Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 28, 1995 TAG: 9508280098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
Kevin Clauson is to appear in Bedford Circuit Court today to explain his plans for the Patrick Henry Institute, which he has operated out of his home for a year. Clauson wants to move into a vacant library building and must convince a judge that the facility would be used to promote Lynchburg's educational and moral advancement, not a political agenda.
``We're not another Moral Majority,'' Clauson said. ``We're not a Christian Coalition. We're nothing but a promoter of ideas.''
Because the Patrick Henry Institute is a tax-exempt organization, federal laws prohibit the organization from lobbying Congress or giving money to political candidates.
The George M. Jones Memorial Library Association already has agreed to sell the building to the Patrick Henry Institute for $10.
The institute, with a projected $100,000 annual budget and a staff of about three full-time and part-time workers, would attract people who want to bring a sense of ``public morality'' back into government, Clauson said.
Clauson, who teaches government at Liberty, said the Christian university is not affiliated with the Patrick Henry Institute. Liberty was founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who launched the Moral Majority, a conservative political lobbying organization, in 1979.
Clauson has promised to make the old library building available for community art exhibits and classical music concerts. The general public would have access to the institute's research and resources, he said.
The institute would produce publications that would look at topics such as the government's role in the economy, health care and national defense, rather than dwell on issues such as school prayer and abortion, Clauson said.
by CNB