NC Parental Rights Bill Seeks Cosponsors

 

House Bill 711 was filed today in the North Carolina General Assembly to define and protect parental rights in statutory law. Representatives Carl Ford (R-76) and Larry Pittman (R-82) introduced the measure with three additional original cosponsors (Reps. Jones, Jordan, and Speciale), and have until 5:00 p.m. Friday to collect any additional cosponsors. We would ask you to contact your representative today and ask that he or she also sign on to cosponsor HB 711.

Please take a moment to email your representative in the General Assembly and give them the following message (in whole or in part) in your own words: 

“The right of parents to shape the upbringing of their child may be the most important issue you will handle this year, even if its implications are not immediately apparent. We need to see those rights protected for this and future generations. Please support that right to the fullest extent, and start by signing on to cosponsor HB 711. This bill will take the existing court standard on parental rights and codify it in statutory law so that it cannot change with shifting ideologies in the judiciary. Please cosponsor HB 711 before this Friday’s deadline. It is now available on the Dashboard. 

Thank you.”

To contact your lawmaker, visit this page and follow the instructions there. You will be asked to enter your address (or just click the map), then click on the pop-up link to find your lawmaker’s contact information. You may call with your request, but emails are preferred at this time. Again, mention that HB 711 is now available for cosponsors on the Dashboard.

Background

HB 711 mirrors laws enacted in other states and the legal standard already practiced in North Carolina’s courts. It would define the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. It requires all statutes, local ordinance or regulation to honor that right unless there is a compelling governmental interest not to.

In the event parents have to go to court to seek protection of their rights against government intrusion, courts first must decide whether the right is fundamental. If the judge decides the right is not fundamental, then the government can infringe the right as long as its purpose in doing so is “rational.” But if the judge decides the right is fundamental, the government may infringe on the right only when there is a “compelling” reason to do so and there is no other way for the government to fulfill that purpose.

As of today, there is nothing in North Carolina statutes or the state Constitution enunciating that parental rights are fundamental. The U.S. Supreme Court has traditionally ruled that parental rights are fundamental, but their latest ruling has produced confusion and ambiguity on the subject. Although North Carolina courts have generally been good in recognizing parental rights, it is risky to depend on future court decisions to safeguard a fundamental parental right. This is the problem HB 711 will solve; it will simply give much better protection to parental rights than currently exists in North Carolina law.

Opponents of a parental rights law often incorrectly assume that it would give parents a right to abuse their children. This is incorrect. Parents don’t have a right to abuse or neglect their children under North Carolina law, and that will not change with the passage of HB 711. Rather, this law will simply provide an additional layer of protection afforded through legislative enactment to safeguard parents and children from intrusion by the government into the decision making process within the family unit.

Thank you for standing with us in championing the cause of parental rights in North Carolina!

Sincerely,

Michael Ramey
Director of Communications & Research