Breaking News: Parental Rights Press Conference

This email was fowarded to me this morning and I pass it along (I will gain nothing by passing this along, I have no affiliation with ParentalRights.org. except wanting the same end result... accountability in government and constitutional rights upheld for families!

Whith that said I bring you .....

Breaking News: Parental Rights Press Conference

This afternoon at 3:00 (EDT),

Representative Pete Hoekstra (MI) and Senator Jim DeMint (SC) will hold a joint press conference at Upper Senate Park, next to the Russell Office Building in Washington, D.C., to announce the introduction of the Parental Rights Amendment in both houses of Congress. Perhaps you will be able to catch a glimpse of it this evening on the national news!

Introducing the Amendment, of course, is only the beginning – and now the clock is ticking. Today’s announcement will no doubt get the attention of opponents to the Amendment, and we will have to stay ahead of them in the race to secure two-thirds votes in both the House and Senate. That’s why now, more than ever, we need your continued support.

The Call for Champions

The Parental Rights Amendment has sponsors to champion its passage in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate, but we still need support at the grassroots level to get the number of votes we’re going to need: 290 in the House and 67 in the Senate. We need you to be a Champion where you live to protect children by empowering their parents through passage of the Parental Rights Amendment.

Get Off the Sidelines!

Here is what we need YOU to do TODAY:

1. Sign the petition at ParentalRights.org.

2. Sign up as a 10-and-2 Representative

Visit ParentalRights.org’s 10-and-2 page to download instructions and materials, then enlist 10 people to sign the online petition and recruit 2 more to serve as 10-and-2 Representatives
after you.

3. Sign up as a 10-and-2 Recruiter

Email Rebekah@parentalrights.org to sign up and to answer any questions.
Recruiters enlist ten (10) or more people to be 10-and-2 Representatives.

4. Forward this email to everyone you can possibly think of!

Ideas include your entire email address book,blog lists, local radio stations, community, civic
and church organizations, and the like.

5. Become a member of ParentalRights.org and post your decals

Anyone giving $25 or more at ParentalRights.org/donate becomes a member and will receive 2 window decals to post on your car, or next to your home front door.

6. Contact Congress

If your Representative is not on the list of supporters already, email or call them and ask,
“Why aren’t you a cosponsor of the Parental Rights Amendment?” You can find their contact information by inputting your zip code at Congress.org.

Tracking Our House and Senate Sponsors
TODAY the Parental Rights Amendment is being introduced in Congress with 71 sponsors in the House and 2 in the Senate. Look for your Congressman on our Sponsors List.

Hidden Signature Hunt
We have no way of knowing exactly how many "hidden signatures" were found last week, but our overall signatures total climbed by 3438 in the last seven days.
Thank you for hunting up the hidden signers around you!
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I want to also share with you this email (below) that I recieved today as well..

Send your representative a quick note like this:"I listened to this discussion on the upcoming reintroduction of a Federal Parental Rights Amendment on Get Your Justice Live and want to know if your office will support or supports the need for parental rights to be explicitly protected in our Constitution.

Please let me know the position of your office on this topic after listening to this short episode http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/582-Michael-Donnelly-of-Home-School-Legal-Defense-Association-Joins-Get-Your-Justice-live.html

"Peter Hoekstra was on Get Your Justice Live and thanked us all for the support, lets keep it up!!!!

This bill is still a baby!!!!!

We must rally till we can’t rally no more in favor of this….
Call every local representative… Make sure you forward this every one of your family members today and have them write letters and call in on this bill.

ON CAPITOL HILL
Who will raise kids: Mom, Dad or state?
Parental rights: 67 in Congress pushing to amend Constitution

Posted: March 29, 2009 6:52 pm EasternBy Drew Zahn© 2009 WorldNetDaily Rep.

Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.

Though efforts to pass a constitutional amendment protecting parental rights have failed in the past, two U.S. legislators are preparing to reintroduce the idea this week; and this time, they say, the effort is backed by more than 60 congressional members.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., who introduced a parental rights amendment by himself last year, told the Agence France-Presse that he will be joined by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., on Tuesday as they renew the fight.

According to a statement released to AFP by Hoekstra's office, the amendment "would clearly outline in the U.S. Constitution that parents, not government or any other organization, have a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit." "At a time when government at every level seems to encroach upon the ability of parents to choose the best for their children,"

Hoekstra writes on his website, "it is important to preserve parental rights into the Constitution."

Discover the mindset behind the establishment of today's system of mass education, and where has it led us as a society with "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool."

Last summer Hoekstra introduced H.J.R. 97, proposing a constitutional amendment stating that the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right that cannot be infringed upon by federal, state, or international treaty law without demonstrating government interest "of the highest order."

Hoekstra asserts that legitimate cases of abuse and neglect fall under the "demonstrated government interest" clause. Without any co-sponsors, however, H.J.R 97 died in committee. According to ParentalRights.org, an organization dedicated to seeing the amendment passed, this year's effort, in addition to senatorial support from DeMint, has recruited 65 U.S. representatives who have committed to joining Hoekstra in co-sponsoring a parental rights amendment.

As WND reported, the president of the world's premier homeschool advocacy organization made a case for the amendment in a Washington Times commentarypublished last year: "Few dispute the vital role of parents in raising the next generation, but, regrettably, few recognize that the fundamental role of parents is under direct attack," wrote J. Michael Smith, president of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.

Smith pointed to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, an internation treaty approved by the Clinton administration but stalled by opposition in the Senate, as one example of governmental attempts to infringe on parental rights. "It's possible that in the near future, the United States may significantly weaken the rights of parents to raise their children," Smith wrote. "Crucial decisions that parents are accustomed to making, such as what our children read, who they associate with, what kind of discipline is used, whether we take them to church, or whether we homeschool, all become decisions for the state if the United States ratifies the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child." He continued, "By allowing the government to define and determine what is in the 'best interests of the child,' outside the context of abuse and neglect cases, the UNCRC in effect diminishes the parental role, replacing it with government supervision."

As WND reported, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., last month urged a hurry-up timetable for adoption of the UNCRC. "Children deserve basic human rights ... and the convention protects children's rights by setting some standards here so that the most vulnerable people of society will be protected," Boxer said, according to Fox News.

Critics like Smith, however, argue the document, which creates "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" usurps the role of parents in directing their children's upbringing. Hoekstra used a 3-minute video clip, viewable below, to explain how, he believes, parental rights are being overlooked in the nation's capitol and why a parental rights amendment is needed:

Opponents of the amendment, such as those that opposed a Colorado state version proposed in the 1990's, argue that the measure would protect child abusers, make public schools a battleground for parents' ideological issues and prevent teenage students from receiving sex education and family planning services through their schools.

Rob Boston, assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State argued against the amendment in a blog post last month, making many of the same arguments lodged against the Colorado initiative. Boston also argued that the amendment is a back door approach to mixing public education dollars and religion, claiming through the amendment "states would be forced to give parents tuition vouchers for private and religious schooling since the right to direct a child's education would be enshrined in the Constitution."

Sen. DeMint, who will join Hoekstra in offering the amendment, has been involved in similar legislation in the past. DeMint was a co-sponsor of the Parents' Rights Empowerment and Protection Act of 2007, which required schools to obtain written parental permission before teaching children about sex or sexuality. DeMint's bill, like Hoekstra's in 2008, never made it out of committee.

To succeed, the amendment Hoekstra and DeMint plan to introduce Tuesday will need to pass in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate by two-thirds majorities each, then win ratification by three-fourths of the states.

DON'T FORGET TO FORWARD AND SIGN THE PETITION other petions now available and "very important"http://www.rallycongress.com/fight-cps/1448

State Info for Every State: http://www.50states.com/
Josie Perez, co-chair
State of Florida
Disclosure Watch U.S.


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