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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/25/2013 3:02:38 PM Scott Woodruff--HSLDA Virginia--Calls Needed Urgently to Help Parental Rights Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Virginia--Calls Needed Urgently to Help Parental Rights Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Two bills that will protect parental rights in Virginia need your calls in support! We have previously asked you to call in support of SB 908. That bill is scheduled for a hearing Monday morning at 8 a.m.. If you have not called, please do! (Check our email of January 17 for names and phone numbers to call). http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=16978 There is a companion bill in the house, HB 1642, and it is scheduled for a committee hearing Monday afternoon. Members of the committee need to hear from you! The Virginia General Assembly has never stated whether parental rights should be protected at the highest level--as fundamental rights--or whether they are merely "ordinary" rights that can be pushed aside for nearly any reason. HB 1642 (and SB 908) will declare that in Virginia parental rights are fundamental. This will protect your rights at the same level as our other most cherished rights. And it will protect against the possibility of a judge deciding that they are merely "ordinary." 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. ACTION REQUESTED Please call your delegate right away (or not later than noon on Monday) and ask him or her to support HB 1642. Your message can be as simple as: "Please vote YES on HB 1642. The right of parents to make decisions about their children should be protected the same as our other most precious rights." If your delegate is not listed below, call the chairman, David Albo. This bill affects all parents, so it is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooler. Contact information for delegates 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 delegate. Please come to the hearing Monday afternoon. The exact time and room has not been set. It will not be before 12:30 p.m. Call our office Monday morning, and we will let you know. 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 Delegate David B. Albo (804) 698-1042 email: DelDAlbo@house.virginia.gov Delegate Terry G. Kilgore (804) 698-1001 email: DelTKilgore@house.virginia.gov Delegate Robert B. Bell (804) 698-1058 email: DelRBell@house.virginia.gov Delegate Benjamin L. Cline (804) 698-1024 email: DelBCline@house.virginia.gov Delegate Salvatore R. Iaquinto (804) 698-1084 email: DelSIaquinto@house.virginia.gov Delegate C. Todd Gilbert (804) 698-1015 email: DelTGilbert@house.virginia.gov Delegate Jackson H. Miller (804) 698-1050 email: DelJMiller@house.virginia.gov Delegate G. Manoli Loupassi (804) 698-1068 email: DelMLoupassi@house.virginia.gov Delegate Ronald A. Villanueva (804) 698-1021 email: DelRVillanueva@house.virginia.gov Delegate Gregory D. Habeeb (804) 698-1008 email: DelGHabeeb@house.virginia.gov Delegate Peter F. Farrell (804) 698-1056 email: DelPFarrell@house.virginia.gov Delegate J. Randall Minchew (804) 698-1010 email: DelRMinchew@house.virginia.gov Delegate Rick L. Morris (804) 698-1064 email: DelRMorris@house.virginia.gov Delegate Joseph P. Johnson, Jr. (804) 698-1004 email: DelJJohnson@house.virginia.gov Delegate Vivian E. Watts (804) 698-1039 email: DelVWatts@house.virginia.gov Delegate David J. Toscano (804) 698-1057 email: DelDToscano@house.virginia.gov Delegate Charniele L. Herring (804) 698-1046 email: DelCHerring@house.virginia.gov Delegate Jennifer L. McClellan (804) 698-1071 email: DelJMcClellan@house.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 HB 1642 (and SB 908) solves. The opponents of the bill are saying it will let parents burn their kids with cigarettes. This is spurious. 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! HB 1642 just makes sure judges can't take away the fundamental status. HB 1642 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 constitutions, etc. HB 1642 simply gives much better protection to your rights that already exist. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Senior Counsel P.S. Our efforts to defend families would not be possible without the support of our members. If you are not already a member, please consider joining HSLDA to stand with other homeschool families. Or please consider supporting our ongoing work in advancing the cause of freedom by making a tax-deductible donation to the Homeschool Freedom Fund. Join HSLDA: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=16979 Give to the Freedom Fund: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=16980 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> What do you look like when you get out of bed? It's hard to look our best all the time. HSLDA works to present homeschooling in an engaging, dynamic, and informative light to the public news media. 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