The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

group based in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The organization advocates for the passage of socially conservative policies in the state. It also produces voter guides to encourage its supporters to elect conservative lawmakers. Over 100 bills supported by CAP have been signed into law in Arizona. CAP employees co-wrote Arizona's controversial SB 1062, which would have shielded business owners and employees from lawsuits if they refused service to anyone based on what they described as sincerely held religious beliefs. In particular, the bill would have exempted such businesses if they refused to hire or service people because of the person's sexual orientation based on religious beliefs. The bill was vetoed by Governor

Jan Brewer Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine, formerly Warren; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician and author who was the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Brewer is the fourth woman (and was ...

History

The CAP was founded in 1995 by

Len Munsil Len Munsil is an American attorney and the President of Arizona Christian University. He was the Arizona Republican Party nominee for Governor of Arizona in the 2006 gubernatorial election, coming from behind to upset Don Goldwater in the Repub ...

, who served as the Founding President and General Counsel until 2005. The current President i
Cathi Herrod
who joined the organization as legal counsel in 1997. CAP receives some of its funding from the National Christian Charitable Foundation, an organization largely funded by the

Hobby Lobby Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., formerly Hobby Lobby Creative Centers, is an American retail company. It owns a chain of arts and crafts stores with a volume of over $5 billion in 2018. The chain has 969 stores in 47 US states. Hobby Lobby is owned by ...

craft store company. In 2011 the Foundation awarded $236,250 of the $1.6 million CAP received in grant revenue that year.

Legislation

CAP has supported and lobbied for over 100 bills which have been signed into law in Arizona. In 2012, 13 CAP-supported bills passed, including a law banning

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion

The Center for Arizona Policy opposes legal abortion and has supported legislation to restrict access to abortion. CAP helped to write a bill in Arizona to require women to explain to their medical providers why they are seeking to have an abortion. Lawsuits against anti-abortion laws have cost Arizona taxpayers more than $2 million, but CAP president, Cathi Herrod, stated that the anti-abortion policies "outweigh the losses in court."

Civil Union Ordinances

In 2013, the City of Bisbee announced that it intended to legalize same-sex civil unions within the municipality. The Arizona Attorney General,

Tom Horne Thomas Charles Horne (born March 28, 1945) is an American attorney, politician, and Republican activist who served as the 25th Attorney General of Arizona from 2011 to 2015. Horne lost to Mark Brnovich in the Republican primary for Attorney Gene ...

, initially opposed the ordinance but withdrew a legal challenge after the city adopted an amended version of the ordinance that complied with state laws. The Center for Arizona Policy opposed the city's move to offer civil unions and responded with a challenge saying, "If the City of Bisbee enacts a law recognizing a quasi-marital relationship not provided for by Arizona law, it will likely find itself involved in expensive and time-consuming litigation, which it is likely to lose." Following Bisbee, the cities and towns of Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Jerome, Sedona, and Tucson also approved of civil unions. CAP describes the acceptance of homosexuality in society as "a deceitful and angry ideology" and supports what it describes as a "biblical value that God has a specific intent for sexuality and that it is only realized in the relationship between one man and one woman within the confines of marriage."

SB 1062

The Center for Arizona Policy, along with the

Alliance Defending Freedom Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to curtail rights for LGBTQ people; expand Christian practices within public schools and in government; and ...

, helped write Arizona Senate Bill 1062, a controversial bill that, if signed into law, would have allowed business owners and employees to refuse to serve anyone based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Supporters of the bill claimed it was meant to protect the religious freedoms of Arizonans, while opponents pointed out that it was intended to allow discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Top aides for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer worked closely with CAP in crafting the language of the bill, but Brewer, in response to boycott threats and other economic pressure from various national groups,Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoes SB 1062, controversial anti-gay bill , CNN Politics
/ref> vetoed it on February 26, 2014, a few days after it passed the state

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

. CAP and its president Cathi Herrod received a great deal of media attention during the debate over the bill, with several stories highlighting the amount of influence the organization has in Arizona politics.

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/hobby_lobbys_secret_agenda_how_its_secretly_funding_a_vast_right_wing_movement/ , title=Hobby Lobby's secret agenda: How it's quietly funding a vast right-wing movement , work=Salon.com , date=27 March 2014 , accessdate=29 March 2014 , author=Clifton, Eli {{cite web , url=http://azdailysun.com/news/local/state-and-regional/cathi-herrod-at-helm-of-conservative-center-for-arizona-policy/article_fabe26a2-a1ba-11e3-9a43-0019bb2963f4.html , title=Cathi Herrod at helm of conservative Center for Arizona Policy, guiding lawmakers , work=Arizona Daily Sun , date=2 March 2014 , accessdate=29 March 2014 , author=Fischer, Howard {{cite web , url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/209841046/Cathi-Herrod , title=Cathi Herrod , publisher=Center for Arizona Policy , accessdate=29 March 2014 {{cite web , url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/arizona-anti-gay-bill_n_4860817.html , title=How One Right-Wing Christian Group Is Leading Arizona's March Toward Conservative Extremism , work=Huffington Post , date=28 February 2014 , accessdate=29 March 2014 , author=Ashtari, Shadee {{cite web , url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/11/brewer-staff-helped-work-on-sb-1062/6282745/ , title=Brewer staff helped work on SB 1062 , publisher=Gannett , work=azcentral.com , date=11 March 2014 , accessdate=29 March 2014 , author1=Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne , author2=Pitzl, Mary Jo {{cite web , url=http://www.azpolicy.org/media-uploads/issues/CAP-%20SupportedBillsThatBecameLaw.pdf , title=CAP-Supported Bills That Became Law , publisher=Center for Arizona Policy , accessdate=29 March 2014 {{cite web , url=http://www.azpolicy.org/media-uploads/resource-images/CAP2012LegislativeSummary.pdf , title=Capitol Impact: 2012 Legislative Recap , publisher=Center for Arizona Policy , accessdate=29 March 2014 {{cite web , url=http://arizonachristian.edu/president/biography/ , title=Biography of the President , publisher=Arizona Christian University , work=ACU Website , accessdate=29 March 2014 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330160626/http://arizonachristian.edu/president/biography , archive-date=30 March 2014 , url-status=dead Lobbying organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Arizona Organizations based in Phoenix, Arizona Organizations established in 1995 1995 establishments in Arizona Conservative organizations in the United States Political organizations based in the United States Anti-abortion organizations in the United States