Mike Farris' Must-Read Strategic Plan
Dear Friend of Parental Rights,
Government intrusion has gotten bolder in recent years. You may recall that a father in Tennessee last year took his 13-year-old son to the doctor, and granted permission for the doctor to test his son for drug use. Yet, when the tests came back, the doctor refused to give the father the results, insisting he must have the son's permission to disclose that information. He cited federal HIPPA regulations as his reason for ignoring the parent's rights.
And the intrusion is likely to get worse. Several articles and a brand new book written by 20 American law professors urge the banning of all private and home schools in the U.S. in order to protect children from religious indoctrination by their parents. "Perhaps the more appropriate suggestion for our current educational dilemma is that public education should be mandatory and universal...." (Martha Albertson Fineman, What Is Right for Children?, page 237) “If the core principle in a parent's belief system is that there is only one immutable truth...many educational topics will be off limits. Such 'private truths' have no place in the public arena, including the public schools.” (Catherine J. Ross, “Fundamentalist Challenges to Core Democratic Values: Exit and Homeschooling”, page 8)
But we are not without hope. In fact, we are encouraged that we can halt this invasion of our families.
Over the last two years, we have gained 140 cosponsors of the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 7 in the U.S. Senate, plus 31 senators opposing the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child through S.R. 519. We have made this tremendous progress with a relatively small list of petition signers for two reasons: first, we have some amazing allied organizations partnering with us to get this done. Second, you didn't just sign a petition and leave it alone. You signed up to call or write your lawmakers, and you have remained faithful to take action when my staff and I have asked it of you.
Together, we have done an amazing amount for such a small organization, but there is still a lot we need to do. We will have to ramp up our efforts if we are to succeed.
The Plan
My staff and I are ready to lead a charge on Washington in the next few months to push the Parental Rights Amendment past its first hurdle: we intend to pass the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House early in the next session of Congress! We believe that a door will open when there is a change in the leadership of the House.
First, we want to secure a majority of the House (218 congressmen) as cosponsors of the Amendment. Then, we urge the leadership of the House to schedule the PRA for a vote (we need 290 "yes" votes).
At that point in time, we will need the biggest possible team of citizens urging their elected representatives to vote Yes to protect parental rights. The voice of American voters at that stage will be at its most critical. We will need all friends of parental rights in this nation to call Congress and to urge others to do so, too. If our people will speak up, the politics are clear: We will win.
Once the House passes the Amendment, we will be able to focus all our resources and efforts on the Senate. However, we will need a much larger grassroots army to see success.
Let me be frank about this. There is a natural tendency of people to say, "I will get involved when it matters." They erroneously believe that the only time it matters is when the final vote is being taken.
This is simply not true.
It is because we have had a good start in public participation that we have 140 co-sponsors in the House. If we double our public participation, we will probably get to about 180 co-sponsors. If we triple our public participation, we can reach the 218 co-sponsors we need.
If we don't get to 218 co-sponsors, the House leadership--even if it changes--will not want to schedule a final vote on the floor.
We have to build a foundation before we can build the walls.
This kind of effort requires people who are foresighted and are willing to work hard in the early stages of the process. You have been that kind of person, and I am asking you to take the time in the next few days to help us recruit people who can help us move this process to the next level.
I believe we need to double our support base by Election Day just to be ready for this coming drive in the House.
We want to give you good tools to help you recruit your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and relatives.
We are going to begin sending you emails (usually once a week) that you can pass on to others, beginning with an email tomorrow. Please be ready to open that and pass it on. (And if you contact us to take action as outlined below, we'll give you immediate access to that first email -- today!)
Here is what else you can do to help:
Action Items
1. Forward ParentalRights.org emails to your friends all over the country and re-post them to your Facebook, Twitter, or other account. (To do this, click "View this email online" at the bottom of the email, then click the "Share" button on the online version.)
2. Volunteer to reach 80 more petition signers in your congressional district, or to enlist 5 others who can each reach 80. To sign up or for more details, contact Jonathan at 540-751-1240 or jonathan@parentalrights.org.
3. Sign up for an online seminar that will better equip you to share the Parental Rights Amendment with your friends and neighbors. To sign up or for more details, call Jason at 540-751-1241, or email jason@parentalrights.org.
The Supreme Court is changing. It is very likely to completely reverse the traditional doctrine of parental rights sometime in the next decade. We have just added a new advocate for international law to the membership of the Court. We have to act before it is too late.
Together, we can see that the next Congress will adopt the Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and propose it to the states for ratification. If we work and God blesses, this will happen. Will you help us get the job done?
Michael Farris, J.D.
President
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Amendment Cosponsors
To date we have 140 cosponsors in the U.S. House and 7 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate.
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P.O. Box 1090 Purcellville, VA 20134 * (540)-751-1200 * info@parentalrights.org
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