CINCINNATI - The "prayer warriors" who created Citizens for Community Values in 1983 did not imagine the political juggernaut it would become two decades later.
What began modestly as a small group of pastors espousing "family values" and battling pornography and strip clubs in Cincinnati has grown into a powerhouse with clout in Ohio and nationally.
Best known for almost singlehandedly engineering Ohio's gay marriage ban amendment in 2004, Citizens for Community Values is branching out by forming a political action committee to support candidates financially and mounting a radio campaign to lobby federal officials about cable television choice. A single donor from Tennessee gave $100,000 for the latter cause.
In addition, the group hired two full-time lobbyists in Columbus, set up a Web site (Cleanhotels.com) to pressure hotels into discontinuing payper-view porn, intervened in a sex-education lawsuit in Boyd County, Ky., and sent issues questionnaires to hundreds of candidates for office statewide. The results will be posted on another Web site.
Phil Burress, the born-again Christian and former union leader who helped found the organization, sees it as a call to arms in the war of values.
"I have never seen such a difference between good and evil, light and dark," he said.
"Folks, I don't care if you run for dogcatcher, I want to know where you stand on these issues."
Among the core issues: abor- tion, marriage, school choice and gay rights.
About 400 people paid $50 apiece to attend the group's annual banquet Tuesday on the Xavier University campus. All the proceeds will go to the organization because the cost was picked up by well-heeled backers, including Carl H. Lindner, a Cincinnati financier and longtime GOP contributor.
John Green, a University of Akron political scientist and expert on religion and politics, said groups such as Citizens for Community Values have been around for years but are evolving to become more like their secular counterparts in their methods if not their goals.
"Their influence is expanding," Green said. "It's not just about gay marriage and pornography.
"Among the Christian conservative groups, over time there's been a gradual expansion of their agenda. They survived because they've become better organized and more adept at performing their functions. They're really quite good at it."
Burress said his group pushed for restrictions on sexually oriented businesses, resulting in the elimination of all adult theaters, peep shows and strip clubs in the Cincinnati area. Further, 95 percent of 2,800 stores that sell magazines in Hamilton County do not stock what the group calls "soft-core" pornography, such as Playboy.
The group is challenging state lawmakers, including Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who refused to side with Burress in his demands for tighter regulations on strip clubs, including a mandatory 11 p.m. closing. Burress said Harris "stabbed me in the back" by reneging on his commitment to the legislation when it appeared headed for passage.
"We will not back down," Burress said. "We will not be diverted. We will not quit."
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, a Seattle religious leader who's aligned himself with conservative Christian causes, gave a fiery speech Tuesday at the banquet supporting the idea of mixing politics and religion.
"Politics," Lapin said, "is the practical application of our religious beliefs.
"If Citizens for Community Values fails in its mission, we all lose."
