Make Texas the First State to Add Parental Rights to Our State Constitution

Make Texas the First State to Add Parental Rights to Our State Constitution

The Problem:

The rights of Texas parents rest almost entirely in the hands of unelected federal judges, who come and go regularly and could change their minds on parental rights at any time.

The Solution:

On November 4th, you can vote YES on Prop 15, affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.

The Problem:

The rights of Texas parents rest almost entirely in the hands of unelected federal judges, who come and go regularly and could change their minds on parental rights at any time.

The Solution:

On November 4th, you can vote YES on Prop 15, affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.

What will the constitutional Amendment say?

“To enshrine truths that are deeply rooted in this nation’s history and traditions, the people of Texas hereby affirm that a parent has the responsibility to nurture and protect the parent’s child and the corresponding fundamental right to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.”

What will the constitutional Amendment say?

“To enshrine truths that are deeply rooted in this nation’s history and traditions, the people of Texas hereby affirm that a parent has the responsibility to nurture and protect the parent’s child and the corresponding fundamental right to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.”

FAQ: Understanding Proposition 15 – The Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment

Currently, parental rights are recognized mainly through case law (meaning in the written opinions of judges) and not explicitly in the text of the Texas or US Constitutions. This makes them vulnerable to change by judicial decisions. Prop 15 aims to enshrine parental rights in the Constitution to protect them long-term.

No. The first thing to understand is that the amendment does not change the law. Every word of the amendment comes from clear legal principles outlined in more than 150 years of caselaw. The amendment does not change it, it merely preserves these rights so they cannot be rolled back by future judges.

The amendment’s reference to parental responsibility isn’t a loophole; it’s a reference to a longstanding legal principle on which parental rights rest. The legal and philosophical basis of parental rights recognized for more than 150 years is that parents are the only individuals with the natural and God-given responsibility to raise their children. No other person or entity has this unique status. Because the state and other parties do not share this natural responsibility, they do not possess the corresponding right to intervene in parental decisions. The amendment does not grant new powers to the government; it simply solidifies existing principles, ensuring that parental rights remain protected. This is the same constitutional principle that has governed parental rights since the beginning.

No. Remember, the amendment does not change the law. It merely solidifies existing law into the text of the Constitution itself. The amendment does not grant parents the right to harm their children. Longstanding case law, which remains in effect under the amendment, ensures that the state has a compelling interest in protecting children from abuse or neglect. The amendment simply enshrines parental rights in the Constitution while maintaining the state’s authority to intervene when necessary to protect children from serious harm.

Your right to free speech is the same. You have a constitutional right to free speech, but if you publicly call for the murder of your neighbor, the state can punish that speech. Parental rights work under the same principle. The right belongs to the parent, but the state retains the ability to intervene to protect others from serious harm.

While parental rights are indeed considered natural and God-given, listing them in the Constitution is what ensures they are protected under the law. Just as free speech and religious freedoms are explicitly protected in the Constitution, parental rights need the same level of legal protection. Without explicit constitutional protection, these rights are more vulnerable to interference from the state.

No. Prop 15 does not alter the substance of existing law. Everything in the parental rights amendment has existed for well over a century under TX and US constitutional case law. The amendment simply enshrines current constitutional principles into the Texas Constitution. This ensures that parental rights are protected for future generations and prevents them from being easily undermined by changes in case law.

Constitutional amendments are designed to be broad, overarching statements of principle. Other constitutional rights are the same. Making an amendment overly specific usually brings more confusion, not less. Instead, the amendment clearly states the broad principle. The specific application of that principle to different situations is worked out in the courts. This is how every constitutional amendment works. Parental rights will be the same. The questions of how parental rights apply in specific situations are already litigated thousands of times a year in various cases. This will continue to be the case under the new amendment. Remember, the amendment does not change the law, it merely enshrines it in the text of the Constitution itself to ensure it is never rolled back by judges in the future.

FAQ: Understanding Proposition 15 – The Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment

Currently, parental rights are recognized mainly through case law (meaning in the written opinions of judges) and not explicitly in the text of the Texas or US Constitutions. This makes them vulnerable to change by judicial decisions. Prop 15 aims to enshrine parental rights in the Constitution to protect them long-term.

No. The first thing to understand is that the amendment does not change the law. Every word of the amendment comes from clear legal principles outlined in more than 150 years of caselaw. The amendment does not change it, it merely preserves these rights so they cannot be rolled back by future judges.

The amendment’s reference to parental responsibility isn’t a loophole; it’s a reference to a longstanding legal principle on which parental rights rest. The legal and philosophical basis of parental rights recognized for more than 150 years is that parents are the only individuals with the natural and God-given responsibility to raise their children. No other person or entity has this unique status. Because the state and other parties do not share this natural responsibility, they do not possess the corresponding right to intervene in parental decisions. The amendment does not grant new powers to the government; it simply solidifies existing principles, ensuring that parental rights remain protected. This is the same constitutional principle that has governed parental rights since the beginning.

No. Remember, the amendment does not change the law. It merely solidifies existing law into the text of the Constitution itself. The amendment does not grant parents the right to harm their children. Longstanding case law, which remains in effect under the amendment, ensures that the state has a compelling interest in protecting children from abuse or neglect. The amendment simply enshrines parental rights in the Constitution while maintaining the state’s authority to intervene when necessary to protect children from serious harm.

Your right to free speech is the same. You have a constitutional right to free speech, but if you publicly call for the murder of your neighbor, the state can punish that speech. Parental rights work under the same principle. The right belongs to the parent, but the state retains the ability to intervene to protect others from serious harm.

While parental rights are indeed considered natural and God-given, listing them in the Constitution is what ensures they are protected under the law. Just as free speech and religious freedoms are explicitly protected in the Constitution, parental rights need the same level of legal protection. Without explicit constitutional protection, these rights are more vulnerable to interference from the state.

No. Prop 15 does not alter the substance of existing law. Everything in the parental rights amendment has existed for well over a century under TX and US constitutional case law. The amendment simply enshrines current constitutional principles into the Texas Constitution. This ensures that parental rights are protected for future generations and prevents them from being easily undermined by changes in case law.

Constitutional amendments are designed to be broad, overarching statements of principle. Other constitutional rights are the same. Making an amendment overly specific usually brings more confusion, not less. Instead, the amendment clearly states the broad principle. The specific application of that principle to different situations is worked out in the courts. This is how every constitutional amendment works. Parental rights will be the same. The questions of how parental rights apply in specific situations are already litigated thousands of times a year in various cases. This will continue to be the case under the new amendment. Remember, the amendment does not change the law, it merely enshrines it in the text of the Constitution itself to ensure it is never rolled back by judges in the future.

More About the Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment…

Jeremy Newman Testifies on HJR 112

Jeremy Newman Testifies Before Senate Committee

More About the Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment…

Jeremy Newman Testifies on HJR 112

Jeremy Newman Testifies Before Senate Committee

Background on the Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment in Texas

Passing a Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution is critical to the protection of parental rights in Texas for two reasons.

  1. First, passing a Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution would significantly shrink the power of the federal government over questions of parental rights. This is because those rights would rest in the Texas Constitution, giving more authority to elected Texas judges, rather than being only in federal constitutional case law.
  2. Second, it would ensure the protection of these rights into the future, because while case law can change quickly with the replacement of a single judge, an amendment to the Texas Constitution would be extremely difficult to repeal. Rights in the Texas constitution can only be lost if two-thirds of Texas legislators repeal it and a majority of Texas voters ratify the change.

Stay Informed on the Passage of the Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas State Constitution!

Stay Informed on the Passage of the Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas State Constitution!

The Texas Legislature approved the Parental Rights Amendment, giving Texans the chance, on November 4, to enshrine parental rights in the state constitution. If passed, Texas would be the first state in the nation to take this step and would protect families by ensuring these rights cannot be eroded by shifting court opinions.

Right now, the rights of Texas parents rest almost entirely in the hands of unelected federal judges, who come and go regularly and could change their minds on parental rights at any time.

Passing a Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution is critical to the protection of parental rights in Texas for two reasons.

  1. First, passing a Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution would significantly shrink the power of the federal government over questions of parental rights. This is because those rights would rest in the Texas Constitution, giving more authority to elected Texas judges, rather than being only in federal constitutional case law.
  2. Second, it would ensure the protection of these rights into the future, because while case law can change quickly with the replacement of a single judge, an amendment to the Texas Constitution would be extremely difficult to repeal. Rights in the Texas constitution can only be lost if two-thirds of Texas legislators repeal it and a majority of Texas voters ratify the change.