There is an effort underway to add a “Parental Rights Amendment” to the Constitution. It is spearheaded by Michael Farris, a long-time advocate for homeschooling. As a homeschooling father myself, I am a strong supporter of the rights of parents to raise and educate their children without government interference. But will this amendment help? Here is the text of it:

Section 1 appears to be boilerplate introduction language, whereas Section 3 is clearly directed at recent UN actions regarding the “rights of the child.” Section 2 is the meat of the amendment, but I find the language uninspiring. I understand that they need to have something that gives government authority to intervene in cases of child abuse, but it seems to me that the clause “without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served” could be interpreted in such a way that the government could justify any action. How does this really strengthen the rights of parents?

This highlights that the problem is not so much with the laws, it is with those who interpret and enforce the laws. Even a good law can be twisted to advance an evil agenda. If those who are judges or law enforcers wish to push evil on society, words on paper will not stop them. We need to change not so much the laws as we need to change the hearts and minds of those who interpret and enforce them.

St. Thomas More, pray for us!