Daniel
Herbster reporting
Citizens for Community Values of
Indiana is one of the many great organizations in our nation fighting to
protect family values and to oppose pornography and sexually oriented
businesses. I had the opportunity to
interview Patrick Mangan, the Executive Director of CCV of IN, about his work
enabling people to take back their communities.
DH: Patrick, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and your
organization better over the last few months, so it’s a pleasure to introduce
you to our readers here at AdvanceUSA Blog.
I’ve seen first-hand how your work affects the state of Indiana and
especially my home town of South Bend.
Tell our readers what kinds of issues Citizens for Community Values
works on?
PM: Well our mission is to protect men, women, and
children from the misinformation of sexual activists, and the harms of sexual
addictions, sexual predators, sexually oriented businesses, materials harmful
to minors, broadcast indecency, and the porn/sex industry in all of its forms,
by promoting the principles of the Judeo/Christian ethic which is the
foundation of our nation.
Our vision is to empower concerned citizens and
community leaders to significantly reduce sexual exploitation, promiscuity, and
abuse in Indiana and beyond by:
- Increasing
public awareness of the harmful effects of pornography-inspired sexual
promiscuity, addiction, and abuse particularly in the lives of children.
- Supporting the
enactment, defense, and enforcement, within the Constitution, of
limitations on the porn/sex industry in all its forms.
- Lovingly
opposing the legitimacy of all extramarital sexual relationships.
- Faithfully
supporting the traditional family based on the premise that marriage
equals one man and one woman.
- Offering
assistance to people suffering from the results of sexual addiction,
sexual confusion, promiscuity, and sexual abuse.
DH: What have been some of your greatest
achievements as an organization over the years?
PM: We
have been successful in Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois, at placing
constitutionally valid public health and safety restrictions on the porn/sex
industry. The Mishawaka Adult Business
Ordinance was upheld in Federal Court and before the 7th Circuit
Court of Appeals and has become a model for hundreds of communities across
America. Eventually the porn attorneys
abandoned their challenge to the US Supreme Court expecting the same outcome as
in the lower courts. The adult business
which challenged the ordinance later paid a fine of $25,000 for violating the
ordinance. This has been a key strategy
to closing or discouraging the opening of dozens of strip bars, massage
parlors, and escort services in the region.
A complete list of our community victories can be found at www.ccvindiana.com.
We have also been successful at “lovingly opposing the
homosexual agenda” in the region and engaging activists at the University of
Notre Dame. We have stopped special
rights ordinances twice in South Bend.
See www.nospecialrights.com
to see the full dimension of our CCV NoSpecialRights.net Task Force efforts.
DH: Conservatives across the nation were excited
to see all three state marriage amendments that were up for votes pass in
2008. Why is it so important to protect
the traditional definition of marriage via legislation and state constitutional
amendments?
PM: Marriage
between one man and one woman is the fundamental building block of
civilization. It certainly is the
cornerstone of Western civilization and the United States of America. Leading scholars from respected Universities
across the country offered this explanation in what has been dubbed the
Princeton Principles at www.princetonprinciples.com:
The purpose of this document is to make a substantial
new contribution to the public debate over marriage. Too often, the rational case for marriage is
not made at all or not made very well.
As scholars, we are persuaded that the case for marriage can be made and
won at the level of reason. Marriage
protects children, men, and women and the common good. The health of marriage is particularly
important in a free society, which depends upon citizens to govern their
private lives and rear their children responsibly, so as to limit the scope,
size, and power of the state. The
nation’s retreat from marriage has been particularly consequential for our
society’s most vulnerable communities: minorities and the poor pay a
disproportionately heavy price when marriage declines in their
communities. Marriage also offers men
and women as spouses a good they can have in no other way: a mutual and
complete giving of the self. Thus,
marriage understood as the enduring union of husband and wife is both a good in
itself and also advances the public interest.
Ten Principles on Marriage and the Public Good
- Marriage is a
personal union, intended for the whole of life, of husband and wife.
- Marriage is a
profound human good, elevating and perfecting our social and sexual
nature.
- Ordinarily,
both men and women who marry are better off as a result.
- Marriage
protects and promotes the wellbeing of children.
- Marriage
sustains civil society and promotes the common good.
- Marriage is a
wealth-creating institution, increasing human and social capital.
- When marriage
weakens, the equality gap widens, as children suffer from the
disadvantages of growing up in homes without committed mothers and
fathers.
- A functioning
marriage culture serves to protect political liberty and foster limited
government.
- The laws that
govern marriage matter significantly.
- “Civil
marriage” and “religious marriage” cannot be rigidly or completely
divorced from one another.
DH: Is it true that Indiana could have been a
fourth state to have a marriage amendment on its 2008 ballot? Why did this not happen?
PM: Yes. At
the urging of citizens, pro-family leaders, business leaders, scholars, and
faith leaders, a bipartisan majority of elected Representatives in Indiana have
repeatedly passed an Amendment to protect the definition of marriage, but have
been thwarted from finally bringing it to the ballot for voter ratification,
because Indiana Speaker of the House Pat Bauer (D) from South Bend has buried
the bill in committee in its final step and not allowed there to be a vote on
the floor. One man has been blocking
this amendment reportedly for no other reason than he is afraid to have it on
the ballot because he is afraid of a bipartisan conservative vote that could
cost him and his party the control of the House. Playing politics with the definition of
marriage and the heritage of Hoosier families is one of the most cynical and hypocritical
actions I have ever witnessed form someone who dares to call himself a “public
servant.” In my opinion, it has become
his legacy and is one of the most obvious reasons why he must be removed as
Speaker of the House.
DH: How was CCV of Indiana started?
PM: Our founders, Joe Sergio, Dennis Staffelback,
Mike Hamann, and Michael Edwards established CCV on September 11, 1995 in
response to the largest adult business in Indiana being opened on the south
side of South Bend. As Dr. Sergio was
praying and asking God to do something about the predatory business, God told
him to do something. And Joe and his
friends did. Thirteen years later, CCV
of Indiana has been winning the culture war for the Heartland for over a decade
and has become one of the most successful regional pro-family organizations in
the country because of God’s grace and His people’s prayers and obedience.
DH: What are some of the common misconceptions
regarding pornography and sexually oriented businesses?
PM: For
years the porn sex industry has been engaged in a misinformation campaign that
has caused many people to lower their guard.
Unfortunately, the most vulnerable, the children, are being victimized
at an alarming rate.
- 61% of all
victims are under 18 years of age
- Girls ages 12
to 15 are victims of violent crime at a rate 84% higher than the general
public
- Children ages
7-13 are at peak vulnerability for victimization
- 40% of
imprisoned sex offenders reported that their victims were less than 12
years old
- 87% of child
molesters studied admitted to regular use of adult pornography
- 57% of rapists
studied admitted acting out on their victims what they saw in pornography
- The average
pedophile molests up to 60 children before they are caught the first time
and up to 300 in their lifetime.
- According to
the U.S. Department of Justice 500,000 pedophiles reside in the United
States! (Check your State’s Sex
Offense Registry to see how many live in your community.)
This is not a victimless crime. And it is harmful to
look at pornography. Ironically, an
addiction that is focused on acts of sexual intimacy, often ultimately renders
a person incapable of true intimacy and many sexual dysfunctions. For more information about the harms of
pornography addiction go to our victim assistance website at www.victimassistance.info.
DH: How could our readers fight pornography and
sexually oriented businesses in their communities?
PM: Contact us at Citizens for Community Values of
Indiana through our website www.ccvindiana.com
or call us at 574-247-9299 and become part of our growing network of informed
citizens and prayer warriors. We can
help you to protect the families of your community from the harms of the
porn/sex industry in all of its forms and from sexual activists who will create
great harms if left unchecked in your government, schools, and neighborhoods.
DH: What legislation are you watching out for on
the local, state, and national level?
PM: We are carefully watching any attempts to advance
the homosexual agenda through special rights legislation that harm everyone
else’s constitutional rights such as “hate crimes” expansion and ENDA which are
really little more than veiled attempts to criminalize Christianity.
We are supportive of pro-family legislation that will
define marriage as the union between one man and one woman, and reject the
fraud of civil unions. 30 States have
now adopted Marriage Protection Amendments and we hope Indiana will be one of
the next states to do so.
We are also concerned about President Elect Barack
Obama’s promise to enact FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) which could reverse 30
years of pro-life gains to reduce the national tragedy of abortion. FOCA would also empower organizations like
Planned Parenthood to promote “how to” sex education to elementary school
children, and would eliminate abstinence based sex education programs that do
help protect our children from premature sexual activity and sexually
transmitted diseases.
DH: Thanks for your time. Keep up the great work!
Note:
The views of any interviewee do not necessarily reflect the views of
AdvanceUSA.