The Start of an Exciting Legislative Ride
Many legislatures across the country are just getting started this week. (If you’re curious, you can see which ones here.) That means lawmakers are getting committee assignments, maybe new offices, and they’re just starting to introduce their 2025 legislation.
So, while they’re just gearing up, I had planned to tell you about a couple of things that are coming in the weeks ahead.
But then there’s Indiana.
Like others, their legislature just started this week. Unlike others, though, they’ve already introduced a major parental rights bill. And sent it to committee. And held a hearing on it.
Indiana Senate Bill 143 was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon, January 8. The Judiciary Chairman, Sen. Liz Brown (R-15) is also the sponsor of the bill—and, obviously, she is ready to run with it!
Alerted Tuesday night by our volunteer contact in Indiana and our friends at the Indiana Family Institute, we were able to send an alert on Wednesday morning asking our Indiana supporters to write in and support this bill. And that’s just what they did.
The hearing went well, with two hours of testimony on the bill, and most of it in favor. Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom were able to speak strongly for it, while other allies missed their chance. There were just too many friends there ready to speak on behalf of the bill!
Nevertheless, the committee’s vote wasn’t scheduled for this week. So, if you live in Indiana, you still have time to voice your support of this bill before the committee takes it up for a vote next week!
Now, here’s why this bill is so important: In Indiana, parental rights are not yet secured in state law. Parents have actually lost custody of their children over deeply held, mainstream religious beliefs. We’re talking simple, traditional values.
Senate Bill 143 will establish parental rights as fundamental and prohibit the State or its subdivisions from “substantively burdening” these rights unless it is to further a compelling governmental interest by the least restrictive means. That’s the “strict scrutiny” legal standard that we always look for!
What’s more, this bill has teeth: It grants parents the right to cite the statute as a defense any time the State is in violation of their rights; and it permits them to seek declaratory or injunctive relief, damages, and lawyers’ fees in the event the State violates parental rights in bad faith.
It’s a powerful bill, designed to protect the liberty of all loving parents to raise their children as they see fit, not as government bureaucrats would dictate.
The bill will not impair the State’s ability to protect children from abuse or neglect. No one has a “right” to abuse or neglect a child, and this bill reflects that clearly.
But it will protect fit parents from government intrusion over a parent’s beliefs or a family’s practice that may not fit the reigning government narrative. And that is exactly what parental rights is all about.
In just a few short months—this June, to be precise—we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the landmark decision in which the Supreme Court declared, “The child is not the mere creature of the State.” SB 143 in Indiana would honor that heritage by placing this Supreme Court precedent soundly into Indiana law, and I am excited that we and our Indiana supporters get to be a part of that!
Alabama and New York
So, what about those other “couple of things coming up” I mentioned at the start of this email?
Without trying to go into details we just don’t have yet, we are watching a child welfare reform bill coming to Alabama (their session starts February 4) and a bill to reform New York’s grandparent visitation law. (Their session started yesterday, January 8.) If you are in either of these states, please keep your eyes open for timely alerts coming your way—just like the one we sent out to Indiana yesterday—to support these bills when they’re ready to move.
The bill in New York will insert into state law the strong presumption that parents’ decisions are already in the best interest of their child, even in the area of grandparent visitation, and that the grandparents must overcome this presumption with solid evidence before the court can grant them visitation. It will also allow the courts to require court costs from any grandparent bringing a suit in bad faith. These improvements will help to protect innocent parents (including those who are too poor to fight wealthier grandparents in court) and allow them to keep their families together.
Again, I will have more on both of these bills as things develop, so be ready to urge your lawmakers to get on board.
An Exciting Ride
This week is only the start. We have the whole 2025 legislative session before us. But from what I see today, it’s going to be an exciting ride as we work together to protect children by empowering parents all over the country.
Thank you for coming along with us!