Parental Rights

I don't normally get too political, but that may change with this new president. I am deeply concerned about this nomination, and ask you--even if you've never called a Senator before--to take just a moment to do so now. The link will take you to the HSLDA site where you can put in your zip code and find your senator's local number. It will literally take less than 5 minutes of your time, and the future of parental rights is on the line. Here is the information copied from HSLDA:

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

David Ogden has been nominated by President Barrack Obama to the
position of deputy attorney general of the United States, the second
highest position in the Justice Department. His hearings are scheduled
for today, February 5, 2009.


*Contact your senators now >>*
<http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6079>

*Note:* It would be best to call the local offices of your senators in
your state, as phone lines on Capitol Hill are tied up by voters
concerned about pending economic incentive legislation.

Home School Legal Defense Association urges all of its members to
immediately telephone both U.S. senators from your state to oppose the
nomination of David Ogden.

The most important reason to oppose Ogden’s nomination is his belief
that the rules found in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
<http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6077> are already binding on the
United States under the doctrines of international law.

In the Supreme Court case of /Roper v. Simmons/, 543 U.S. 551 (2005),
Ogden argued in a brief that the rules banning the juvenile death
penalty contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child were
customary norms of international law “binding on all states.”

For background information on this doctrine, see Michael Farris’
article, “A Deeper Understanding of the Threat of International Law”
<http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6078> in the November/December 2007
/Home School Court Report/.

This means that Ogden believes that the legal rules contained in the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child are already binding on the United
States, even though this treaty has never been sent to the U.S. Senate
for ratification.

Homeschoolers have long understood the dangers of this international
treaty, which contains the core principle that the government may decide
what it believes is best for each child without any proof of wrongdoing
by the child’s parents. Ogden promoted the use of this UN treaty in the
Supreme Court to reach the conclusion that America’s courts have the
power to overrule state law, using international law as their guidepost
for constitutional interpretation. Unfortunately, he was successful in
doing so in the Roper case.

It also means that Ogden is a proven advocate for the position that
international law should be used to interpret the Constitution of the
United States and bind the decisions of our elected officials.

If this weren’t enough, Ogden has a history of representing /Playboy/
and other purveyors of pornography in high-profile legal cases. He also
challenged the legality of using filters on library computers to protect
children from seeing pornography. It would be hard to imagine how Ogden
would faithfully enforce the nation's pornography laws if he is placed
in this position at the Justice Department.

The United States Senate needs to understand right now that the American
public will not countenance the idea of the nation being led by people
who believe that international law trumps American law.

Please call both of your U.S. Senators today to register your opposition
to David Ogden.

Sincerely,

Michael P. Farris
HSLDA Chairman