33] CNET,[26] and 365 gay[11] have labeled the AFA as an "anti-gay" group.

On October 19 1998, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, led by Leslie Katz, wrote a letter to the AFA in response to an advertisement placed in the San Francisco Chronicle by the AFA regarding homosexuality and Christianity. The letter stated:[34]

Supervisor Leslie Katz denounces your rhetoric against gays, lesbians and transgendered people. What happened to Matthew Shepard is in part due to the message being espoused by your groups that gays and lesbians are not worthy of the most basic equal rights and treatment. It is not an exaggeration to say that there is a direct correlation between these acts of discrimination, such as when gays and lesbians are called sinful and when major religious organizations say they can change if they tried, and the horrible crimes committed against gays and lesbian.

During the same time, the City and County of San Francisco passed resolution No. 873-98, which “calls for the Religious Right to take accountability for the impact of their long-standing rhetoric denouncing gays and lesbians, which leads to a climate of mistrust and discrimination that can open the door to horrible crimes such as those committed against Mr. Gaither.[35]” AFA challenged these actions as violating the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in American Family Association v. City and County of San Francisco; however, AFA was unsuccessful and their claims were dismissed.[34]

Divisions and operations

  • AFA.net, the primary web site of the American Family Association. Contains links to other AFA divisions, projects, news archives, etc. The main page also contains links to news stories from OneNewsNow.
  • AFA Foundation, a web site providing “charitable giving and estate design tools” oriented towards Christian charities.
  • AFA Journal, a monthly publication with a circulation of 180,000[36] containing news, features, columns, and interviews. In addition to the publication, AFA Journal articles are made available online.
  • American Family Radio (AFR), a network of approximately 200 AFA-owned radio stations broadcasting Christian-oriented programming. AFR has stated "AFR has built more stations in a shorter time than any other broadcaster in the history of broadcasting."[37]
  • Center for Law and Policy, the legal and political division of AFA. The Center for Law and Policy lobbies legislative bodies, drafts legislation, and files religious-discrimination lawsuits on behalf of individuals.
  • OneNewsNow.com, the AFA news division web site, which provides news articles, AP stories, and opinion columns. Formerly AgapePress and the news division of American Family Radio.[38]

References

  1. ^ "About us: General Information". American Family Association. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  2. ^ "The Religious Right in Washington". ACLU. 1995-06-01. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "afaMEDIA, About AFA". American Family Association. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  4. ^ http://www.afa.net/mission.asp AFA General Information
  5. ^ a b Romine, Damon (2006-01-03). "Anti-Gay Groups Target NBC's The Book of Daniel". GLAAD. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ http://www.afa.net/issues/ AFA Issues
  7. ^ http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/home/ AFA Activism
  8. ^ Thomas, Ed (2005-06-19). "Family Advocate Condemns Nike's Support for Oregon Civil Unions". Agape Press (American Family Assoication. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Boycott continues to drive Ford sales down". Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  10. ^ "IKEA - Commerical Tries to Rewrite American Values". OneMillionDads.com (American Family Association). {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b "Anti-Gay AFA Now Targets Sears". 365gay. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ a b Johnson, Alex (2005-06-06). "Christian group suspends Ford boycott". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Elliott, Stuart (1994-05-29). "Ikea Ads Feature Gay Customers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Homosexual Agenda, Principles Which Guide AFA's Opposition to the Homosexual Agenda". American Family Association. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  15. ^ Home, Richard G. (1994). "Homosexuality in America, Exposing the Myths" (PDF). American Family Assocation. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  16. ^ "Gay-Straight Alliances: Ground Zero for School Tolerance". www.educationworld.com. 2000-12-19. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Vitagliano, Ed (2004-11-17). "Something's Swishy About Shark Tale". Agape Press (American Family Association). Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "American Girl teams with pro-abortion, pro-lesbian group". American Family Association (via Internet Archive).
  19. ^ "Ford, where backing down to nutcases is Job One". The Carpetbagger Report. 2005-12-06. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Today's Issues, Media Matters for America website
  21. ^ Argetsinger, Amy (2007-01-03). "But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-01-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Sacirbey, Omar (2006-12-26). "Ellison not first to forgo Bible for oath". The Christian Century. Retrieved 2007-06-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools". American Family Radio (American Family Association). Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Babington, Charles (2007-06-12). "Hindu Prayer in Senate Disrupted". Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |pubulisher= ignored (help)
  25. ^ "ActionAlert: Hindu to open Senate with prayer". American Family Association.
  26. ^ a b Festa, Paul (1998-06-03). "Antigay group blocked by filter". CNET. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Censorship in a Box, Why Blocking Software is Wrong for Public Libraries". American Civil Liberties Union. 2002-09-16. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Hall, Randy (2005-06-30). "Christian 'Hate Groups' Accused of 'Anti-Gay Crusade'". Cybercast News Service. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ "American Family Association' Attacks Ford's Family-Friendly Policies After Failed Disney Boycott". Human Rights Campaign. 2005-06-01. Retrieved 2007-06-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Bagby, Dyana (2005-06-03). "Efforts of 'anti-gay industry' chronicled in new report". Southern Voice. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Anti-Gay Group Attacks Commemoration of End of Bans on Interracial Marriage". People for the American Way. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Han, Angie (2005-08-16). "Procter won't gamble on gays?". The Advocate (published on LookSmart Find Articles). Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ Henneman, Todd (2006-01-31). "The Right tries to steer Ford: the antigay American Family Association nearly changed the course of Ford Motor Co.'s commitment to equality. The feud with the country's number 2 automaker is not finished". The Advocate (published on LookSmart Find Articles). Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ a b "AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC.; DONALD WILDMON; KERUSSO MINISTRIES; FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL V. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO; LESLIE KATZ, in her capacity as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  35. ^ On February 19 1999, in Coosa County, Alabama, Billy Jack Gaither was beaten to death with an axe handle and his body was burned beacuse he was homosexual.
  36. ^ "Right Wing Organization: American Family Association". People for the American Way. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  37. ^ "Still Cranky After All These Years". Media Transparency. 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "News Operations Merge to Create OneNewsNow.com". American Family Assoication. 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

External links

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