Advance America (formerly Citizens Concerned for the Constitution)
is a
conservative political advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
in the U.S. state of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. Advance America claims that it is a "non-partisan tax exempt, educational organization."
It claims affiliation with approximately 4,000 Indiana churches,
nearly one third of all churches in the state of Indiana.
In October 2023, Eric Miller announced that Advance America would be ceasing operations by the end of the year.
History and governance
Advance America was founded in 1980 by Eric Miller, an attorney from Indianapolis, with the help of ten other people.
It was originally called "Citizens Concerned for the Constitution".
It shares space and employees with Miller's law office.
It is governed by a seven member board of directors consisting entirely of pastors.
Activities
Advance America publishes an annual voter's guide informing voters of the stance of various candidates for local office on issues Advance America is concerned about.
These voter guides are distributed primarily through mail, e-mail, and churches.
Advance America attempts to keep people informed about what bills and issues the state legislature is considering through mailings, e-mails, voting record summaries, pastor and citizen briefings, and speaking engagements (frequently in churches).
Advance America claims that their staff reviews each bill to come before the state legislature.
They testify before legislative committees, talk to legislators, draft amendments and bills, and mobilize the public to contact legislators.
Issues
Advance America regularly campaigns for issues that they perceive affect the family and religious freedom. They supported the controversial
Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Indiana Senate Bill 101, titled the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), is a law in the U.S. state of Indiana, which allows individuals and companies to assert as a defense in legal proceedings that their exercise of religion has been, o ...
as well as pushing to uphold the state's same sex marriage ban.
They have opposed legislation permitting transgender persons to use the bathroom of their choice.
They have opposed extending regulations on daycares to include those daycares run by churches.
They support legislation mandating public schools to display a poster in each classroom prominently displaying the
United States national motto "
In God We Trust
"In God We Trust" (also rendered as "In God we trust") is the United States national motto, official motto of the United States and of the U.S. state of Florida. It was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1956, replacing ("Out of many, one"), whic ...
".
In 2019, on the one year anniversary of the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...
, Indiana passed a bill providing mental health funding to schools. Advance America pushed for an amendment requiring parental consent before children could seek mental health treatment under the bill; such language was included in the final bill.
In 2021 they planned events dedicated to organizing citizens to lobby school boards to ban
critical race theory
Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...
and gender identity instruction, and to require parental consent for mental health services and
sex education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
in schools.
See also
*
Indiana gubernatorial election, 2004
The 2004 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2004, to elect the Governor of Indiana.
Incumbent Democratic Governor Joe Kernan was defeated by Republican Mitch Daniels. Daniels' victory was the first time the Republican Par ...
- where Eric Miller ran in the Republican primary
References
External links
*
Lobbyist reports
{{authority control
American Christian political organizations
Non-profit organizations based in Indianapolis
Political advocacy groups in the United States
Conservative organizations in the United States
Organizations established in 1980
Organizations disestablished in 2023