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creative commons photo by chris and jenni
In response to the administration's recent heralding of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, parents groups and family rights advocates across the nation overwhelmed the phone lines of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. They shut down her phone lines and crashed the voice mail system, announced Michael Ramey, Director of Communications & Research for parentalrights.org.
"Monday in a Harlem middle school, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a group of 120 students that administration officials are actively discussing 'when and how it might be possible to join' (that is, ratify) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)," warned Mike Farris, President of parentalrights.org and Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Chairman.
"In my 30 years of political involvement, I have learned to recognize this as what is called a “trial balloon.” Like in World War I trench warfare, our opponents have 'sent up a balloon' to see if it will draw fire. If things remain quiet, they will proceed with their plans to push for ratification of the CRC in the U.S. Senate," Farris wrote, before he encouraged concerned parents to voice their opposition.
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint recently introduced SJ Resolution 16, a companion bill to HJ Resolution 42, introduced by Rep. Pete Hoekstra on March 31, which would prevent international law from interfering with state laws on families and children. DeMint's amendment calls for parental rights to be explicitly protected in the Constitution as a fundamental and not just an implied right.
"Now we're finding that parental rights are being attacked by courts all over the country," DeMint said recently. "And as we look at where this country is going, particularly [regarding] more association with the United Nations and [consideration of] the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, these treaties would supersede all the laws in 50 states."
Michael Farris and Rep. Hoekstra, May 2009, during second half of this Get Your Justive Life Talkshoe
CURRENT ACTION ALERT:
Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose ratification of this treaty. (Find your Senators’ contact information by typing your zip code into the box here.) Ask them also to defeat it once and for all by cosponsoring SJRes 16 – the Parental Rights Amendment.
Parental Rights Conference, 4/09
More information:
SF Family examiner articles on parents and family rights:
- Marginalized fathers capitalize on unofficial Fatherless Day
- Hillary Clinton ignores left behind parents of children abducted by other parent within or to the US
- Jailed parent Amir Sanjari has refused food for two weeks
- Grieving parents need to be careful who they trust
Comments
When you can prove to me that it was THIS issue, not another, like Iran for example, that jammed the phone lines, I'll believe it. Until then, it's pretty arrogant for anyone to take credit for shutting down the phone system.
Susan Rice's phone line was disconnected after all the calls started.
Thanks for the comment on my examiner post, and for posting your link. Great coverage!
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