ParentalRights.org Promotional Video

Below is a new promotional video for the Parental Rights Amendment. Please forward the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L6xEBkMnTE - to as many people as you can, any way you can. Post it to Facebook, tweet it on Twitter, blog about it, leave a comment on a blog you frequent and include the link, or simply email it to all of your friends. But please help us spread the word.

San Francisco Wants to Ban Circumcision

Well, citizens of San Francisco got enough signatures to get an initiative on the ballot next November that will ban circumcision on males under the age of 18. This is both an attack on religious freedom as well as parental rights. Michael Farris put out the following statement in regard to this. Please visit Parentalrights.org and join the fight.

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San Francisco's Circumcision Ban and Parental Rights

The City of San Francisco is contemplating a law that will ban male circumcision for infants and children. There are no religious exemptions in the proposed law and it is an obvious attempt to override the parents’ ability to make decisions for their own children on this medical issue.

I want to encourage you to look at this article by Eugene Volokh. Professor Volokh is a highly respected professor of Constitutional Law at UCLA Law School. He is a well-known conservative and a former Supreme Court law clerk.

His analysis of this particular issue is interesting and important. But the real reason I want to encourage you to read it is because he undertakes a serious analysis of the current state of the law regarding the constitutional rights of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

Some who criticize the PRA claim that the current law for parental rights is well-settled and places our rights at a very high and protected level. This article by Professor Volokh clearly demonstrates that the current state of the law is muddled and unsettled—and he also shows that the reason for the lack of clarity is that there is no constitutional text protecting parental rights.

If we want the government taking over more and more of our ability as parents to make decisions for our children, then doing nothing under the delusion that everything is hunky-dory is the right path to take. But if we want parents and not government raising children, then the time to act is now.

Sincerely,

Michael Farris
President

Planned Parenthood openly oppose PRA in Montana

In an email from ParentalRights.org I learned that Planned Parenthood along with the ACLU and a gay rights organization called the Human Rights Campaign all spoke out against the Parental Rights Amendment. This goes to show you that they realize that the groups they represent do interfere with the rights of parenting. They do not want parents to have the right to keep a child from getting an abortion or birth control without their consent. They do not want parents to be able to teach their child that homosexuality is a sin and therefore not an acceptable lifestyle. Thankfully they were not successful in stopping the advancement of the PRA in Montana. Knowing that such powerful and influential groups oppose parental rights, we must stay vigilant in protecting them. The letter below explains what is happening and what we can do to help. Please visit parentalrights.org today to help protect these essential rights.

~February 10, 2011

Planned Parenthood Attacks the Parental Rights Amendment

No doubt you’ve heard about Planned Parenthood in the news lately. They’ve been criticized for covering up the sex trafficking of minors, and they’ve come under media investigation. Their dishonorable techniques have once again been exposed by Live Action’s president Lila Rose. They have counseled an investigator posing as a pimp on how to avoid detection and yet get abortions and other related services for girls as young as 14 and 15. Of course, Planned Parenthood is utterly committed to the proposition that parents have no right to knowledge or consent of the activities of their teenaged daughters when they walk in the door of these deadly clinics. Even if the girls are being held as sex slaves, Planned Parenthood wants to keep both parents and government out of their grisly business.

And, of course, one of the most stalwart and effective defenders of the rights of Planned Parenthood to secretly perform abortions on underaged girls is the American Civil Liberties Union.

Lila Rose, a young woman raised by a fine homeschooling family in California, has taken on the giant of Planned Parenthood and she is winning. She is the example of the kind of young person that is sent forth to help America become a better place when parents are free to train their children in truth and uprightness.

I was at a meeting this week with the Speaker of the House and other top leaders in Congress and the pinnacle of the talk was on Lila Rose’s activities, as well as a movement in Congress to defund Planned Parenthood – they received $363 million in government (tax payer) funds last year.^[1]

I pointed out that Lila Rose had been homeschooled and that we needed to be sure that the Parental Rights Amendment is passed to ensure that all parents have the ability to be involved in the crucial decisions for their children’s future.

There was a good reason that Planned Parenthood and the ACLU were on my mind during this meeting with the Speaker of the House.

Last week, when Montana’s Senate Judicial Committee considered a resolution urging Congress to adopt the Parental Rights Amendment (PRA) and send it to the States for ratification, Planned Parenthood of Montana, the ACLU, and the Human Rights Campaign (a “gay rights” organization) spoke against it.

For all their troubles now, Planned Parenthood remains a heavy hitter with an annual budget of $1.117 billion – and they have taken aim at the PRA. Not that they succeeded in this case – the resolution passed out of committee by a vote of 7-5 on Friday, and will now proceed to the Montana Senate floor.

But Planned Parenthood will not stop there. Like a cornered beast, they will lash out wherever they can, and right now that seems to mean our resolutions and Amendment.

We cannot hope to counter the misinformation campaign of Planned Parenthood unless we all recommit ourselves to a deeper involvement in this issue. Remember, Planned Parenthood received $363 million from the federal government last year; we didn’t receive a dime. We are dependent on concerned partners like you if we are to keep spreading the truth. Please consider helping us in the following ways:

1) Please donate today. Advertising isn’t free. Our website isn’t free. Our staff is very lean and we need to be able to meet our obligations to them and their family. Our giving this year is down and we simply cannot lead this effort to victory without your support. We need your support in this crucial hour. If you can give on an ongoing, monthly basis, please check the appropriate box on the Donate form. But whatever you can give, please do it now.

2) Track the status of the resolution in your state and be ready to speak in its favor. Please email Michael Ramey if you can speak to a committee to support a resolution in your state. If you live in Montana, call your state senator now and urge him (her) to support SJ 9 in favor of a federal Parental Rights Amendment. You can identify your senator and find contact information here.

3) Get ready to fight in Congress. We have been working behind the scenes in the House to put together a new leadership coalition to lead our efforts to pass the PRA. Our former champion, Pete Hoekstra, retired from the House to run for Governor of Michigan. We have assurances from the GOP leadership in the House that they will help us push the PRA. I fully expect that we will have hearings, committee votes, and then floor action in the House this year.

This is our time to push the PRA through the House of Representatives. We need your help now more than ever. Being attacked by the likes of the ACLU and Planned Parenthood is a good sign that we are on the right track and that we are getting close to victory.

Blessings,

Michael Farris
President, ParentalRights.org

The Child

The Child Documentary

Here is a way to share the importance of the Parental Rights Amendment with your community. Visit Parentalrights.org to see how to get a copy of the DVD and host a viewing today.


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Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Parental Rights

Farris: Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Parental Rights

Dear Parental Rights Champion,

The highly acclaimed Zogby Poll has just released the results of the first in-depth analysis of our efforts to protect the right of American parents to raise their children free from improper governmental interference. I am thrilled to be able to present to you a summary of the findings from this brand new Zogby Poll.

First, here are some of the highlights from this poll:

The American public stands strongly behind parental rights. America does not want governmental or UN interference in the American family. The public supports a constitutional amendment to protect the rights of all parents.

Those are the headlines. And these findings are true—in varying degrees, of course—for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Support for parental rights comes from all regions of the country, all racial and religious groups, and at every level of income.

Here are the survey questions, in the order they were asked:

Poll Question 1

Do you agree or disagree with parents having the legal option to give their child a modest spanking?

The government elites are adamant in their opposition to traditional parenting practices. Chief on their list is the elimination of even modest spanking. The UN wishes to ban spanking through the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

But the American public thinks otherwise. On Question 1:

58.7% strongly agree
26.4% somewhat agree
6.0% somewhat disagree
6.9% strongly disagree
2.0% not sure

These are political landslide kinds of numbers.

Various subgroups view this parental right slightly differently (see the in-depth breakdown online), but a large majority of all groups agree. Americans are solidly united in support of parental rights to traditional, modest discipline.

Question 2

In general, parents have the constitutional right to make decisions for their children without governmental interference unless there is proof of abuse or neglect. Do you agree or disagree with this view of parental rights?

All American voters

73.6% strongly agree
20.0% somewhat agree
2.6% somewhat disagree
1.6% strongly disagree
2.2% not sure

The goal of the Parental Rights Amendment is to protect this historic understanding of parental rights. This question reveals that America is nearly unanimous in agreeing with this goal – 93.6% in overall agreement, and 4.2% in disagreement.

The sub-groups are available online, but let me include this one sample:

Conservative 98.4% agree 0.9% disagree
Moderate 91.4% agree 4.8% disagree
Liberal 91.6% agree 7.1% disagree

When 98.4% of conservatives and 91.6% of liberals agree on an issue, you know that America is truly united.

Question 3

Would you support or oppose a constitutional amendment to permanently protect parental rights, allowing them to make decisions for their children without government interference, so long as there is no proof of abuse or neglect?

All American voters

45.9% strongly support
17.1% somewhat support
8.5% somewhat oppose
18.3% strongly oppose
10.2% not sure

It is important to note that this question does not make any argument as to why the Amendment is needed. If people were told that the Supreme Court had begun to move away from the traditional standard, the support would almost certainly be much higher. As it is, 63.0% of Americans support the Parental Rights Amendment with 26.8% opposed. Keeping in mind that well over 90% support the goal of the PRA, the opportunity to increase this number above 63% is very strong.

The sub-group views on this question are online here.

Again, a political election that is decided 63% to 26.8% is a called a landslide. America supports the PRA by numbers that represent a landslide even without an explanation of why it is needed.

Question 4

A United Nations treaty on children’s rights is currently being considered by the United States government. If this treaty made international law, it would trump some existing state laws on parents and children. Do you support or oppose this treaty?

All American voters

3.4% strongly support
8.2% somewhat support
9.9% somewhat oppose
44.5% strongly oppose
34.1% not sure

This question reveals a great amount of uncertainty, but for those that had an opinion, 5 Americans oppose the UNCRC for every 1 American that supports it. The question may have been confusing, because the next question clarifies the treaty just a bit and the results are very clear indeed.

Question 5

If you knew that the United Nations treaty on children’s rights would give government broad discretion to overrule parents and decide what it thinks is best for a child, would you support or oppose this treaty, or does it make no difference to your opinion?

1.5% strongly support
4.9% somewhat support
11.6% somewhat oppose
66.7% strongly oppose
4.5% no difference
10.9% not sure

With a single explanation of the effect of the CRC, the opinion of the vast majority of Americans becomes very clear. 78.3% oppose this treaty, and only 6.4% support it.

Opposition to the CRC is found in every political faction. Republicans oppose it 90.1% to 3.9%, Independents 78.5% to 5.2%, Democrats 67.0% to 9.5%. Even liberals opposed the CRC 56.3% to 15.7% - again, a landslide.

Analysis

The vast majority of the American electorate is on our side in this issue of parental rights. The level of support varies a bit from the “landslide” level on the low end up to “nearly unanimous” on the high end.

We have all known that our issue is right—legally and morally. These polls tell us that our issue is winnable.

The challenge we have is to get our message to the American public. If we can reach the public, we will win. It is that simple.

To reach the public we need resources. We need ads, we need earned media (which requires hard work from our staff to make it happen), and we need to use the internet more aggressively and more effectively.

All of these take a great deal of money. And our budgets are very modest. (By the way, I take no salary or expenses from Parentalrights.org.)

We believe that we have a very realistic shot at stopping the Convention on the Rights of the Child in this session of Congress. Right after the last election, Barbara Boxer promised that it would be ratified in this session.

I also believe that we have a realistic chance of passing the Parental Rights Amendment in the House early in the next term of Congress.

The public stands with us. If we can reach them with our message, the vast majority in Congress will listen to the voices of the voters.

Will you please help us with the very best gift you can so that we may reach the American public with our message and protect the rights of all parents for generations to come?

Thank you for helping us make history.

Warmest regards,

Michael Farris

Parents of 50 Million U.S. Children Soon to Lose Parental Rights

Parents of 50 Million U.S. Children Soon to Lose Parental Rights If your children attend public school, you are among those parents whose rights will end the moment your child enters the school. That’s because in 2005 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found in Fields v. Palmdale School District “that the Meyer-Pierce right [of parents to direct the upbringing of their children] does not exist beyond the threshold of the school door.” You read that right. Parental Rights “[do] not exist beyond the threshold of the school door.” “We conclude that the parents are possessed of no constitutional right to prevent the public schools from providing information on the subject [of sexuality] to their students in any forum or manner they select” (emphasis added). Of course, most parents contend they don’t have a choice in where their children are schooled. Either economic constraints or personal circumstances leave them with no practical alternative to the local public school. And that leaves no parental rights at all. Please act to reverse this assault by big government courts against parental rights. Sign the petition and get more information at ParentalRights.org. Then, please pass this on. Every parent of a public school student needs to know the extent to which the courts have robbed them of their rights. Add this message to your Facebook account, or it on virtually any other social network. Looking Ahead This is the first of several court cases we plan to review for you in the coming weeks. The courts’ disregard for the traditional formative role of parents in a child’s life needs to be brought to light. And while the Parental Rights Amendment will not give parents any greater power to control the school’s choice of curriculum, it will protect their right to pull their individual child out of any program of an outrageous or offensive nature, like the program in the Palmdale case. (To read more from this case, click here.) Sincerely, Michael Ramey Communications Director

UN's Latest Efforts to Attack Moral Foundations of Families

I wanted to share this Email from Michael Farris

Dear Supporter of Parental Rights,

Last week, I asked for your participation in building our network of parental rights supporters so that we can make a push to pass the Parental Rights Amendment in the next Congress. If you meant to pass on last week’s information, but forgot to do it, it is not too late. We really need your help.

But, it is very obvious that a great number of you did participate with great success because we had our all time record for new petition signers in one week. Over 10,000 new people signed up to support the parental rights cause because of your efforts last week.

And like we promised last week, we are going to continue to supply you with good information that you can use to help promote our mutual cause within your circle of influence.

During the last week, a well-respected leader in the pro-family movement, Terrence McKeegan, Vice President and Senior Counsel for C-FAM, shared with me his research about the UN’s latest efforts to attack the moral foundation of families and children. In the last week a major youth conference was held in Mexico which was aimed at creating a new declaration for youth to be enacted by the UN General Assembly in connection with the “International Year for Youth.”

One of the things called for in the proposed resolution is full access for all youth to “universal access to reproductive health.” These words are loaded with hidden meanings. However, McKeegan has unmasked these hidden meanings by gathering copies of UN brochures that it distributed at its youth conference in March, 2010. Click here to look at the actual sections from these brochures. The content of this material is shocking. It is not pornographic, but the behavior that it is encouraging is lewdness and immorality personified. I would strongly suggest that only parents look at this material. Here are just a few examples:

· Young people living with HIV have the right to sexual pleasure

· Some people have sex when they have been drinking alcohol or using drugs. This is your choice.

· There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself.

· Sexual and reproductive rights are recognized around the world as human rights.

Now you know the kinds of ideas that are offered when the UN calls for “safe sex education and awareness-raising activities among adolescents” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2006, Concluding Observations, Lebanon).

There is already a political movement in the United States to offer these egregious forms of sex education without parental knowledge or review. But, if the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is adopted in the US, then the debate is over—we would be required to implement the kind of adolescent “health” education dictated by the UN.

We must preserve our families. We must preserve common sense and morality. We must preserve American self-government.

If you have already joined our efforts to stop the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child thanks so much. Would you continue to share this information with your friends as we build toward the next session of Congress? If you have not joined with us, Click here and do so today.

Thanks so much.

Michael Farris, J.D.

President

Parentalrights.org