The lyrics are rather disturbing…

You say we all lead lives you don’t respect. But you’re just frightened. You think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked. Funny, just this once, you’re correct.” “We’ll convert your children – happens bit by bit, quietly and subtly and you will barely notice it…” “Just like you’re worried, they’ll change their group of friends, you won’t approve of where they go at night. And you’ll be disgusted when they start finding things online that you kept far from their sight…”

In case you missed it,  the San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir (SFGMC) released a video on July 1, proclaiming to America that they are going to “convert your children”. The well-produced song declares that it is only a matter of time before the gay agenda “comes home” – to your home that is.

While it is hard to listen to this message, it is essential that parents do in fact listen and take heed.

The Choir claimed after its release that the song was completely “satirical” and intended as “tongue-in-cheek humor,” but the video belies the truth of a persistent agenda playing out daily in entertainment, pop culture, corporate America, public policy, politics and education.

The song happily tells parents that regardless of the spiritual values children are taught at home, the LGBT movement has aims to unapologetically undermine those values in order to advance their cause.

From the Biden Administration all the way down to your city council and local school board, LGBT activists are working to quietly write public policy that will coerce not only a tolerance of LGBT lifestyles, but also in many ways, require an acceptance and affirmation of those lifestyle choices. Corporate America, Hollywood and Big Tech are all there too.

Here are just a few ways this is playing out before our very eyes:

Government

The Equality Act – currently under consideration in Congress – would place sexual orientation and gender identity into the US Civil Rights code as a protected class along with race, national origin, veteran status and others. This would make any disagreement with this sexual ideology considered “illegal discrimination”—by parents, in schools, in doctor’s offices, on sports teams, in the marketplace, in any public place, and even in churches and faith-based schools or other organizations. It is the most dangerous legislation we’ve seen come out of Congress.

In a stunning act of administrative action, the Biden administration has now—without the real authority to do so—rewritten Title IX to require public schools across the US to validate gender identity – that means bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams no longer must conform to children’s real biological sex as male or female. It’s a sad irony, given that Title IX was originally enacted to ensure that girls had equal access to educational and athletic opportunities with boys.

Similarly, many school systems have adopted policies that validate same-sex attraction or even transgenderism among students. A child may leave home as a boy but live and be treated as a girl at school. By design, parents generally have no idea this is happening as schools will not tell parents about the child’s new identity. It is all a secret, and the school is on board. The LGBT lobby frequently advances this very secret and subtle tactic, and it damages not only the transitioning child, but also leads to the indoctrination of all other classmates aiming to normalize homosexuality and transgenderism in public schools.

Local governments and even your Chamber of Commerce are in on the agenda too – passing so-called nondiscrimination ordinances that provide new protections for sexual orientation and gender identity under local laws that compromise changing rooms, locker rooms and bathrooms at public locations. These local efforts allegedly aim to benefit “equality” and even “economic development” but ignore religious beliefs, parental rights and safety.

Entertainment/Hollywood

American children can hardly watch children’s programming, much less television commercials, without being exposed to homosexuality or transgender ideology.  The entertainment industry is using popular cartoons such as Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Sponge Bob Squarepants and Doc McStuffins, just to name a few, to target children as young as toddlers with sexualized content. Through very subtle yet crafty portrayals, and “bit by bit” as the song goes; they are seeking to normalize homosexuality and transgenderism through their messaging to children – and you.

Social Media/Technology and Corporate America

Lastly, big tech, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Tik-tok and most other social media platforms seek to advance the LGBT agenda. Whether it is actively celebrating so-called PRIDE month in June, or more subversively censoring or downgrading content critical of the LGBT agenda, big tech is engaged in the persistent indoctrination process. The same goes for numerous corporations, many of whom classify a biblical view of human sexuality as hate, instantly dismissing parental rights and Christian beliefs.

So yes, parents, the SFGMC was telling the truth. The LGBT agenda is looking to change the values you are teaching your children.

So what do we do?

For truth,

Robert Noland
Communications Manager

“We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.”

 Voddie T. Baucham

Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.

School choice has been a major priority for Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey. We know that parents have the strongest incentives to do what’s best for their kids. Thankfully, more than half of the United States offers families real educational choice options. Fourteen states offer Education Savings Accounts that allows the money to follow the child to help fund whatever education choice their parent decides – private school, home school, tutoring, and more. New Jersey is not yet one of those states.

A recent study by the Associated Press showed a 3% decline in public school enrollment in New Jersey for this upcoming school year. “The biggest decrease was among economically disadvantaged students, where enrollment numbers fell -10.02 percent.” Parents seem to be seeking alternative options for their students, perhaps because the public schools are failing them.  According to 2021 study by JerseyCAN, Covid has worsened the crisis:

• 143,132 students in New Jersey were not proficient in Language Arts before Covid. The number has now risen to 393,613.
• 129,002 students in New Jersey were not proficient in Math before Covid. The number has now risen to 437,488!

Parents want options.
Parents want answers.
Parents want accountability.

They refuse to allow their children to be indoctrinated with sexual and racist ideology by left leaning activists.

That is why we are so excited to announce Leo Terrell as this year’s speaker for our annual Guardian of the Family Fundraising Gala – A Better Future: Parental rights in school choice and the problems in public education.

Leo Terrell is a Fox News contributor, podcast host, civil rights attorney, author, and former school teacher. He is a strong advocate for parents making decisions in education, not unions or state legislatures. This one minute video communicates how strongly Leo believes the family unit is what makes this nation great.

Save the Date: Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021
Location: The Venetian, Garfield, NJ
Time: 6:30-9:00PM

Protecting your family,

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director

Michael Youssef has written a new book, Treasure that Lasts.  It chronicles the life of Moses who was born into slavery but then experienced privilege and power when he was adopted by Pharoah’s daughter. He went from being a baby that should have had his life snuffed out at birth to the height of privilege and power as the adopted grandchild to Pharaoh. But Moses chose instead to surrender all of it.

In today’s culture, surrendering privilege and power would be a faux pas. You are supposed to GAIN privilege and power, NOT give it up. There has never been a greater emphasis on having the upper hand in America but is that really the answer? Has not the greatest impact on our world been by those who have surrendered privilege and power to serve others?

Youssef says, “Had Moses not made that crucial decision to visit his people, had he chosen to remain in the palace, we would never have read his story in the Bible. Instead, we would have read about him in the secular history books about ancient Egypt. His whole life would barely have rated a single paragraph – ‘the only Hebrew slave to have become a Pharoah’… The entire history of Israel might never have happened if Moses had not made that fateful decision.”

Many scholars credit that decision he made as an adult to the influence that his godly mother had on him during those first 4–5 formative years of his life while she weaned him for Pharaoh’s daughter. You can read about it in Exodus 2. So, how important are those formative years? Very!

According to The First Five Years Fund (FFYF.org), research shows that “one million new neural connections are formed every second in the first few years of life.” In those five years, the “child’s brain is at its most flexible, making this a critical period for learning and growth.” If this is the case, then parental influence and rights are of paramount importance because a child’s character is being formed in those years. It highlights a deeper truth found in this verse.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.– Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

Interestingly, as I perused FFYF’s website I saw an article titled, “Underscoring President Biden’s Understanding that Child Care Is Infrastructure, New Proposal Includes Child Care Facilities Funding.”

It’s obvious the government understands that the earlier they have influence over children, the easier it will be to shape their character and values. Be warned however, that the government’s goals in this area include LGBTQ+ and Transgender ideology. These ideas are promoted in our public schools and could even be promoted in childcare if the Biden administration gets its way.

It is awesome to think that the impact of Moses’ life may have been determined early on by a godly mother despite the subsequent worldly influence of being brought up in Pharoah’s ungodly house.

Family Policy Alliance understands the importance of these early years, too, and that’s one reason that we work so hard to protect young children and their parents. In a sense, we are “boots on the ground,” here to affect policy in Rhode Island by working with legislators. Right now, we need your support in two areas.

FIRST – Please pray that God would call people of spiritual maturity and character from our churches to run for local and state offices in the next election.

SECONDLY – Please pray for consistent financial support, especially from Christian businesses that would enable us to have full-time leadership by the end of the year.

For Faith & Family in Rhode Island,

Dave Aucoin
Chairman, Board of Directors – Rhode Island

 

As an 80’s kid, I remember the public service announcement that came on TV each night after watching the safe sitcoms of a distant era of prime-time television. Just as bedtime approached before the nightly news, a short but repetitive question was asked to parents on a daily basis, “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?”

Nearly forty years later, the world is not same. I am now the adult, major networks offer few family friendly programs, and the question parents have to answer has dramatically changed. Sadly, we must ask: “It’s 8 AM. Do you know what gender your children are?”

In 2018, the New Jersey State Board of Education published their transgender guidance for school districts because of a specific law passed by the legislator in 2017 (N.J.S.A. 18a:36-41) that directed the Commissioner of Education to develop and distribute guidelines concerning transgender students. This included defining transgenderism and ensuring a student’s chosen gender identity remain confidential and concealed – even from their parents!

Although Governor Chris Christie’s administration passed the 2017 law, it was Governor Murphy’s administration that wrote and published the transgender guidelines for school districts we have now. They specifically call for a “student centered” approach:

Student-Centered ApproachA school district shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity; parental consent is not required. Further, a student need not meet any threshold diagnosis or treatment requirements to have his or her gender identity recognized and respected by the district, school or school personnel. Nor is a legal or court-ordered name change required. There is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student’s parent or guardian of the student’s gender identity or expression.(page 2-3, Transgender Student Guidance for School Districts)

 

This means your child can leave your house identifying as the gender that matches their biological sex, but then change their name, pronoun, clothes, and self-proclaimed gender identity at school, and you would never know. Because of this law, school districts statewide have adopted policies that prohibit teachers from telling parents the gender identity of their own children.

In other words, schools have legally obligated teachers to deceive parents!

It is happening more than you realize. Tragically, I have spoken to dozens of New Jersey public school teachers that are grieved and rightfully angered over this. One teacher, Rob DeJulia,  a 20-year teacher in the Vernon Township School District, recently testified in opposition to this policy at a local school board meeting. If you are a public school teacher and want to voice your concerns along with other teachers, please contact us.

Summer break is here, but schools will restart in two months. Parents will need to answer this question as their children walk on the school bus this September: “It’s 8 AM Do I know what gender my children are?”

Protecting your family,

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director

 

A proverb often attributed to George Washington states: “Government … like fire, is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master.”

 

While it’s uncertain that George Washington really spoke those words, the proverb still rings true and captures the challenge that has faced humanity since the first governments were formed in history. Government can not only allow us to protect ourselves from external aggression but can also be used to oppress and coerce citizens.

Unfortunately, history demonstrates that governmental oppression has been far more common than liberty – and this fact proves painfully true in the realm of education.

Last month, a parent from Sweden emailed a pastor named John Piper with a concern that struck close to home. In his email, he described a national education system overtaken with the radical extremes of modern Marxist thought, specifically with ideas that teach that maleness and femaleness is defined by how you feel about your body rather than biology. He added that Sweden has placed so many restrictions upon Christian and private schools that they are forced into the position of teaching that same ideology. In Sweden, an attempt to remove your child from such indoctrination by teaching them within the home is grounds for the government to remove them from home and force them into foster care.

Such stories are rightly shocking to families in America, but we have to understand that it is a clash of worldviews that creates stories such as these. Central to the clash is the question of whether families or governments should have the primary responsibility of raising children.

There is no doubt that families can benefit when government enacts policies that help families to thrive. Also, government and civil society receive tremendous benefit from the traditional family. The clash comes when some view government as the prime authority in deciding what is best for the child.

That mindset is popular among some within the government and in academia. And because of that mindset among the liberal elites, Americans face growing pressure to bow to certain “experts” within the public school system. These “experts” teach ideas such as “Critical Race Theory” and the gender spectrum (including a “non-binary” gender in which someone is neither a man nor a woman). They teach that boys should be allowed to play in girls’ sports (disregarding the very real physical advantage boys have), and they instruct our children that the whole world is subdivided by a Marxist narrative of “The Oppressed” and “The Oppressor.”

When such ideas grow within a government, that government is on the cusp of changing from servant to master. The government that we witnessed in this year’s legislative session in Santa Fe displayed a disdain for the family that should set off alarm bells.

Because of your help, Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico has been blessed to provide a greater voice in speaking about these crucial topics as they surface in our state. Thank you for standing with us to ensure that the government is a source of protection, not tyranny.

The Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico Team

I want to thank the hundreds of people who joined pro-life organizations and speakers from across New Jersey last week in Trenton. Your voice is being heard! Governor Murphy and the pro-abortion legislators assumed the so-called Reproductive Freedom Act would easily pass through committee, quickly receive majority support for a full floor vote in both chambers, and be on the governor’s desk within weeks of the bill being introduced. That was October of 2020. It is now June 2021, and the bill has not received a committee hearing in either the Senate or Assembly.

If Governor Murphy wants to borrow 4 billion dollars even though the state does not need it, the supermajority of his party approves his reckless fiscal management.

If Governor Murphy wants to extend his emergency powers until the end of December 2021, but at the same time officially end the state health emergency in June 2021, the supermajority of his party approves his relentless thirst for unchecked power.

However, if Governor Murphy wants to pass the so-called Reproductive Freedom Act, the supermajority of his party is not on board. Why?

Because it really is the most radical and dangerous abortion law ever introduced in any state!

It specifically says the preborn baby has no rights under state law, and therefore all abortions without restrictions of gestational development – up to the point of birth, will be forever legal in this state. Furthermore, if anyone, including non-residents of the state of New Jersey cannot afford a late term abortion, you will have to pay for it!

That would cause anyone with a conscience to pause and reassess their blind allegiance to their party’s leader’s demand for an unnecessary abortion bill. We are thankful to be working with Democrats for Life to try to convince legislators on both sides of the aisle to not allow this bill to move forward.

On a tragic note, the vote we alerted you to last week did not go our way. The Senate Health Committee voted to erode parental rights: schools will no longer be required to ask for a parent’s consent before administering student surveys regarding their sexual activities and beliefs.

Here are the votes of the Senate Health Committee from last Thursday:

YES vote = I do not believe schools should ask parents for their permission	NO vote = I believe schools should ask parents to actively grant permission
Joseph Vitale, Woodbridge (D) – Chair	James Holzapfel, Brick (R)
Fred Madden, Turnersville, (D) – Vice-Chair	Holly Schepisi, Westwood (R)
Richard Codey, Livingston (D)	Robert Singer, Lakewood (R)
Vin Gopal, Freehold (D)
Joseph Lagana, Paramus (D)

 

Thank you for the action you took on this issue. We continue to fight for you!

Protecting your family,

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director

Dear Friends,

This Thursday, June 10, the Senate Health Committee will hear Senate bill 3801 and Assembly bill 5597. This bill already passed the Assembly Health Committee on May 20.

It would amend the current law that gives schools the ability to administrate student surveys on sensitive issues including sexual behaviors and attitudes, drug use, physical activity and eating habits. Presently, schools in New Jersey must send home forms for parents to grant permission for their student to participate in this personal and probing sexual health survey.

The proposed change in New Jersey law would remove the requirement for parents to actively opt their student into the health surveys. Instead, every student would be passively opted into the survey unless their parent in writing requested for them to be excused from the survey. If a parent overlooks an email, misplaces an unopened letter, or the child forgets or even intentionally does not give their mom the opt out form – then the student will be surveyed about their sexual beliefs and activity. A parent’s silence does not mean a parent’s consent.

What is the reason for this change? According to the language of the bill, not enough parents are giving schools the permission to ask their children these sex-based health questions. What do the bill sponsors recommend as the solution? Simple: stop asking the parents for their permission!

The level of mistrust and deception parents already feel in their interactions with public schools will only be exacerbated by this overreach of state government to remove the parent once again from the equation!

Tell the Senate Health Committee to respect parental authority by voting NO on Senate bill 3801 and Assembly bill 5597.

Protecting your family,

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director

 

URGENT! We need all subscribers from the state of Wyoming to help us TODAY. An issue has arisen again in Laramie County School District #1, and all of Wyoming must take action to stop it or it will likely come your way.

As you know, waves of progressive ideology are sweeping the nation. These include the ideas that America is a racist nation, and that gender is based upon a spectrum of feelings rather than biology. Both have been used as wedge issues to drive children to adopt a new iteration of Marxism, an ideology our country fought to preserve the world from in the Cold War one generation ago.

The battleground for this ideological takeover? Our schools. There is an effort to make teachers take classes that teach the ideas of “Critical Race Theory” and use gender preferred pronouns. These teachings are enforced by “diversity coordinators” who are given authority over the future of a teacher’s career as they enforce this new ideology. Then, the teaching trickles down to our kids.

And now, it’s hitting home right here in Wyoming.

Recently proposed policies in Laramie County School District #1 would require teachers to teach divisive critical theory. The policy goes so far as to specifically ask them to name differences among students. Below are two slides from training given to LCSD1 employees:

If we do not stop these policies, diversity enforcers will have unbridled power to punish even unintentional infractions. The policy is not only a danger to our children, but also threatens the constitutional rights of teachers.

I am asking you to write to the LCSD#1 school board TODAY and ask them to reject any policy that would eliminate the due process rights of a teacher.

These comments are needed by tomorrow morning.

Please email these addresses:

darlene.davis@laramie1.org, RoseAnn.MillionRinne@laramie1.org, Marguerite.Herman@laramie1.org, Rich.Wiederspahn@laramie1.org, Alicia.Smith@laramie1.org, Brittany.Ashby@laramie1.org, Tim.Bolin@laramie1.org, christy.klaassen@laramie1.org

Please email the above addresses with a subject line something like “Comment on proposed LCSD1 School policy” and a paragraph like the following. Some changes to wording is good, but not vital.

Dear LCSD1 School Board Trustees:I am a concerned citizen of Laramie County. Please correct wrongful policy proposals now under review. The proposed changes to Chapter 6 (Personnel) and Chapter 8 (Students) for handling harassment and discrimination charges give inadequate regard for justice, due process, and constitutional rights. Extensive changes are needed. Please provide for constitutionally protected speech, change the standard of evidence to “clear and convincing,” broaden the bases for respondent appeal, and limit the extraordinary and excessive power of the “Title IX Decision Maker.” Respectfully, {name}

A proverb often attributed to George Washington states: “Government … Like fire, is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master.”

While it’s uncertain that George Washington really spoke those words, the proverb still rings true and captures the challenge that has faced humanity since the first governments were formed in history. Government can not only allow us to protect ourselves from external aggression but can also be used to oppress and coerce citizens.

Unfortunately, history demonstrates that governmental oppression has been far more common than liberty – and this fact proves painfully true in the realm of education.

Last month, a parent from Sweden emailed a pastor named John Piper with a concern that struck close to home. In his email he described a national education system overtaken with the radical extremes of modern Marxist thought, specifically with ideas that teach that maleness and femaleness is defined by how you feel about your body rather than biology. He added that Sweden has placed so many restrictions upon Christian and private schools that they are forced into the position of teaching that same ideology. In Sweden, an attempt to remove your child from such indoctrination by teaching them within the home is grounds for the government to remove them from home and force them into foster care.

Such stories are rightly shocking to families in America, but we have to understand that it is a clash of worldviews that creates stories such as these. Central to the clash is the question of whether families or governments should have the primary responsibility of raising children.

There is no doubt that families can benefit when government supports the family structure. Also, government and civil society receive tremendous benefit from the traditional family.  The clash comes when some view government as the prime authority deciding what is best for the child.

That mindset is popular among some within the government and in academia. And because of that mindset among the liberal elites, Americans face growing pressure to bow to certain “experts” within the public school system. These “experts” teach ideas such as “Critical Race Theory” and the gender spectrum (including a “non-binary” gender in which someone is neither a man nor a woman). They teach that boys should be allowed to play in girls’ sports (disregarding the very real physical advantage boys have), and they instruct our children that the whole world is subdivided by a Marxist narrative of “The Oppressed” and “The Oppressor.”

When such ideas grow within a government, that government is on the cusp of changing from servant to master. Having recently fought against that change here in Wyoming, I ask all of you to stand firm in your calling to speak the truth in love as Christians and as American citizens.

Because of your help, Family Policy Alliance of Wyoming has been blessed to provide a greater voice in speaking about these crucial topics as they surface in Wyoming. Thank you for standing with us to ensure that the government is a source of protection, not tyranny.

For freedom,

Nathan Winter
Executive Director

This past Monday, May 17, the Assembly Health Committee met through Zoom as the statehouse continues to operate under draconian emergency shutdown orders. One particular bill that was discussed in the public hearing that should be of concern to parents across the state is A5597. This would amend the current law that gives schools the ability to administrate student surveys on sensitive issues including sexual behaviors and attitudes, drug use, physical activity and eating habits.

Presently, schools in New Jersey must send home forms for parents to grant permission for their student to participate in these personal and probing sexual health surveys. According to the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, schools must allow parents to opt in or opt out, but no student is required to take part in these surveys.

The proposed change in New Jersey law would remove the requirement for parents to actively opt their student into the health surveys. Instead, every student would be passively opted into the survey unless their parent in writing requested for them to be excused from the survey. If a parent overlooks an email, misplaces an unopened letter, or the child forgets or even intentionally does not give their mom the opt out form – then the student will be surveyed about their sexual beliefs and activity.

What is the reason for this change? According to the language of the bill, not enough parents are giving schools the permission to ask their children these sex-based health questions. What do the bill sponsors recommend as the solution? Simple: stop asking the parents for their permission!

Jennie Lamon, of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, testified that this type of major change would further damage relationships the public schools have with parents. She expressed the level of mistrust and deception parents already feel will only be exacerbated by this overreach of state government to remove the parent once again from the equation!

I could not agree more.

I spoke to the policy director of the primary sponsor Assemblyman Herb Conaway last Friday about our concerns. Unfortunately, those concerns went unaddressed. Look for a future call to action if the bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Committee.

Here are the votes of the Assembly Health Committee from this past Monday:

YES vote = I do not believe schools should ask parents for their permission	NO vote = I do believe schools should ask parents to actively grant permission
Herb Conaway, Delran (D) – Chair	DeAnne DeFuccio, Cresskill (R)
Angelica Jimenez, West New York, (D) – Vice-Chair	Nancy Munoz, Summit (R)
John Armato, Northfield (D)	Erik Peterson, Clinton (R)
Daniel Benson, Hamilton Square (D)	Brian Rumpf, Forked River (R)
Jamel Holley, Union (D)
Shanique Speight, Newark (D)
Sterley Stanley, East Brunswick (D)
Christopher Tully, Paramus (D)
Anthony Verrelli, Trenton (D)

 

Protecting your family,

Shawn Hyland
Executive Director