Michael Farris:
International law is becoming a pervasive influence in the United States. A major concern, for our constituency especially, is the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Senator Brownback, how would you guard Americans’ rights in the face of this international legal threat?
Senator Sam Brownback:
I think people need to recognize what’s taking place here. Because you have judges basically of a form of forum-shopping around the world to find a jurisdiction that has ruled the way they want to rule. So that they can go to a court in Uganda and say “The Ugandan court has ruled this way,” but there may be 30 other national courts that have ruled another way, and so they’re just picking one to find one. I think we need to recognize that our law is based upon our law in the United States, and the common law as it’s evolved in this country, not as it’s evolving in other countries. And I think this needs to be a key issue asked of people assuming the federal bench. This is basically forum shopping; we need to make sure that judges recognize, and the ones that are put on, that that’s not appropriate given our common law and statutory law history here.
Mike:
Senator Brownback, on behalf of our listening audience and all the homeschoolers in the country, I’d like to thank you for joining us and sharing your views on these critical issues.
