The Goldwater Institute is a

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 in ...

and libertarian

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

located in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

whose stated mission is "to defend and strengthen the freedom guaranteed to all Americans in the constitutions of the United States and all fifty states". The organization was established in 1988 with the support of former Senator Barry Goldwater. The Goldwater Institute was primarily a public policy research organization until 2007 when it added a litigation arm, becoming the first state-based policy organization to do so. Goldwater's litigation arm, the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, engages in lawsuits against government entities across the United States.

Overview

The Goldwater Institute was founded in 1988 by conservative activists with the blessing of Barry Goldwater. It is registered with the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. See also Victor Riches was named president and CEO on July 10, 2017. Darcy A. Olsen previously served as the institute's president, having joined Goldwater in 2001 as executive director. The organization's board of directors includes Barry Goldwater Jr. The Goldwater Institute is a proponent of increased educational choice through charter schools and

school vouchers A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

. The organization has helped state lawmakers draft "right to try" laws, which allow terminally ill individuals to try experimental medications that have not yet been approved by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

. The Goldwater Institute is a member of the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United State ...

. The organization has ties to the

Koch family The Koch family ( ) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities and their control of Koch Industries, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $115 billion). ...

and the

Walton Family Foundation The Walton family is an American family whose collective fortune derived from Walmart makes them the richest family in the United States of America. Overview The three most prominent living members (Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton) have consist ...

Public interest litigation

Rand Paul Goldwater Dinner by Gage Skidmore

The Goldwater Institute created the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation in June 2007. The center, previously directed by lawyer

Clint Bolick Clint Bolick (born December 26, 1957) is a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Previously, he served as Vice President of Litigation at the conservative/libertarian Goldwater Institute. He co-founded the libertarian Institute for Justice, whe ...

, engages in lawsuits against federal, state and local governmental bodies to advocate adherence to constitutional law and to protect individual rights such as property rights and entrepreneurial freedom from potential government intrusion. In '' Turken v. Gordon'', the Goldwater Institute sued the city of Phoenix over a $100 million corporate subsidy to the CityNorth development, which the Institute argued was illegal under the Arizona Constitution. In another case, ''Preston v. Hallman'', the Goldwater Institute successfully sued the city of

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

on behalf of a tattoo parlor owner whose permit to operate was denied by the city council though it complied with zoning laws. In 2010, the Goldwater Institute successfully defended the right of voters to wear

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

T-shirts to the polls. In ''Tombstone v. United States'', the Goldwater Institute sued on behalf of the City of

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town gr ...

which had been denied permission to use machinery to repair its water lines in an environmentally sensitive area. In February 2015, the Goldwater Institute filed suit in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, challenging the state's century-old ban on corporate contributions to political candidates. In November 2017, the Goldwater Institute threatened to sue on behalf of

UCF Knights football The UCF Knights football team represents the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the sport of American football. The Knights compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) an ...

kicker

Donald De La Haye Donald De La Haye Jr. (born December 2, 1996), also known online as Deestroying, is a Costa Rican-American YouTuber. He played college football with the UCF Knights (NCAA team) of the University of Central Florida (UCF). De La Haye is known for ...

, who was earlier in the year kicked off the team for ineligibility.

References

External links

*
EDIRC listing
(provided by RePEc)
Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops sta ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

)
"Barry Goldwater, Presidential Contender"
from C-SPAN's '' The Contenders'', broadcast from the Goldwater Institute {{Barry Goldwater Think tanks established in 1988 Non-profit organizations based in Arizona Political and economic think tanks in the United States Politics of Arizona Barry Goldwater Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Libertarian think tanks Conservative organizations in the United States