Lawmakers nowadays keep forgetting that the people are the boss, and politicians are our servants. This is especially true in Democrat-controlled states.
Last year voters in the state of Washington submitted a petition to state lawmakers called Initiative 2081 — the Parents' Bill of Rights.
Initiative 2081 petitioned the legislature to grant parents and legal guardians of public school children under the age of 18 the right to review school materials, inspect student records, and be notified about their child's medical services and off-campus trips.
The initiative also included the right to opt their child out of certain sexual health education and surveys.
After receiving these "marching orders" from their constituents, the lawmakers got to work, and late last month Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, signed House Bill 1296 into law. But it did the opposite of what the voters had requested.
HB-1296 was so backward that the "Parents' Bill of Rights" was now being touted as a "student rights bill," which opponents said actually undermined the parental rights as set forth in their petition — Initiative 2081.
"The top priority for our schools should be to ensure a safe learning environment where every student has the chance to thrive,' Ferguson said at the bill signing ceremony.
The proponents of HB-1296 argued that it permits students to "share sensitive information, such as gender identity or sexual orientation, without fear of being 'outed' to their families."
But what about the parents' rights?
Conservative talk radio host Ari Hoffman reported, "BREAKING: Gov. Bob Ferguson has just signed the Democrats' bill to gut the parental rights initiative, overturning the will of over 400,000 Washingtonians who backed Initiative 2081."
Some of the most egregious provisions include:
- Schools may delay notifying parents of incidents involving their children.
- Parents have no guaranteed access to their children's medical and mental health records.
- Schools are not required to immediately notify parents when students receive medical services from school staff or government employees.
- Schools may delay notifying parents as long as two days if their child is the victim of a crime or sexual assault while on school property.
- Parents who seek legal remedies when their rights under the original initiative are violated will face new procedural hurdles.
Rep. Travis Couture, a Republican and lead opponent of the legislation, called HB-1296 a "slap in the face to democracy."
He argued during floor debate that "We have seen a stunning amount of sexual misconduct and sexual assaults by educators in our schools just in the last year."
Couture introduced an amendment that would have required school officials to immediately notify parents if their child was sexually assaulted by a school employee. Even that was rejected.
That rejected amendment caught the attention of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican.
"Serious question," he began: "How does ANYONE — no matter how Left-wing — vote against informing parents that their child has been sexually assaulted at school?" he asked, and concluded, "Utter insane."
Washington State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat, countered that it should be all up to the child — the parents have no voice in the matter.
"Young women, if they're old enough to get pregnant, they're old enough to make their own decisions about what happens with their bodies and parents do not have the right to change that or make a different decision or be notified in advance," Pedersen argued.
But we're talking about minor children here. Until they're no longer minors they're under the guidance and responsibility of their parents — their caregivers. They're not wards of the state.
Washington state is, of course, named after George Washington, who led a makeshift army to seek independence from the British crown and embark on a great experiment where the people are sovereign and government is merely their servant.
In furtherance of that goal, the signers of the Declaration of Independence said "We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
Washington state's lawmakers and governor dishonored that pledge and broke the trust the people placed in them when they turned a "Parents' Bill of Rights" into a document granting minor children more rights than their caregivers.
With any luck, when Washington voters next go to the polls, they'll understand that we are a government of, by, and for the people, and not the other way around, and they'll recall how their own government, their servants, had betrayed them.'
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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