As I rode home from the Capitol last night after the Georgia General Assembly adjourned for the year, it was impossible not to think of how far we have come. Two thoughts consistently come to me:

  1. Our organization has, no doubt, become the preeminent force for our values in Georgia. We’re engaging on more issues, leading and innovating, finding ways to win, and providing a force for good under the Gold Dome, but…
  2. We still have much work to do to rise to the challenges facing our state.

In many ways, this was a highly productive legislative session. After leading the charge for 4 years, Georgia has finally passed a “Tebow Bill” – named this year “The Dexter Mosely Act” – allowing homeschoolers to participate in extracurricular activities at their local public school. More on this is a later email, but I believe this has a profound effect on educational freedom in Georgia.

Additionally, we led the way for Gracie’s Law – which bans organ transplant discrimination against those with physical and mental disabilities – and Simon’s Law (another four-year fight) – which requires a doctor to get parental consent before placing a DNR on a minor child.

We were proud to advocate for the passage of the Special Needs Scholarship (SB 47), Election Reform (SB 202), increasing the punishment for “revenge porn” (SB 78), supporting several bills aimed at ending human trafficking and protecting children from predators, and more – all of these great bills likely to become law this year.

Moreover, our Anti-Obscenity bill, Right to Visit legislation, Save Girls Sports, protections for religious freedom, and more all made progress and will resume where they left off next year.

My friends, your support for this organization has allowed us to make HUGE gains.

Yet, there is still much work to be done and there was much disappointment as the General Assembly gaveled out. That said, I’m choosing not to view these as losses – but instead “future opportunities” to strengthen our state. Legislatively, here is where I see the Lord leading us:

This journey continues next legislative session, but, now isn’t the “offseason.” Here’s just some what needs to be done in the meantime:

We’re showing what can happen when a mission-minded, professional, strategic, and resourced organization leads the charge for our values. The results we’ve produced are transforming our state, and I’m proud to see how we’re leading the way!

But, the forces against us are strong. We are in spiritual warfare. The well-financed lobbies for hospitals, education, and international corporations are against us. The media and Big Tech are against us. Cancel culture is real. And, many who claim to be conservatives can waiver or become corrupted – making victories that should be easy either difficult or impossible.

I’m committed to having this organization be the change agent for Georgia.

Over the coming months, as alluded to, we’ll be making some big announcements and changes. Every decision we’re making is aimed specifically to strengthen our footing so that we can build on these wins yet rise to meet “future opportunities.”

Thank you for all your support in helping us reach this place! So grateful for your partnership in this battle!

For His Glory,

Cole Muzio
President and Executive Director

Wednesday is Day 40. That means we have a little more than 24 hours from the time we press send on this email to make our voices heard.

After a series of wins in recent days, we are focused on two major issues on Day 40:

  1. The Right to Visit – It’s imperative that the General Assembly pass this critical bill for human dignity. The unconscionable notion that your child, spouse, or parent could be in a hospital with life-threatening illness or a long-term care facility for months on end and be barred from in-person access to you or other loved ones is why we are fighting so hard for this legislation. It’s time for the legislature to act. CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION and send a message to your legislators that it’s time to protect the Right to Visit! 
  2. Parents Right to be Heard/Anti-Obscenity Bill – We are closer than we’ve ever been to protecting a parents’ right to be heard if they have a concern with obscene material available at their child’s school. Our bill provides crucial protections for families and students, establishes a process whereby the school must review objectionable material, and creates accountability for schools that falsely claim obscene material is of “educational value.” CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION and send a message to your legislators that we need to protect parents and our students!

Please take a moment to contact your legislators on these important bills. I’ll send a post-session update, but we’ve made gains for election integrity, school choice, religious freedom, the right to life, parental rights, and more already this session. God has been good!

Let’s finish strong!

For our values,

Cole Muzio
President and Executive Director

 

PS. I need to be candid. We’ve been so focused on session that I have not focused on fundraising as much as I would have liked over the last few months. Would you be willing to help us reach our end of quarter goal of $1,640 by midnight March 31? CLICK HERE to Donate whatever God is calling you to do.

Moneyed interests at the Capitol want to deny you the Right to Visit, and last night they succeeded. I’m pretty disgusted.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce and, primarily, the Georgia Hospital Association have worked overtime to deny you the basic human right to have physical contact with your loved one who is in the hospital or in long-term care. They’ve distorted the truth about HB 290 by Rep. Ed Setzler, and they’ve pulled out all the stops to protect what they’ve determined are their financial interests.

You need to think about this: they believe that they have the right to tell you that you should not be allowed to see a potentially dying child, spouse, or parent – all because it’s inconvenient for them. How evil!

In committee Wednesday night, they were able to gut HB 290 and make it meaningless. That means, the right of a representative to have 1 hour of physical contact with the patient was removed. The right of a caregiver to spend 2 hours with a patient was removed. No Right to Visit exists in the bill now, at all!

Now, this fight is not over. The House passed the bill with overwhelming support, and they appear poised to fight for it. And, I firmly believe the Senate has members willing to put people over special interests and do the same. I’m confident the support is there to get this done.

This is a good bill, an essential bill, a timely bill, and a bill that is right.

I’d like to say a special thank you to Senator Greg Dolezal who made a personal sacrifice to stay and be a champion for the Right to Visit. Other senators like Bill Cowsert and John Kennedy were there until the end and expressed support for the intent of this bill.

We’re not done. I believe we’ll make this happen THIS session, but please remain prayerful and vigilant!

Now, this is just an example of what we’re up against. Can you help us as we try to close out session by funding our efforts with a $50, $100, $250, or greater donation?

We’re your voice to make certain that people, not profit, are put first under our Gold Dome.

For the Right to Visit,

Cole Muzio
President and Executive Director

 

 

P.S. We have GOOD NEWS too. HB 128 (Gracie’s Law) which prevents discrimination for organ transplants based on physical or mental disability, passed unanimously! HUGE win! We look forward to sharing more victories in the closing days of session.

Over the past two years, the New Jersey legislature has passed controversial laws mandating that public schools teach lessons which violate or conflict with the beliefs of many families regarding sex, sexuality, and gender identity.

These laws violate the fundamental and constitutional rights of parents to direct the moral and educational upbringing of their children. Public school lessons should be neutral in their presentation of religious beliefs, worldview, and political ideology. Yet, not only do these laws force a certain viewpoint on children, but they were written with no opt-out or other protection for families who have religious and moral objections to the content.

The government should not be able to force someone to go against their religious beliefs, yet this is exactly what is happening through these mandates.

Some examples of this troubling trend in New Jersey include the following:

We must address this dangerous agenda head-on. That’s why I’m pleased to share with you an opportunity this weekend:

YOU’RE INVITED
CALL TO ACTION:
Presentation and Q+A Session

Calvary Chapel Old Bridge
Sunday, March 28 at 6 PM ET
RSVP Here

Our friends at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge are hosting a special one-night event this coming Sunday, March 28 at 6pm. I will be sharing on Parental Rights in Education with an open Q & A forum to address your concerns. Registration is required. I strongly encourage you to attend and invite other parents across the state. If you cannot join us in person, the event will be live streamed at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge’s website and Facebook page.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?

Working for a better New Jersey!

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director

 

P.S. Don’t forget to register for Sunday’s event here!

 

 

I’m going to keep this short. We’re working on a LOT of legislation as we hit the home stretch of this legislative session (today is Day 37 out of 40), but we need your help.

We’ve identified 3 issues where constituent engagement is most needed right now:

  1. TAKE ACTION TO SHOW GEORGIANS VALUE ALL LIFEHB 128 (Gracie’s Law) and HB 212 (Simon’s Law) are being held up in Senate Health committee after passing the Senate unanimously. Gracie’s Law says that no one should be discriminated against from receiving a transplant simply because of a mental or physical disability. That’s easy, right? Simon’s Law says that a doctor must get parental consent to place a DNR order on a minor child. Simple enough? These bills are common sense and life affirming so TAKE ACTION by sending a message to Chairman Ben Watson that these bills deserve a vote!
  2. TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT KIDS FROM OBSCENITYSB 226 addresses a crisis in our schools: obscene materials being made available to children. It does so be ensuring parents have a right to be heard when they have concerns, establishes a process whereby harmful material can be removed, and provides for transparency in the process. The House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee just passed this bill so TAKE ACTION by sending a message to your House member.
  3. TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND RELIGIOUS FREEDOMSB 200 ensures that your right to worship and earn a living isn’t suspended in a pandemic. It protects Georgians who, while blessed by the leadership of our state during this pandemic, watched with great angst at how California, Michigan, and New York went to war against people of faith and entrepreneurs. TAKE ACTION to encourage your House member to make sure this NEVER happens in Georgia.

Thank you for your support, prayers, and action. We could not do what we do without you!

For our values,

Brittany Ellison
Deputy Director

 

 

We need your help to restore parental control over sexual education in Idaho public schools!

House Bill 249 would require that public schools receive parental consent for children to participate in sexual education instruction. Send a message to key senators right now voicing your support for parental rights in education!

This legislation, which is sponsored by Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls), passed the Idaho House of Representatives last week on a party-line vote. The bill has now moved on to the Senate Education Committee, where it will face opposition.

Current state law allows parents to “opt out” their children from sexual education, but some parents do not even know such an option exists. Many parents who have tried to “opt-out” have complained the process can be difficult.

The “fundamental right” of parents to “direct their children’s destiny, upbringing, and education” is already recognized in Idaho law. Parents should be involved in decisions about the delivery of sexual education instruction to their children.

Use our Action Center now to ask Senate Education Committee members to support HB249. Your voice can make a difference in making sure that parental rights extend into public school classrooms!

Standing for our students,

Blaine Conzatti
Executive Director

I am grieved to inform you that Governor Murphy signed into law Assembly bill 4454 on March 1. Starting in the upcoming school year, all public schools will be required to teach transgender identity and sexual orientation diversity lessons beginning in kindergarten. This will only complicate and confuse the understanding of human sexuality for 5-year-old children who are so young they are just learning to tie their shoes. Discussions about various sexual attractions and subjective gender identities have no place in the kindergarten classroom.

Governor Murphy received 19,000 emails opposing this bill in less than 45 days. Despite the widespread outrage and objection from parents, pastors, and legislators, he authorized this bill to become law.

It is clear Governor Murphy and the legislators that passed this bill do not have the best interest of your child in mind.

Let’s not forget: on June 3, 2020, Governor Murphy’s Department of Education adopted new learning standards for Health Class. Part of these revised standards for 8th grade include 2.1.8.SSH.9: Define vaginal, oral, and anal sex. Schools will now be required to teach 13-year-old students explicit sexual acts. These lessons were never part of even 11th-12th grade health class standards, but now are abruptly forced into much younger grades.

I frequently speak to churches regarding Parental Rights in Education. The public-school teachers in attendance always – with great passion and frustration – confirm the hard realities that I share. Students are being intimidated by peers and obligated by faculty to affirm a sexual ideology that contradicts their religious beliefs. Tragically, teenagers are labeled as transphobic as they are harassed on social media to conform to the approved sex beliefs of state government.

What do we do now?

  1. Inform your friends and family. Forward this email and help to get the word out. Local, state, and regional media refuse to cover this story.
  2. Support Christian schools and ask your pastor to consider starting a home school group at the church for parents and students to meet during the week.
  3. Look for an upcoming mobilization campaign this spring from Family Policy Alliance. Together, we will fight for your chance to opt your child out of lessons and materials that violate your religious beliefs regarding sex, sexuality, and gender identity.
  4. Talk to your school board to encourage them to push back on this mandate.
  5. Hold Governor Murphy and legislators accountable in the 2021 upcoming election.

Let kids be kids. New Jersey families deserve better!

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director

Senate Bill 2176 would reimburse parents of students who previously received in-person instruction, but who now are receiving remote instruction by parents because of COVID. It would provide $1,500 in funds to the family for the first child, and $500 for each child thereafter and be entirely financed from federal COVID funding, not the state budget.

This bill is coming up before the Senate in the next few days and your voice to legislators is needed!

SB2176 is a bill long overdue. Parents have needed financial help for instructing their children during COVID for a long time and this bill seeks to remedy that situation. We need your help encouraging your Senator to vote “Yes” on Senate Bill 2176.

Please send a message asap, urging your Senator to support this bill. The system will automatically send your request to your own Senator, based on your address.

Now is the time to speak up to support families here in North Dakota. They have borne these COVID costs long enough and need to have some relief!

Sincerely,

Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director

Dear Friends,

As you have heard, the Senate and Assembly have passed a bill that mandates sexual orientation and gender identity diversity lessons starting in kindergarten. This will only complicate and confuse the understanding of human sexuality for these very young children.

Gender identity lessons present an unscientific and unhealthy view of human sexuality. It indoctrinates students with the idea that a person’s gender is different than a person’s gender expression and might be different than a person’s biological sex. This conversation should be left to parents to have with their child at an appropriate age.

We need you to contact Gov. Murphy to urge him to respect the fundamental religious beliefs of millions of New Jersey citizens by vetoing this legislation. Please protect the minds and the bodies of children in New Jersey.

Thank you for spreading the word!

Sincerely,

Advocacy Director
Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey

Friends,

The Coeur d’Alene Press is reporting that an elementary school counselor gave “guidance” on gender transition to a ten-year-old female student, encouraging her decision to live as a ‘boy’ without even notifying the girl’s family.

The counselor works for Northwest Expedition Academy, a public elementary school in the Coeur d’Alene School District. A phone recording released by the family reveals that the counselor told the student she supported her decision to identify as the other sex. The counselor even gave the student tips on how to come out as a boy to her family.

The young girl tragically lost her father three years ago in Afghanistan while he was serving in the Army. She currently lives with her mother and grandmother, who argue that the trauma and emotional pain this young girl feels will not be solved by “transitioning.”

We’re speaking out to the school district where this happened – and we invite you to do the same.

Providing so-called “gender affirming treatment” for children who struggle with gender dysphoria is not only psychologically harmful but also often puts confused children on the road to dangerous hormonal therapies and sex reassignment surgeries. Many young girls have suffered irreversible harm – including permanent , as well as the maiming of healthy body parts through mastectomies and other surgeries – while receiving “gender affirming treatment.”

Parents have an inalienable right to direct the upbringing of their children. School officials should never circumvent parents when it comes to intensely personal and very controversial topics like gender identity.

The Coeur d’Alene School District plans to review their policies for school counselors at an upcoming board meeting. Send a message now asking the school district to protect parental rights. It only takes a minute of your time—and it could make the difference for a vulnerable child and their family.

Standing for your right to raise your children,


Blaine Conzatti
Director of Advocacy