by Michael Farris
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that juvenile felons cannot be sentenced to life in prison without parole in non-homicide cases. This stands as another example of the all-too-common practice of federal judges substituting their political judgments for that of state legislators.
In addition, the Supreme Court, in the process of reaching this decision, once again used the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as a guide to interpreting the Constitution of the United States.
As Justice Thomas noted in his dissent, international laws “are irrelevant to the meaning of our Constitution or the Court’s discernment of any longstanding tradition in this nation.”
Today’s ruling provides a perfect example of how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child will be used to slowly erode the principle that American law should exclusively govern this nation on issues of parents and children.
Michael Farris, Chairman of HSLDA and President of ParentalRights.org, wrote a brief on behalf of sixteen members of Congress in this case. The Supreme Court majority referenced his brief twice in making its ruling. His brief is available by clicking here.
Combined with recent statements by groups dedicated to the ratification of the UN CRC, today’s ruling signals that we must stop the ratification of the CRC before it gains momentum in the Senate.
Just last week Senator Jim DeMint introduced S. Res. 519 urging President Obama not to send the UN child rights treaty to the Senate for ratification. Our goal is to get at least 34 co-sponsors of S. Res. 519. If we are successful in this, the CRC will be dead at least until this Congress is replaced in January 2011.
This is a means of stopping the CRC for now. Ultimately, we need the Parental Rights Amendment as a permanent solution. Only then can we be confident that we have stopped the courts from using international law to decide cases about American children and American parents. Please call both of your US Senators to urge them to co-sponsor S. Res. 519 to stop the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child...
...As alluded to above, our call blitz to the Senate to support SR 519 continues. In fact, if anything, it is intensified by this Supreme Court decision. Please visit the Resolution Status Board and call now!
In addition, now is a great time to call your congressman and urge him once again to support H.J.Res. 42, the Parental Rights Amendment. It is the only permanent solution to the threat to families posed by the CRC.
Visit ParentalRights.org/States and click on your state. If your congressman is not a cosponsor, click on his name for contact information and give him a call.
Tell him you support parental rights and want to see them permanently protected in the text of the Constitution. Tell him party affiliation is no excuse – the Louisiana Senate recently passed a resolution calling for the amendment, and the 34-0 vote included 17 Democrats, 16 Republicans and 1 Independent. Tell them you will be looking for a courageous leader on family issues this November, and ask them to support H.J. Res. 42.
Be polite and thank them for their time.
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