Parents win skirmish against United Nations

A move to assure Americans that neither new laws nor new treaties would usurp the authority of parents to raise their own children is gaining momentum, with members of the Louisiana legislature unanimously approving a resolution urging Congress to move the Parental Rights Amendment forward.

With the 93-0 vote in the state House, Louisiana became the second state to adopt the specific call for action. Other states have approved similarly designed proposals and many others are working on related legislation.

"Louisiana's legislature has decisively proven that support for parental rights is a bipartisan position. We are extremely pleased with the leadership shown by Louisiana's lawmakers," said Michael Farris, president of ParentalRights.org.

"We just hope that their representatives in both the House and Senate will pay attention to the voice of both the citizens and the state leaders of Louisiana on this important issue," he said.

The issue at hand is the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been circulating around the globe. It specifically vests in children a wide range of several dozen "rights" that if applied in the U.S. would make criminals of parents who spank children – or even tell them which church they will attend.

The Convention also has been condemned for giving children the right to appeal to the government to overturn virtually any parenting decision to which they object.

ParentalRights.org was created in response, advocating for a simple addition to the U.S. Constitution.

The amendment would state: "The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right."

It would add that, "Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served."

Lastly, it specifies, "No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article."

The proposed amendment already has seven sponsors in the U.S. Senate and 137 in the U.S. House. Under the Constitution's amendment process, a plan approved by Congress would need to be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Officials with the campaign told WND the purpose of the move within the state legislatures is to generate support for the ultimate effort to adopt the protection for families nationally.

In Louisiana, the state House vote followed the 34-0 approval of the plan in the state Senate. Already five members of the U.S. House from Louisiana – Reps. Steve Scalise, John Fleming, Charles Boustany, Rodney Alexander and Bill Cassidy – and Sen. David Vitter are on board the national plan.

The Louisiana plan cites the erosion of traditional parental rights in recent Supreme Court decisions that have "created confusion and ambiguity about the fundamental nature of parental rights."

In South Dakota lawmakers in March approved a resolution, H.C.R. 1014, asking for the Parental Rights Amendment to be forwarded.

Lawmakers in Tennessee earlier approved H.J.R. 0369, and Oklahoma's legislature approved H.C.R. 1033. Both specifically oppose the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which opponents regard as one of the biggest looming threats to parental rights in the U.S.

Proposals were pending in Hawaii and Michigan but expired when their legislative sessions ended, leaving supporters already having covered most of the groundwork needed for plans to be introduced next year. In Michigan, a resolution was pending, and in Virginia, members of a state Senate committee killed a plan, but that did not deter supporters from authoring a letter to members of the state's congressional delegation demanding action.

Other plans were under development in California, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina, New York and Utah already.

Farris, in a commentary, has warned that the binding U.N. treaty already is under consideration for ratification in the U.S. Senate.

"If we really believe in children's rights – in a form that is recognized by the Bill of Rights – then we need to do everything we possibly can do to defeat the U.N. Convention on the 'Rights' of the Child," he said. "And we need to pass the Parental Rights Amendment … to see that it stays defeated for good."

In the United Kingdom, the Convention already has been used to assert that authorities have complete access to the homes – at any point – of students who are homeschooled.

The Home School Legal Defense Association, founded by Farris, has been warning of the Convention's impact.

The group points out provisions of the treaty have been instituted in other countries, including a legally enforceable "right to leisure" and the establishment of the "best interest of the child," as defined by the government, as the basis for decision-making.

If the U.S. Senate approves it, "the (Convention) will automatically supersede all state laws and U.S. judges will be obligated to follow the provisions of the treaty," the HSLDA has stated. "Currently, family and education laws are state-based; however, ratification of the (Convention) would transfer the jurisdiction for making family and education law to the U.S. Congress. Congress would, in turn, be obligated to follow the U.N. mandates contained in the (Convention)."