Let's Empower Parents !

We need your help right now on a parental rights bill.  Sorry for the last minute nature of this alert. It's how things unfold down in Juneau the last few weeks of the legislative session. 

Last week, a new bill - Senate Bill 89 - was filed by Senator Mike Dunleavy that recognizes the right that parents have to direct the education of their children. 

SB 89 requires local school boards to adopt policies that ensure parents have the right to object and remove their child from any school program that they conclude is harmful to their child.  This would include any class or program regarding sex education or human reproduction.

Whenever a school intends to make a presentation regarding these subjects, they need to give parents at least two weeks notice, provide parents an opportunity to review the content of such a presentation, and require the parent’s written permission before their child can participate.

Sound like good common sense to you?  It does to me.  Like many other parents, my wife and I pay taxes – LOTS of taxes – to help support our local public schools.  Think of parents as the customers, and schools as the service provider – in this case, a service provider that has a monopoly on taxpayer funds.

So what happens when the schools use our tax money to undermine and attack the values we teach our children at home?  Sadly, that’s not a theoretical question.  Imagine that your 7^th grade child goes to school one day, and instead of the normal teacher they have an employee of Planned Parenthood – America’s No. 1 abortion provider – giving a talk to the kids about sex and abortion.  Imagine that employee asking these impressionable young people, “How many of you are sexually active?”

The situation I’ve described above is exactly what parents in Sitka reported to us, and it understandably led to an uproar in the Sitka School District.  More than 150 residents signed a letter to the school board opposing the presence of Planned Parenthood in their local schools.

Senator Dunleavy’s bill, if enacted, would ensure that parents are put back in the driver’s seat – and that such controversial topics can only be taught when a parent specifically consents to it, after having the opportunity to review what is being taught to their child.

It may be common sense – but rest assured, we’ll hear noisy opposition to this bill.  Most likely it will come from public education bureaucrats, who will wring their hands about how burdensome it is to actually respect the authority of parents – you know, the customers who actually pay for the service of having their children educated.

ACTION ITEM: Contact the members of the Senator Education Committee.  Ask them to support SB 89 – and to sign on as cosponsors.   Thank the Chairman of the committee – Senator Dunleavy – for introducing this important bill.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Senator Mike Dunleavy, Chairman

907-465-6600

[email protected]

          
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice-Chair

907-465-3878

[email protected]

Senator Cathy Giessel

907-465-4843

[email protected] 

Senator Gary Stevens

907-465-4925

[email protected]

Senator Berta Gardner

907-465-4930

[email protected]

INDIANA BILL - TOLERANCE 
GOES BOTH WAYS

If you've been following the hoopla surrounding the recent passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in Indiana, you know this effort is getting serious attention and is being grossly distorted by Hollyweird and the mainstream media.  

Click here to see Governor Pence's great explanation of the bill he just signed into law.

Indiana has joined the 19 states that already had RFRAs along with 7 more with state supreme court decisions providing the RFRA test for religious freedom. 

Because Alaska is one of a handful of states without a RFRA in place, we're following this national dialogue closely as we anticipate getting our legislature to pass a similar bill.

To get quickly up to speed on RFRAs, please take a few moments now to review this great summary or print it up and read it later. The biggest obstacle facing these kind of bills is education. As the public becomes informed, good things will happen. 

Let's put a lid on marijuana concentrates

The Alaska Senate will soon take up Senate Bill 30, a bill that seeks to regulate the production, sale, and use of marijuana, which was legalized by the passage of Ballot Measure 2 in the 2014 election.

It is expected that when SB 30 comes to the Senate floor, an amendment will be offered that corrects one of the most glaring problems in Ballot Measure 2, which is the legalization of dangerous marijuana concentrates that are packaged in edible forms like cookies, brownies, gummy bears, and lollypops.  Whereas your average smoked joint might contain around 10-15 percent THC (the psychoactive agent in marijuana) the innocent-looking “edibles” can be loaded with as much as 80 percent THC.  This creates a real public health hazard for unsuspecting people who consume these “foods.”

ACTION ITEM: Contact your Senator now – and respectfully ask them to SUPPORT an amendment to SB 30 that would disallow the production and sale of these dangerous marijuana concentrates.  Click HERE to obtain contact information for your Senator. Click HERE for a list of all AK State Senators.

Why does this amendment make sense, when a majority of voters chose to legalize marijuana?  Consider that supporters of Ballot Measure 2 loudly proclaimed during last year’s election: “Ballot Measure 2 will end the failed policy of marijuana prohibition in Alaska and replace it with a system in which…. Marijuana is regulated and taxed like alcohol.”  (quote from the Official Election pamphlet, 2014, p. 79). 

This is what the voters were promised.  So now let’s look at how we regulate alcohol in Alaska.  For starters, Alaska law prohibits the sale of powdered alcohol – where the alcohol is removed from its liquid state, similar to how marijuana concentrates remove the THC from the organic material of the marijuana plant.  In addition, Alaska law prohibits the sale of any alcoholic beverage that contains more than 76 percent alcohol by volume (AS 04.16.110).  In other words, we’ve had common-sense restrictions in place for many years that limit the potency and form of alcohol that may be consumed in this state.  Now the Legislature needs to do the same thing with regard to marijuana – and for the same public health reasons. 

Why is this a big deal?  Already, two deaths in Colorado have been linked to that state’s decision to legalize marijuana concentrates.  USA Today published an excellent account of the toxic nature of THC concentrates – the use of which often leads to an emergency room visit.  Click HERE to read this article – and then ask yourself: is it worth making a phone call to your Senator to ensure that this type of chaos does not unfold in Alaska?

But the dangers from concentrates extend beyond those who actually consume them.  Colorado is already seeing a huge spike in home explosions due to people using butane fuel to manufacture hash oil, another THC concentrate that is now legal.  There were 32 of these home explosions in 2014, almost triple the number from the year before.  Watch this NBC story HERE and think about this process going on in the apartment or home right next to yours.  Feeling safe in the brave new world of legalized pot?

Amending SB 30 to ban THC concentrates is simply common sense – and it only requires legislators to treat marijuana the same way as alcohol.  That is what voters were promised, but only the Legislature has the authority to do this.  The financial backers of Ballot Measure 2, mostly Outsiders, have neither the interest nor the authority to protect the safety and public health of Alaskans.

ACTION ITEM: Contact your Senator now – and respectfully ask them to SUPPORT an amendment to SB 30 that would disallow the production and sale of dangerous marijuana concentrates.  Click HERE to obtain contact information for your Senator.

Residents of Alaska's largest city will be casting their vote onTuesday, April 7th 2015 for their next Mayor.

Alaska Family Action recommends a vote for Amy Demboski for Mayor of Anchorage.

Although there are a number of issues the Mayor of Anchorage has jurisdiction over, the most relevant in terms of our issues has to do with religious freedom and the right of conscience. 

There is little doubt that one of the first items on the agenda of the Anchorage Assembly will be to re-introduce an ordinance that would add sexual-orientation and transgender identity to Anchorage's list of protected legal classes.

You might remember that Alaska Family Action led the effort back in April of 2012 to oppose Proposition 5. The debate stirred up national attention and caused a record turnout to the polls.  

Ultimately, common sense and truth prevailed and voters rejected the Proposition by a 58% to 42% margin. Although we were significantly outspent, we achieved victory by appealing to residents who knew that our community was already tolerant and that the measure posed significant risks to the religious liberties of individuals, businesses and faith-based organizations. 

Legislation recently filed by Rep. Liz Vazquez of Anchorage would require public libraries to install Internet filters on their computers or have their State funds taken away. 

Children walking into many of Alaska’s publicly funded libraries today are only a click away from pornography, obscenity and Internet predators. All libraries that receive State funds should go the extra mile to protect children.

Representative Harriet Drummond recently introduced a bill (HB99) that would legalize assisted suicide in Alaska.

If there is one thing that should be put to death, it's this bill. Click HERE for good information on the subject.

This issue has been brought up before and was shot down in 1996 by the Legislature and by the Alaska Supreme Court in 2001. In his unanimous opinion, Justice Alex Bryner wrote that the State "insists that the terminally ill are a class of persons who need protection from family, social, and economic pressures, and who are often particularly vulnerable to such pressures because of chronic pain, depression, and the effects of medication."

Representing the Alaska Catholic Conference at the time, attorney Bob Flint, now an Alaska Family Action Board member, noted that "Church people are no strangers to suffering," he told the Anchorage Daily News. "But there are principles that just don't allow us to kill people. It's that simple. We don't doubt the motives of the other side. We just disagree with them."

ACTION
Please do your part to put this bill to rest by contacting members of the House Health and Social Services Committee. Urge them to vote NO on this bill that takes advantage of the most vulnerable among us and sets forth the false premise that suicide is medical care.  Click HERE for more talking points on why to oppose HB99.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan

Please join us next Thursday, February 12th at 6:30pm at Juneau Christian Center for a FREE movie event about the erosion of religious liberty in America called One Generation Away.

The film focuses on seven ongoing case studies of religious freedom across the country including Mt. Soledad in San Diego, wedding service providers in Oregon and Washington, Hobby Lobby, chaplaincy in the military, two education cases with a collegiate counseling program, and high school cheerleaders in Koontz, Texas. 

“The fight to protect our religious freedom is paramount to our country’s future prosperity,” notes Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator, Presidential candidate and CEO of EchoLight Productions, the company that produced the documentary. “Taking that fight to the big screen and impacting the culture along the way allows us to inform on this critical subject in a meaningful and entertaining way.”

Alaska Family Action is working with national groups and other family policy councils across the country to introduce good public policy to protect our cherished freedoms to live and work in a manner that is consistent with our core beliefs.  This movie goes a long way toward telling the story of why this "First Freedom" is so critical in today's climate.

Click HERE to view the trailer and then mark your calendar for Thursday, February 12th at 6:30pm at Juneau Christian Center. 

Hope to see you there.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan

Please join us this Wednesday, February 4that 6:00pm at The Crossing in North Birchwood for a FREE movie event about the erosion of religious liberty in America called One Generation Away.

The film focuses on seven ongoing case studies of religious freedom across the country including Mt. Soledad in San Diego, wedding service providers in Oregon and Washington, Hobby Lobby, chaplaincy in the military, two education cases with a collegiate counseling program, and high school cheerleaders in Koontz, Texas. 

“The fight to protect our religious freedom is paramount to our country’s future prosperity,” notes Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator, Presidential candidate and CEO of EchoLight Productions, the company that produced the documentary. “Taking that fight to the big screen and impacting the culture along the way allows us to inform on this critical subject in a meaningful and entertaining way.”

Alaska Family Action is working with national groups and other family policy councils across the country to introduce good public policy to protect our cherished freedoms to live and work in a manner that is consistent with our core beliefs.  This movie goes a long way toward telling the story of why this "First Freedom" is so critical in today's climate.

Click HERE to view the trailer and then mark your calendar for this Wednesday, February 4th at6:00pm at The Crossing located at 22208 N. Birchwood Loop in Chugiak. 

Hope to see you there. 

ACTION ALERT - Please call Congressman Don Young at (202) 225-5765 to -

1) Thank him for his past support of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and

2) Ask him why Republican leadership pulled the same bill (new term) yesterday

The U.S. House of Representatives was planning to vote on a bill banning most abortions after five months of pregnancy – a point at which a baby can feel pain and survive long-term outside the womb. 

From Heritage Action for America -  

"Last night, House Republican leadership pulled the bill.  Instead, they’ll consider the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 7).  While a good bill, it is outrageous they pulled the original five-month abortion ban bill, also known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36).  Leadership is suggesting they will re-work the legislation, but they must feel the pressure of the grassroots to keep the pressure up for this landmark legislation for the life of children."

• A recent Quinnipiac poll found 60% of Americans favor limited abortion after five months, including 59% of women and 57% of millennials.
• This Congress cannot abandon or water down the 5-month abortion ban.  You need to fight for this.

Recent bills filed by Rep. Cathy Munoz (R-Juneau) and Rep. Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage) would give special rights based on lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual behavior.

We've gone through this before back in 2012 with Prop 5 in Anchorage when Alaska Family Action led the effort to defeat similar language LGBTQ activists were seeking to add to the Municipal code.

Prop 5 was soundly defeated because our communities are already tolerant and widespread discrimination against LGBTQ individuals is simply not happening.  

The Government shouldn’t determine who gets to exercise their First Amendment right to live their lives according to their deeply held convictions. There is certainly a cultural war going on regarding sexuality in our society but the State of Alaska should not be taking sides.

What really is happening however in greater frequency regarding this issue is greatly disturbing. Across the country, citizens who are "found out" to be supportive of natural marriage are being increasingly targeted.

The latest example, and there are countless others, is the Fire Chief in Atlanta, Georgia, Kelvin Cochrane, who was recently fired for being vocal about his belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.  

An article from our friends at Family Research Council notes that "the former Obama appointee, who had a long and distinguished record, finally had the opportunity to tell his side of the story at Tuesday’s rally. And, like so many before him, nothing but fierce hostility toward Christianity was at its heart. To a room full of reporters, Cochran made it clear: “I was fired for having the audacity to believe that sex was created for procreation and should be in the bonds of holy matrimony between and a man and woman.”

Whether you're the CEO of Firefox, an ESPN college football analyst, a florist, an educator, a small business owner, a wedding vendor or any other individual who wants to participate in the public marketplace, the message from the LGBTQ community is clear - your views are NOT WELCOME and will be punished if you ever bring them up or they are discovered.

This is real discrimination and something should be done about it. More on that later.