Last month the Child Rights Campaign began pushing online petitions calling on the President to move for CRC ratification. Tuesday, Time ran an online opinion piece by Lawrence Cohen and Anthony Debenedet calling for the United States to ratify by November 20. In the piece, they name our organization and then provide some misinformation to convince readers we are wrong.
Clearly, our opponents have no intention of letting up. They are pressing to make ratification happen before Obama – and their best opportunity – are gone.
That is why we must continue to stand against them. And we need your help.
The CRC purports to protect children, but would replace fit parents with government bureaucrats and judges as the first line of defense for our kids. In addition, it would take family law authority away from our states and make it an international treaty obligation at the federal level.
This is because under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, any ratified treaty becomes the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every state are bound by it, regardless of conflicts with federal law or state laws or constitutions.
Cohen and Debenedet cite Reid v. Covert to contend that our concern is false because “no international treaty has the power to override the U.S. Constitution.” But this ignores the fact that parental rights do not appear in the Constitution; they are implied rights found in the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court in Reid v. Covert addressed rights not expressly in the Constitution, such as parental rights, thus: “To the extent that the United States can validly make treaties, the people and the States have delegated their authority to the National Government, and the Tenth Amendment is no barrier” 354 U.S. 1 (1957).
Sadly, the CRC is supported by international organizations with billions of dollars in assets (and with access to outlets like Time magazine), while we must depend entirely on the support of individual donors – people just like you who understand the dangers of letting the government decide whether fit parents are making the best decisions for their children.
We must continue to fight for free families and free U.S. courts, no matter how deep the pockets of those who oppose us. As they are turning up the heat, we need your help to meet strength with strength.
First, please make as generous a donation as you can right now. We must make certain this treaty is not passed. To give, simply visit parentalrights.org/donate or call us at 540-751-1200 (8:30 - 5:00 EST).
Then, pass this on to everyone you know. The freedom of parents to raise children according to their own convictions, and the authority of U.S. states to pass family law without dictates from the federal government or an overseas committee, hang in the balance. Preserve America’s future by supporting the Parental Rights Amendment today.
Sincerely,
Michael Farris
