I had called the Prime Sponsor of HB1431 (a Parental Bill of Rights) yesterday afternoon (NH State Rep Paul Terry) while traveling back from Massachusetts. Having been away from my keyboard for more than a few hours, I wanted to see if there were any updates on this bill.
Did Governor Groomer (Chris Sununu) admit he was wrong and allow this bill to become Law? Unfortunately, he had no update on that but DID say that the National Legal Foundation had written a Letter concerning the fallacies that Sununu (and before him, the weak legal tea from NH AG Formella) had uttered.
They were logically the same as the Left complaining about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida that only stated that NO sexuality lessons or discussions were to be taught or held in K-3 classrooms.
HB1431 does not do what either Sununu or his legal lackey claim so their only purpose was to throw shade at those who believe Parents are in charge of their kids and that we do not consent to the idiotic idea that we “co-parent” our children with Government.
Here is that Letter; it starts thusly:
Re: Constitutionality of HB 1431– NH Parental Bill of Rights
Dear Speaker Packard and Majority Leader Osborne:
The National Legal Foundation (NLF) supports parental rights, which the U.S. Supreme Court has declared as a fundamental right. NLF therefore supports HB 1431 as presently drafted. NLF is a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties. We write on behalf of ourselves and our donors and supporters, including those in New Hampshire. The NLF has had a significant federal and state court practice since 1985, including representing numerous parties and amici before the Supreme Court of the United States and the supreme courts of several states.
The Fundamental Right of Parents to Direct Their Children’s Education
Beginning with Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923), a case involving a state
education policy for minor children contrary to the desire of their parents, the Supreme Court has consistently recognized the fundamental right of parents to direct the welfare, education, and upbringing of their children without undue interference by the state. This liberty interest is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was long established previously in the common law.1 The “Fourteenth Amendment ‘forbids the government to infringe . . . “fundamental” liberty interests at all, no matter what process is provided, unless the infringement is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.’” Wash. v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 721 (1997), quoting Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 302 (1993) (emphasis in original); see Jordan by Jordan v. Jackson, 15 F.3d 333, 343 (4th Cir. 1994).
I really do like this line on page 3 – it seems that Sununu, Government as a whole, and Schools HAVE forgotten this:
Public schools must not forget that “in loco parentis” does not mean “displace parents.”
And this, too:
HB 1431 declares this “oldest of the fundamental liberty interests” to be also a fundamental right under New Hampshire law, and imposes upon the government the usual burden if the State seeks to limit this fundamental right – the State and its political subdivisions and/or schools must show that its limitation is “reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that such action is narrowly tailored and cannot be achieved by less restrictive means.”
Limitations – now flip that around: do you believe that either Sununu or schools boards recognize the founding idea of Limited Government? Add to that, is coercing someone’s Free Speech (insisting on the use of only Government approved “preferred pronouns”) and lying to Parents (“Ve vill tell you NOTHING!”). How is either of those a “compelling state interest” other than “they’re doing it because they believe they can” (which is no limitation at all).
And with Sununu giving NH School Boards “cover”, they are actually doing so – displacing parents and their Constitutional Authority. Here is the entire Letter:
NLF Letter_NH HB1431It is clear that Sununu believes that “He Trumps Parents” in this regard of Schools/Government having the Power to insert themselves in between Parents and their children. It is clear that, unlike both Sununu and Formella, the NLF has brought real legal firepower to the argument. Both Formella and Sununu merely waved their hands, set off a teeny-tiny smoke bomb to try to hide behind, then mumbled a bit about discrimination and transgenders, and believe the rest of us would simply and calmly accept that codswallop.
Yeah, not happening. The Gilford School Board make it PERSONAL to me by lying (by refusing to tell me) what the transgender status of my legal son is. And that Mom in Manchester has the same problem with her daughter who, it seems, the Manchester School District turned trans and refused to tell her, either.
And Sununu is perfectly fine with this. His Leftist Social Justice side makes it impossible for him to have any empathy for Parents trying to protect their children from the Government they used to trust; he’s now sowing Distrust and Disinformation on what we have actually caught the NHSBA (who has retracted their Policy JBAB that is the source of why HB1431 is needed in the first place) and various school boards across the state.
Remember, they “govern” by our consent – I hope that, just like with Policy JBAB having been retracted, we withdraw our consent in allowing Governor Groomer to continue to Rule.