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| Date: From: Subject: | 6/6/2006 9:50:54 AM Home School Legal Defense Association New York--Calls Needed for Religious Freedom for Homeschoolers |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== June 6, 2006 New York--Calls Needed for Religious Freedom for Homeschoolers Dear HSLDA members and friends: Assembly Bill 10870, the Free Exercise of Religion bill, has been introduced in the New York legislature by Speaker Sheldon Silver. If passed, A.B. 10870 would protect religious freedom and expression at a much higher level than it is now. Once enacted into law the Free Exercise of Religion legislation should be able to be used as a "religious exemption" for homeschool families who are homeschooling because of their religious beliefs and convictions. We are already using religious freedom acts like the ones we helped pass in Florida and Pennsylvania to get religious exemptions for families from their state homeschool law. While the Assembly is likely to pass this legislation shortly the Senate does not have a similar bill. Since the bill is sponsored in the Assembly by Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, the bill must be sponsored by a Republican in the Republican-controlled Senate to pass. Since the New York legislature only has 10 more days in the legislative session, we need your calls now! Please call your state Senator and urge him or her to support the Free Exercise of Religion bill. If your state senator is a Democrat calls are not needed at this time. Action Requested 1) If your state Senator is a Republican, please call both their local district office as well as their Albany office with this message in your own words: "Please support religious freedom in New York and sponsor the Free Exercise of Religion Bill. This bill has been introduced in the Assembly as bill number 10870. Please ensure that the state will not restrict our religious freedom unless it is essential to a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means possible." Do not identify yourself as a homeschool parent; instead you can simply identify yourself as a taxpaying citizen concerned about religious freedom in New York. To find out if your state senator is a Republican and their contact information please enter your ZIP code on HSLDA's legislative toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . You will find your state Senator in the right-hand column. Background On June 25, 1997, by a 6-3 majority, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in The City of Boerne v. Flores that the 1993 federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was unconstitutional. By doing this, the Court gave the lowest level of protection to religious liberty--one of the foundational freedoms of homeschooling. Under this minimal standard, the state can override a homeschooler's or other citizen's right to freely exercise his religious beliefs merely by proving that its regulation is "reasonable." Since nearly all state regulations can be determined to be "reasonable," Christians will lose. Since the devastating U.S. Supreme Court Boerne decision, state and federal courts across the country have diminished religious freedom in many ways. For example: > The longstanding practice of pastor-laity confidentiality has been repeatedly violated; > A Catholic hospital was denied accreditation for refusing to teach abortion techniques; > There have been conflicts with zoning ordinances, such as the forced termination of a church ministry to the homeless because it was located on the second floor of a building with no elevator; and > A church was prohibited from feeding more than 50 people per day. Passage of Assembly Bill 10870 will raise the standard of protection for religious freedom in New York for individuals, homeschool parents, churches, and all who desire to freely exercise their religious beliefs. If passed, the New York RFRA will restore the high standard of protection for religious liberty previously guaranteed in the federal RFRA and earlier Supreme Court decisions. Under the New York RFRA, if an individual's religious belief is in conflict with a state regulation, the state will have to prove, with evidence, that its regulation is essential to fulfill a compelling state interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so. If the state fails to carry the burden, the regulation must give way to the individual's religious freedom. Restoring this level of protection for religious freedom will simply "even the playing field." For more detailed information on Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3095 . Don't let one decision by the U.S. Supreme Court denigrate this priceless inalienable right. Urge your state senator now to restore protection for religious liberty in New York by sponsoring Assembly Bill 10870! If you are not yet a member of HSLDA and would like to help us fight for greater homeschool freedom in New York please visit http://www.hslda.org/join/apply.asp . Sincerely, Thomas J. Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Remember the last time you wrote a term paper? Research can be grueling-digging through archives, wading through articles, conducting interviews. But if it's related to homeschooling, you can relax a little. There's a good chance that you'll find what you're looking for in HSLDA's bimonthly Home School Court Report. Providing in-depth, insightful articles on much of what affects the world of homeschoolers, the Court Report is a must-read for the serious homeschooler. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
