Dear Friends,
Every year, Family Policy Alliance awards states that go above and beyond in their work for families in the “Craig’s List” awards. This not the Craig’s List where you sell your old couch—this Craig’s List is named in honor of our President & CEO, Craig DeRoche.
For the first time ever, the 2022 Craig’s List Awards were announced during a live awards ceremony and awarded to states that show true grit and determination to make their states a place where families can thrive. We had a great time announcing the winners and hearing from our allied state family policy councils who accepted the awards on behalf of their state!
The live awards show is now available on-demand on Facebook, YouTube, or Family Policy Alliance’s website.
These are the 2022 Craig’s List Awards winners—read all the way through to see the top award Most Pro-Family State of the Year:
Thirteen states banned nearly all abortions in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. And, they are fighting to defend their strong pro-life laws in any court challenges. Thank you for your life-saving work!
Honorable Mentions: IOWA, UTAH, WYOMING
These states have strong pro-life laws on the books that are currently not being enforced. But, the states are defending their pro-life laws in the midst of court challenges.
In 2020, Idaho trailblazed the very first law in the country to save girls sports by ensuring that only girls (and not boys who self-identify as girls) can compete in girls’ sports—a very common-sense law.
In 2021, we awarded the “Save Girls’ Sports Award” to eight states (including Idaho) that passed laws to save girls’ sports.
Now, in 2022, 10 more states passed new “save girls’ sports” laws—bringing the total to 18 states that now have laws to protect girls’ sports from being taken over by woke ideologies! So, the “save girls’ sports” award this year goes to these 10 new states fighting to protect our female athletes.
Indiana, Louisiana and Utah receive extra recognition for having to override their governors in order to ensure that Save Girls’ Sports became law in their state.
Iowa’s primary election was a clean sweep for families! Our state ally, THE FAMiLY LEADER, backed six pro-family candidates in the primaries, including candidates challenging powerful pro-abortion and anti-school choice Republican incumbents.
On election night, all six pro-family candidates won! This clean sweep paves the way for more pro-family, pro-life and pro-school choice efforts in Iowa.
In 2012, Lincoln, Nebraska’s city council passed an ordinance that attempted to permit men who self-identify as women to enter women’s locker rooms, restrooms, and showers; control speech by holding people liable for not using a person’s “preferred pronouns”; punish counselors who would help individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction or struggles with gender identity; control the speech of even pastors who guide their flock according to biblical truths on human sexuality; and much more.
In response, Lincoln citizens successfully petitioned the city council to rescind the sweeping ordinance or put it on the ballot for the people to vote—but they never did. So, the ordinance sat there on the books but unenforceable.
Instead, in February of this year, the Lincoln city council again adopted the same kind of ordinance. Clearly, Lincoln’s city council wasn’t getting the message.
So, led by the hard work of the team at Nebraska Family Alliance, they gathered four times the number of signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot in only two weeks! Volunteers over 300-strong helped with the effort. And 71 Lincoln churches got involved in the effort.
Lincoln city council saw the writing on the wall, and they rescinded the harmful ordinance!
Lincoln, Nebraska, is an incredible story of a group of grassroots volunteers and the Body of Christ who faced the giants (the strength and funding of the LGBT lobby) and won!
Our state ally, Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), has been helping parents understand how harmful and graphic the “comprehensive sexuality education” curriculum in schools really is. As a result, parent coalitions have formed in about 30 municipalities. Thousands of children are being opted out of sex education classes that use graphic curriculum. In Worcester alone, the second largest city in Massachusetts, over 3,400 students (more than 13% of district families) have been opted out of sexual content and classes.
But the good news doesn’t stop there. The Opt-Out Movement is also growing support for alternative education in Massachusetts. MFI has helped parents start 25 private church schools or learning pods. They also won in a city that was refusing to allow a local congregation to open a private, religious school.
MFI also filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents against school officials when both their son and daughter were encouraged to “transition” by a queer-identifying librarian and hid what was happening with their children from the parents.
Keep up the good work, Massachusetts parents! No one will protect your children better than you can. You are in great hands with MFI!
Virginia’s parents had enough. They fought school boards over implementing gender ideology and critical race theory in their children’s schools—with many of those fights making national news. Sadly, a male student sexually assaulted two young girls in female restrooms in two different schools, both of which were initially denied by the Chair of the Loudon County School Board.
Around this same time, at the behest of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the FBI opted to investigate concerned parents as potential threats. Apparently the NSBA determined parents concerned about harmful curriculum and assault against their children in schools were more of a threat than school policies creating an environment for assault against young girls.
The Family Foundation Action in Virginia spent months supporting parents at school board meetings and helping them rally to make a difference in Virginia’s November 2021 election. They knocked on 133,000 doors, texted 100,000 people, and called 135,000 people. Of the 133,000 homes they visited, 22,000 people voted in the governor’s race who had not voted before. Ultimately, the pro-parent, pro-family candidate, Governor Youngkin, won by only 64,000 votes. The hard work of Virginia parents and The Family Foundation Action paid off in a big way for their state!
Delaware did an outstanding job of stopping a bill that would’ve endangered children and kept them away from the watchful protection of their parents.
The Democrat-controlled legislature was dead-set on passing a bill that would have permitted children to consent to their own abortions and gender transitions—without even notifying their parents. The bill was so egregious that Tucker Carlson even covered it on his show.
The bill made it through the committee process, but once it reached the full floor for consideration, it was completely removed from the agenda. Even the extreme Left lawmakers feared the assault on parental rights.
Delaware children are safer because of your efforts stopping this bill! A big shoutout to our state ally Delaware Family Policy Council for championing parents!
Honorable Mention: MAINE
Maine also had to play a tough defensive game this year. They had to stop a big effort to enshrine abortion and “gender identity rights” in the state constitution. But, by engaging parents across the state, speaking out in the media, and equipping state legislators, the Christian Civic League helped kill the bill.
Congratulations, Maine–this would have been disastrous policy for your state!
Florida has scored some amazing victories in making their state a wonderful place for families! Chief among those wins was passing a law—spearheaded by Rep. Joe Harding—protecting kindergarten through third grade children from sexualized content in their classrooms and ensuring transparency for their parents into the curriculum. The law is wildly popular—garnering the support of a majority of Florida’s voters—including Democrat voters. Gov. DeSantis did an exceptional job defending the bill, even after Disney attempted to wield its woke corporate power to attack the law and DeSantis himself. Our state ally Florida Family Policy Council also did an outstanding job shepherding the bill through the legislature.
Florida’s Department of Health also issued treatment guidelines for children struggling with gender dysphoria, clarifying that any form of “gender transition” on children comes with high risk of harm and should not be practiced. And, in the latest smart play, Gov. DeSantis suspended a state attorney who publicly stated he would not prosecute abortionists or enforce a law that criminalizes gender transition on minors.
Way to run the pro-family ball down the field, Florida!
Honorable Mention: KENTUCKY
Kentucky also had an amazing year protecting families! They passed a law to save girls’ sports and another one protecting religious organizations from government discrimination. They also signed into law a huge package of pro-life protections. And they stopped a very harmful bill that would’ve made it illegal for counselors to help individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction or struggles with gender identity.
Kentucky families are blessed to have Kentucky’s Family Foundation representing them at the state capitol.
There’s really no contest here. The top Craig’s List award this year has to go to Arizona. This is the most pro-family state of 2022 because they passed seven important and groundbreaking laws this year that champion your family’s values.
- They passed a universal school choice law, ensuring that Arizona children can access an education best suited to their needs to give them the best opportunity for the future.
- They banned dangerous and irreversible “gender transition” surgeries on children.
- They prohibited discrimination against faith-based foster and adoption agencies.
- They passed a law to save girls’ sports.
- They passed a law ensuring that religion is an “essential service” even in times of crisis like a pandemic.
- They banned late-term abortions after 15 weeks.
- They gave parents the right to sue when their parental rights are violated, guaranteed parents’ access to educational and medical records of their children, and required parental consent for any survey given to children at school.
All of these amazing pro-family laws passed, despite conservatives holding only narrow majorities in both the Arizona House and Senate.
It’s worth noting that in his eight years as governor, Gov. Ducey has signed into law nearly 70 of the pro-life, pro-family bills supported by our state ally, Center for Arizona Policy (CAP)! Congratulations, CAP—and an even bigger congratulations to the families in Arizona! Your state is a strong pro-family state, and you are well represented at the Arizona capital!
We encourage you to support your state family policy ally advocating for families in your state! They make these incredible wins possible.
If you do not have a state family policy ally in your state, or if your state did not win a Craig’s List award this year, prayerfully consider joining in the fight for families. Help your state start a family policy council to represent your values in your state’s capitol. Prayerfully consider giving and volunteering with an existing family policy council. Help to make your state one that can earn a spot on next year’s Craig’s List.
God bless you,
The Family Policy Alliance Team
