Hoekstra on O'Reilly and What He Didn't Say

Here is Hoekstra on the O'Reilly factor. He talks a little bit about the Parental Rights Amendment but I feel he missed a huge opportunity to explain why this is so essential. Yes, 193 countries have signed on to the UN Treaty on the Rights of the Child, but there is a big difference between those 193 countries and the United States of America. When those countries sign treaties they do not become binding on those countries until they enact laws that make it the law of their land. For the most part their signature is simply a gesture that expresses their agreement with the goals of the amendment, but it does not hand over their sovereignty to the UN.

In the case of the United States it would be totally different because article six of the US Constitution has what is referred to as the supremacy clause and states that any treaty we sign becomes the supreme law of the land. It reads as follows (bold and italics are mine):

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."

So, if the Unites States signs this treaty it would get the same status as the constitution itself and it would take precedent over any law in our land that did not meet the standards set by an international board of directors! That is why the United States has failed to ratify this treaty and it is why we never should.

There are good parts to this treaty but US law already addresses those issues with our current laws. We do not allow people to trade children, enslave them or abuse them. We do not NEED this treaty to help us protect the children of this country. The United States is far better at treating children than most of the countries who have signed this treaty but refuse to actually follow it. Again, they have the capacity to ignore the treaty because in their system of government treaties do not become the supreme law of their land.

While there are some good aspects to the treaty there are parts of it that are not necessarily looking out for the best interest of children. After all, it is adults who are on the panel in the UN that get to decide what they believe is in the best interest of children. The goal of some of the articles in this document is to control what children are allowed to be taught and how children are to be raised and disciplined. It is NOT the job of an international board OR the United States government to determine what is and is best for MY child, or your child or any child. Parents, not the government, should be making decisions regarding the way their children are raised. If we give that up to the US government, to the UN, or to anyone else then we have given up our freedom, and I am not ready or willing to do that. The Parental Rights Amendment will guarantee that international law will NEVER supersede the rights of law abiding Americans to raise their children.