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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/28/2013 2:33:19 PM Scott Woodruff--HSLDA Virginia--Calls Needed Now to Advance Parental Rights Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Virginia--Calls Needed Now to Advance Parental Rights Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are urgently needed to support a bill that will protect parental rights in Virginia! Senate Bill 908 was passed by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee this morning. The full Senate is expected to vote on this bill very soon--likely tomorrow. It is crucial that your senator hear from you before his or her vote is cast. 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. SB 908 (and HB 1642) 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 senator right away and ask him or her to support SB 908. 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." Use our Legislative Toolbox http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=16807 to find out the name of your Virginia senator. 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Have you ever yelled into the wind, only to hear the sound of your voice blown back at you? It's hard to be heard in the midst of a storm. Trying to influence federal legislation is much like yelling to be heard while standing in a fierce wind. Yet when 80,000 voices join together, they become a powerful force that cannot be drowned out. Join HSLDA to be heard above the tempests that threaten homeschool freedoms. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
