The Right to Decency records include correspondence, organizational records, meeting minutes, newsletters, flyers, articles, and recordings regarding the activities and administration of the organization.
MaryEllen and Art Gavin founded Right to Decency, Inc., in 1986 at St. Malachy Parish, Sterling Heights, Michigan. The organization began when pornographic magazines, which were in full-view at the local drugstore, dismayed MaryEllen Gavin. Ellen began a dialogue between the vice-president of the drugstores' headquarters and her parish and surrounding area churches. She and her allies insisted that the store cover the magazines and get them out of view. Success ensued, when the entire chain of 80 stores, made a corporate decision to stop the sale of pornographic magazines entirely. With that success, 12 persons began to meet each month, educating themselves about the ways they could work against pornography and obscenity. They discovered existing laws, which prohibited the distribution of these materials. They began to contact the public, eventually mailing their newsletter on a quarterly basis to more than 330 Catholic churches in the archdiocese, to 50 Protestant churches and about 700 families, informing them of what could be done to curtail activities of the pornography industry.
Right to Decency was sponsored by St. Malachy parish until incorporated in 1993. The organization operated as a Resource Center, staying informed about local and national issues which related to maintaining a healthy, moral, community environment. The group educated the public by explaining their own 'success stories' in working against indecency as well as providing the expertise of other state and national decency organizations. One early resource used, was the book Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, published in 1986 (Introduction by Michael J. McManus). Also see the list of books and other materials, etc. distributed free of charge to the public when Right to Decency disbanded. This list is found in the "Bentley Historical Library" folder within the Correspondence series.
The group relied on Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) regulations when monitoring offensive dialogue and programming on radio and television. They also worked with federal, state and local government to improve existing laws and used these laws to protest illegal pornography and obscenity in movies, magazines, the Internet, at the public library and at local businesses.
Protests consisted of letter-writing campaigns, seen in the Correspondence Series containing letters to local and national politicians, to government agencies and to the local newspapers and radio programs. They also used other tactics such as boycotting, petitioning, picketing and publicity to create change.
The group was not solely about anti-obscenity issues. They advocated issues regarding traditional family values such as sexual abstinence before marriage, traditional marriage between one man and one woman, pro-life from birth until a natural death and the power of prayer. They also promoted national decency campaigns in the Southeast Michigan area such as the White Ribbon Against Pornography (W.R.A.P.), National Day of Prayer, and Turn Off TV Day campaigns.
Founders MaryEllen and Art Gavin decided to retire after 21 years; Right to Decency, Inc. was dismantled in 2005. They could not find a person(s) to lead the non-profit, volunteer organization or to manage the Right to Decency extensive website. They contacted the Detroit Archdiocese of Detroit and asked if they would take over the Right to Decency Website. The Archdiocese declined, explaining that their budget was downsized in recent years. They said they had no one to maintain the website and no one knowledgeable to answer questions from the public even if they had the funds. Interested churches and persons received much of the Right To Decency materials at no charge.
The American Decency Association in Fremont, Michigan, Morality in Media in New York, New York and the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan were the recipients of Right To Decency's remaining revenue.
The Southeast Michigan organization, Citizens for Responsible Broadcasting, (See www.responsiblebroadcasting.com/) received the "pending" Right to Decency radio complaints, which are still being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) in Washington, D.C. (M.E. Gavin, April 20, 2006)