There is no question that comprehensive sexual education in public schools has become increasingly more graphic and political in recent years. Thankfully, parents have had enough, and they are getting involved and working together to defend their children.

One such example is Battle Ground, Washington, a suburb of the Portland-Vancouver Metro Area. Just as the 2016 school year was nearing its end, Washington State education officials released what was considered then to be the most radical comprehensive sex ed standards in the nation.

Parents were outraged, and understandably so. The new “sexual health education outcomes” ensured that kindergarteners would learn about crossdressing as a form of gender expression. By third grade, students would be taught that they could choose their own gender. Fourth graders would be expected to explain the differences between heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual orientations.

Not only were the topics age-inappropriate, but the whole process seemed designed to exclude parents from the conversation surrounding sex and how it would be taught to their children in schools. Astonishingly, state education officials had drafted, approved, and implemented the state standards in secret without informing parents or any public comment period.

This was a step too far for many parents, even in relatively liberal Washington State. It became a cause célèbre of the local news cycle, even making national news for a time, causing a highly contentious showdown between parents, school districts, and state education officials.

Thousands of parents offered their disapproval by means of signing petitions and contacting the state department that oversees public education. Parents turned out en masse to school board meetings, only to be told that school districts believed they were legally responsible for implementing the state education standards.

Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the education bureaucracy had no intention of rescinding the standards. Many parents reluctantly resigned themselves to the latest diktat and moved on.

Not so in Battle Ground, Washington, where concerned community members and churches rallied to protect their children from the indoctrination being mandated from above. After learning that Washington law allows schools to avoid teaching the new standards if schools decide to no longer teach comprehensive sex ed altogether, parents began putting pressure on the school district to drop its comprehensive sex ed requirement.

Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW), a state ally of Family Policy Alliance®, worked with parents to develop the winning strategy. The school board ended up voting 3-2 to stop teaching comprehensive sex ed.

“Family Policy Institute of Washington has been privileged to be involved with the parents of Battle Ground for two years as they have stood firm for parental rights and not sexualizing children,” said Chris Platte, the policy director for FPIW.

The developments in Battle Ground, Washington, should give hope to other parents involved in related disputes in other parts of the country. This includes Austin, Texas, where distraught parents have found themselves in a similar battle.

Earlier this month, the Austin Independent School District (AISD)—the same school district that recently hosted a drag queen for “Pride Week Story Time” in one of its elementary schools—adopted a radical comprehensive sex ed curriculum, containing elements designed by  Canadian abortion providers.

According to Texas Values, a state ally of Family Policy Alliance, the curriculum includes lessons teaching students how to engage in anal sex ‘comfortably’ and how to procure birth control, abortions, and other ‘healthcare’ without the knowledge of their parents.

Like in Washington, AISD officials shut parents out of the process and ignored their concerns once the new curriculum came to light.  But hundreds of parents have shown up to AISD meetings and over 8,000 people have signed a Texas Values petition against the curriculum.

What does all this tell us? We need to be on notice that radical education bureaucrats want to socially engineer cultural perceptions of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Many in the educational establishment don’t think parents should be trusted to make decisions about when and how to introduce these tremendously sensitive and intimately personal topics to children. Instead, schools keep pushing the envelope, undermining the role of parents and introducing sexual topics at earlier and earlier ages.

But we should also take heart. As the events in Battle Ground, Washington, show us, when parents get involved to defend the values they hold dear, real change can happen.

It’s worth it, after all. Our children are worth fighting for. And Family Policy Alliance, along with our network for over 40 state-based allies, will be standing with you side-by-side.

Standing Strong,

Blaine Conzatti
Director of Advocacy – Idaho

LGBTQ+ activists are pushing your city council members to pass a sexual orientation and gender identity ordinance (SOGI). The Topeka Policy and Finance Committee will  be discussing your freedom TOMORROW when they meet. These types of ordinances will be used to undermine religious freedom in Kansas, and your voice is needed to stop it!

The measure is similar to laws in other states that have been used to punish business owners (such as bakers and florists) who decline to participate in same-sex weddings.  In some cases, those owners have been forced to close their businesses and have been hit with tens of thousands of dollars in fines.   These laws also cover “gender identity” and have been responsible for opening women’s bathrooms, showers, dressing rooms and other public accommodations to men and boys regardless of their biological sex.

These sorts of laws have been destructive in other states. This is not what we want for our state or our city.

The ordinance is known as a SOGI law because of its stated purpose to protect people based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

But what it really does is divide friends and give government the power to pick winners and losers based on their beliefs.  These sorts of laws have come between cakebakers, florist, t-shirt designers, wedding photographers and their long-time customers. These are not made up stories, but real-life small business owners whose entire livelihood have been put at risk.

The proposed ordinance looks like it is supposed to protect religious institutions and claims to protect religious freedom, however, that doesn’t stop business owners from being sued or being fined in the process of defending their rights. This ordinance is being presented in conjunction with a hate crimes ordinance, and a resolution to ban the city from discriminating in its own contracting.

LGBT activists have been pushing similar ordinances around the state, including Prairie Village, Overland Park, and Roeland Park. And activists have been pushing Olathe’s City Council as well. Topeka is already a kind and welcoming place. We don’t need a resolution or ordinance to tell us to treat each other well.

What can you do?

  1. Make your voice heard. It’s simple on our action page to reach out to your City Council. We’ve made it simple on our Action Center, as you can reach all of those councilmembers with just a click. Remember to share this message with your friends and family so they too can speak up!
  2. Attend the Policy and Finance Committee Meeting to be held TOMORROW at 2 p.m. The Committee meets in the Executive Conference Room (City Hall 3rd Floor) 215 SE 7th St., Topeka, KS.
  3. Encourage your pastor to get involved as well. These are not just “political” issues but have great significance for families, for the ability to live out our Biblical beliefs, and for the fabric of our society as a whole.

We appreciate your respectful engagement on this issue and encourage you to spend earnest time in prayer for your city and its leaders.

Praying for Topeka,

Brittany Jones, Esq.
Director of Advocacy

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Is it right for Christians to involve themselves in political things? Some Christians say no. They argue that believers should focus on “spiritual” things (like evangelism, prayer, Bible reading, and church) without getting “distracted” by the things of this world (which, of course, include politics).

I affirm that we should evangelize the lost, robustly pursue prayer and Bible reading, and actively involve ourselves in a local assembly of God’s people. But to say that doing these things precludes exercising our biblical responsibilities as citizens overlooks three important biblical truths.

First, God has created government as His “ministers to us for our good” (Romans 13:4). Therefore, government is something worthy of our time and efforts—it’s one of God’s gifts given to us to help promote the common good until His return!

Second, we are to “seek the welfare of the city where God has sent us” so that we may be left free to “live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (Jeremiah 29:7, 1 Timothy 2:2). For us to have the space to live our lives and raise our children according to God’s revealed will, government needs to respect its limited jurisdiction—it must refrain from interfering with the biblical exercise of our God-given rights.

Third, we have been given a cultural commission to transform the society around us. In the model prayer given to his disciples, Jesus instructs us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We are to work as God’s laborers until this goal is realized, “occupying until Jesus returns” and acting as “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” by promoting a godly vision for society (Luke 19:13, Matthew 5:13-16).

We can’t afford to be apathetic. If we engage in politics, we can make large leaps forward in building a public square where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is cherished. If we withdraw from politics, another ideology will fill the vacuum. Those who show up and speak out will achieve the victory. In many ways, the sorry state of our government today is the direct result of retreat and indifference on the part of Christians.

Family Policy Alliance of Idaho® exists to unleash biblical citizenship throughout this great state and nation. This is accomplished through educating and mobilizing voters, discipling statesmen, and promoting sound policy. We know that the reformation of the “political” will only happen when Christians exercise their biblical responsibility to inform themselves and get involved in “political” things.

The Bible tells us of faithful believers who “stood firm and took action” when faced with an out-of-control government (Daniel 11:32). Will you stand with us?

Standing for Truth,

Blaine Conzatti
Director of Advocacy

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been talking about the problems that sexual orientation and gender identity laws (SOGI) create for Kansans. We’ve looked at the implications SOGIs have for businesses and schools – now we’ll look at the implications they have for churches and for those sitting in the pews.

As an attorney for the city of Overland Park pointed out, the only real push back to SOGI laws comes from the faith community. In fact, this attorney suggested that the city council needed to figure out how to “get over” religious objections to a SOGI ordinance. Having this sentiment spoken openly by a city official in a public meeting is an extremely disturbing, though not shocking, development. The free exercise of religion is our first listed freedom in the Bill of Rights and is one of the oldest and dearly loved freedoms in American culture. It should be a right that we all work to defend because it is the foundation of all of our other rights.

The once hidden agenda to overcome and violate religious beliefs is increasingly obvious. Even more now than ever, there is a clear conflict between religious freedom, free thought, and the LGBTQ agenda. LGBTQ+ activist demand that everyone agrees with their belief system. It is not even enough to just passively accept their beliefs; they want everyone to celebrate their lifestyle or else be pushed out of society.

Many people have sought to “compromise” by adding religious exemptions for churches to the SOGI ordinances. Exempting select groups from SOGIs runs into problems for several reasons:

While well-meaning folks across the country want to introduce compromise language as a way of appeasing LGBTQ activists and attempt to protect the church, it does little, to nothing, to actually address the concerns that SOGIs present to people of faith. The freedom to think, believe, and speak is too important to compromise as our opponents are always looking for a way to “get over” our beliefs.

Standing for the freedom to believe,

Brittany Jones, Esq.
Director of Advocacy

 

Former presidential candidate, Beto O’Rourke, stated just a few weeks ago that he wanted to use the tax code to punish churches and religious organizations—including colleges and hospitals—for living out their faith.

To no one’s surprise, Beto then dropped out of the presidential race last week. This is a good thing for Americans. But, his plans to target people of faith in America are not unique.

Last week, New York state passed what’s called a Johnson Amendment that muzzles churches and other nonprofits when it comes to candidates for public office—even when those candidates represent the district in which the church is located. The Federal Government passed a Johnson Amendment in 1964, but it has never been used against a church.

Clearly, hostility toward people of faith did not vanish when Beto exited the presidential race. That’s why Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana (an alum of Family Policy Foundation’s® Statesmen Academy℠) and Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska introduced a resolution to remind D.C. that religious freedom is a God-given right that matters just as much today as it did when our country was founded.

Importantly it points out that the “government should not be in the business of dictating what ‘correct’ religious beliefs are.” Everyone knows it would be a bad idea to have the DMV or bureaucrats veiled in layers of red tape in Washington, D.C. deciding questions about whether Baptists or Lutherans observe communion correctly—or how to receive forgiveness of sin.

Instead, this resolution reinforces what we know to be true – a truly free society must leave room for individuals to have many differing opinions and beliefs. The resolution reinforces that any type of policy like the one Beto proposed to punish religious groups is a complete violation of the First Amendment.

Ideas like Beto’s and New York’s are intended to punish Bible-believing Christians. But what they don’t realize is that when the right to religious freedom shrinks for one group, it shrinks for everyone—including people of no faith who simply want to express and live out their secular beliefs.

Our Founders understood that the right to religious freedom protects all people.

Will you join us in sending a letter to your elected leaders in D.C. and ask that they join Rep. Banks and Senator Sasse on this important resolution? They need to hear from you that you believe protecting religious freedom is important to your family—and for our neighbors. We’ve made it easy through our action center.  [HYPERLINK]

For Faith,

Brittany Jones, Esq.
Policy Manager

Don’t Forget: TODAY IS ELECTION DAY!

Every day of the year, Family Policy Alliance works to promote biblical citizenship—engaging with our form of government and leaders from a biblical perspective.  Today – Election Day – is perhaps the most important day of the year to this end.  We count it a privilege to live in a free country with democratic elections where all people can make their voices heard at the ballot box.

Won’t you be part of biblical citizenship today by voting and praying for those who will be elected?

On Friday, President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a new proposed rule to allow faith-based adoption and foster care agencies to receive federal grants without compromising their religious beliefs.

The new rule will roll back harmful regulations from the Obama Administration that forced faith-based providers to choose between helping vulnerable children and birthmoms, or following their faith.

In 2016, just days before President Obama left office, HHS added “sexual orientation” as a protected class to a rule governing adoption agencies.  Therefore, adoption and foster care providers could not continue to place children in need with married mothers and fathers only based on their biblical beliefs about marriage and sexuality.  Their choice was to give up their beliefs in order to serve or else stop serving children and birthmothers altogether. And many did close their doors because they couldn’t violate their faith.

While the Obama rule sought to punish faith-based agencies into compliance with a radical political agenda, the real victims were children waiting for their forever home and birthmoms whose choices were limited.

With more than 440,000 children in foster care in the U.S., and at least 100,000 waiting for adoption, this misguided rule demanded attention.

The Trump Administration responded.

The new rule will allow adoption and foster care agencies to once again provide much-needed child placement services while maintaining their religious beliefs.  Rather than force them to comply with politically motivated “sexual orientation” rules, providers will only be required to comply with nondiscrimination laws passed by Congress and signed into law, as well as applicable Supreme Court decisions.

According to a White House press release, “The proposed rule represents the Trump Administration’s strong commitment to the rule of law―the Constitution, federal statutes, and Supreme Court decisions. These require that the federal government not infringe on religious freedom in its operation of HHS grant programs and address the impact of regulatory actions on small entities.”

This announcement represents one of several steps taken by the Trump Administration to protect religious freedom in America and restore common-sense in federal agencies.  The Administration has also taken action to protect medical workers who have conscious objection to abortion and assisted suicide, and it has ensured that faith-based businesses can opt out of insurance plans that include contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs.

We are delighted that the Department of Health and Human Services has issued this new rule to protect religious freedom and advance the work of faith-based adoption and foster care agencies.  President Trump and his administration deserve our thanks.

If you are encouraged by this announcement, won’t you take a moment to personally thank President Trump for his leadership to protect religious freedom in our country? We have made it easy to send to send him a message in our Action Center – it only take a few seconds.

Thank you for standing with us to promote and defend pro-family public policy.  And thanks in advance for unleashing biblical citizenship today by voting!

Sincerely,

Autumn Leva, Esq.
Vice President of Strategy

“If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government, which does not believe in rights for anyone except the state.”
President Harry Truman
Attorney General’s Conference, 1950

This Tuesday, Nov 5, the contentious LGBT curriculum, the legalization of recreational marijuana, the assault against parental rights, the safety and dignity of preborn life, and the violation of religious liberty will be at stake. This off-year election will either prevent or hasten the moral collapse of our state. The New Jersey Assembly, serving two-year terms, is up for grabs once again.

In the current legislative session, our state Assembly:

The candidates who win on Nov 5 will commence a new two-year legislative session in January 2020. These elected officials will make decisions that have extraordinary consequences on families and people of faith. The results of voting will start the trajectory towards a state where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished; or the dreaded opposite – the unhindered promulgation of anti-family values in education, the reckless and destructive impact of neighborhoods saturated with pot-shops, and the calloused insistence to violate human rights by allowing late term abortions in NJ that are banned in 96% of nations.

If you believe in the dignity of human life, the rights of parents to raise their children according to their beliefs, and the beauty of the traditional family, then November 5th is your greatest moment of advocacy. Historically, voter turnout is low in years when neither the President nor Governor is on the ballot. Therefore, your vote carries significant weight!

Do not approach elections with despair or hopelessness despite your district. Even if your preferred candidate does not win, a closer than expected outcome sends a clear message to incumbent leftist politicians.  I urge you not to allow radical ideologies to set the agenda in Trenton in 2020. Turn out and vote on November 5 for pro-life, pro-family candidates.


Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Family Policy Alliance of new Jersey


Len Deo
Director of Alliances Northeast Region, Family Policy Alliance
Founder & Past President, New Jersey Family Policy Council

We can all acknowledge that the Left does not hide its agenda or its strategy. It is very clear, if you are watching. The most recent attack from the Left requires that every man, woman, and child, no matter their station in life, agree with their radical sexual agenda.

As you already know, LGBTQ+ activists are targeting city councils in Johnson County to compel agreement with their sexual ideology in the form of sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination ordinances (SOGI). Because the SOGI issue has been in the local news recently, you also know why this is such an important matter.

Your vote in the City Election on November 5th can send a strong message about these attacks.

As noted in an email yesterday, these new ordinances and laws affect Kansas businesses and consumers in drastic ways. They also pose safety and privacy issues for girls and women because they mandate restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms be gender neutral.

This issue is front and center in your city election on November 5th. Our voter guide will help you see where the candidates in Olathe and Shawnee stand on protecting girls and women’s privacy. Click here to view/print the Olathe voter guide. Click here to view/print the Shawnee voter guide. Know where your candidates stand and please don’t forget to vote November 5th.

For the freedom of all Kansans,

Brittany Jones, Esq.
Director of Advocacy

 

PS. If you do not know the location of your polling place, contact the Johnson County Election Commissioner Website.

Paid for by Family Policy Alliance of Kansas

We can all acknowledge that the Left does not hide its agenda or its strategy. It is very clear, if you are watching. The most recent attack from the Left requires that every man, woman, and child, no matter their station in life, agree with their radical sexual agenda.

Your vote in the City Election on November 5th can send a strong message about this agenda in Wichita. (Learn which candidates support this radical agenda below.)

As noted in an email yesterday, these new ordinances and laws affect Kansas businesses and consumers in drastic ways. They also pose safety and privacy issues for girls and women because they mandate restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms be gender neutral.

As we’ve discussed before several city councils in Johnson County have been quietly passing SOGI ordinances.

But it’s not just Johnson County that is being targeted. Wichita is the next city in the bullseye.

This issue is front and center in the Wichita election on November 5th, and depending on whom you vote for in the upcoming election, a SOGI ordinance could make its way into Wichita very soon.

The candidates below have expressed support for the LGBTQ+ agenda or have been endorsed by radical LGBTQ+ groups. Several of them even held a campaign event in a gay bar:

Wichita Mayor
Brandon Whipple
Amy Lyon

City Council District 2
Becky Tuttle
Rodney Wren

City Council District 4
Beckie Jenek

Wichita (USD 259) School Board
Stan Reeser
Joseph W. Shepard

Please remember to vote on November 5th and vote your values.

For the freedom of all Kansans,

Brittany Jones, Esq.
Director of Advocacy

 

Paid for by Family Policy Alliance of Kansas

Beto won’t be President, but his thoughts on religious freedom…

Well, that’s a real possibility.

At the recent Democrat presidential forum on catering to sexual immorality and biological hostility, Beto O’Rourke once again made an effort to gain traction in the polls by promising to violate constitutional rights – threatening to take away tax exempt status for religious organizations that believed in the definition of marriage that existed for thousands of years rather than the court-mandated one that has been around for four.

Now, let’s be honest. Beto O’Rourke is a sideshow who has no chance of being President of the United States.

But, his viewpoints, while absurd, represent a threat to take seriously – particularly in Georgia. You see, in our state, federal prisoners have their religious freedom protected to a higher degree than you and I sitting in our homes, operating our businesses, or attending our churches. Because our state lacks RFRA protections, the courts will view your religious freedom as a second-class right – one the state is not required to have a compelling interest to override.

In this, Georgia is among the minority of states without these fundamental protections – to the left of states like Illinois and Connecticut and on the same page as California, New York, and Vermont.

On top of the current condition of religious freedom in our state, we know that there is an intense effort to lurch our state even further to the Left. Just recently, Fake Governor Stacey Abrams lied about Real Governor Brian Kemp when she said he wanted to “sign discrimination into law,” simply because he values the First Amendment rights we are, supposedly, guaranteed in this country.

And, while Stacey Abrams holds no office, she is the leader of Georgia’s socialist movement – one vowing to take the Georgia State House in 2020. We cannot let this happen!

So, what can we do?

As a father of 3 boys, I am fearful of a world where biblical beliefs lead to taxation and hostility from the government. To protect their future, we must take the threat seriously and act quickly to secure this fundamental right. The next generation is counting on us to stand firm and take action!

For Our Faith,

Cole Muzio
President and Executive Director

P.S. We are leading the charge for our values in Georgia, but we are going toe to toe with Hollywood, big corporate, and anti-Constitution leftists like Beto and Stacey. Your support today helps fund strongest pro-family lobbying and election push Georgia has ever seen to fight for our freedom!

 

 Paid for by Family Policy Alliance of Georgia