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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/17/2013 4:43:42 PM Scott Woodruff--HSLDA Virginia--Calls Still Needed to Help Parental Rights Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Virginia--Calls Still Needed to Help Parental Rights Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: The Senate Courts of Justice committee did not hear the Virginia Parents' Rights bill, SB 908, this week, but it probably will this coming Monday. So please keep calling! Although the legislature's most important job is to protect our rights, the Virginia General Assembly has never stated what kind of protection parental rights deserve. It's time for them to speak! Your right to raise your child as you see fit is under fire from many directions. It is no longer adequate for the General Assembly to remain silent. SB 908 will create a state law declaring that your right to make decisions about your children is a fundamental right. This is important because the government can push aside your parental decisions for any "rational" reason if your right is merely an "ordinary" right. But fundamental rights get the maximum level of protection. As long as the General Assembly remains silent, whether your right to make decisions about your kids is "ordinary" or "fundamental" hangs on the mere opinions of judges. SB 908 will make it crystal clear that your right gets the same protection as our other most precious rights. ACTION REQUESTED Please call your senator, if he or she is on the committee, and ask him to support the bill. Your message can be as simple as: "Please vote YES on SB 908. The right of parents to make decisions about their children should be protected the same as our other most precious rights." If your senator is not listed below, call the chairman, Thomas Norment. This bill affects all parents, so it is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooler. Contact information for senators on the committee is listed below. Use our Legislative Toolbox http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=16807 to find out the name of your Virginia state senator. Please come to the hearing on Monday morning starting at 8:00 a.m. It will be in Senate Room B in the General Assembly Building at 910 Capitol St., Richmond. Give yourself plenty of time to find parking, and remember that you will pass through a metal detector before entering the building. Well-behaved children are welcome. CONTACT INFORMATION Senator Thomas K. Norment, Jr. (Chairman) (804) 698-7503 email: district03@senate.virginia.gov Senator Richard L. Saslaw (804) 698-7535 email: district35@senate.virginia.gov Senator Henry L. Marsh III (804) 698-7516 email: district16@senate.virginia.gov Senator Janet D. Howell (804) 698-7532 email: district32@senate.virginia.gov Senator L. Louise Lucas (804) 698-7518 email: district18@senate.virginia.gov Senator John S. Edwards (804) 698-7521 email: district21@senate.virginia.gov Senator Linda T. Puller (804) 698-7536 email: district36@senate.virginia.gov Senator Mark D. Obenshain (804) 698-7526 email: district26@senate.virginia.gov Senator Ryan T. McDougle (804) 698-7504 email: district04@senate.virginia.gov Senator A. Donald McEachin (804) 698-7509 email: district09@senate.virginia.gov Senator Richard H. Stuart (804) 698-7528 email: district28@senate.virginia.gov Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel (804) 698-7527 email: district27@senate.virginia.gov Senator William M. Stanley (804) 698-7520 email: district20@senate.virginia.gov Senator Thomas A. Garrett (804) 698-7522 email: district22@senate.virginia.gov BACKGROUND When people ask courts to protect their rights against government intrusion, courts first decide whether the right is fundamental, or not fundamental. If the judge decides it's not fundamental, he will allow the government to infringe on the right as long as it has a "rational" reason. But if he decides the right is fundamental, it gets much better protection. The government is allowed to infringe on it only if there is a truly compelling reason, and there is no other way for the government to accomplish a very high priority. The justices who sit on the Virginia Supreme Court today agree that parental rights are fundamental. But those who sit on the court next year might not. This is the problem SB 908 solves. The opponents of the bill are saying it will let parents burn their kids with cigarettes. Their credibility on this issue is zero. Arizona passed a nearly identical law two years ago and the state's laws outlawing abuse and neglect still stand. Parents' rights are considered fundamental in Virginia right NOW! If that meant parents could abuse their kids, it would have been happening for 15 years--when parents rights were clearly declared to be fundamental. But in fact, all of our state laws prohibiting abuse and neglect have continued to operate as intended even WITH parental rights being fundamental! SB 908 just makes sure judges can't take away the fundamental status. SB 908 does not give any new rights. It does not even say what rights you have today as parents. That must be determined by looking other places--state and federal statutes, the state and federal constitution, etc. SB 908 simply gives much better protection to your rights that already exist. While SB 908 is on the committee's agenda for Monday, there is no guarantee the committee will actually take it up, though we certainly hope it will. About 20 other bills are on its agenda as well. There is a companion bill in the House, HB 1462, that will be seeing action soon. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> For as little as 33 cents a day... 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