HM 557

1
House Memorial
2A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3Congress to propose to the states for ratification an
4amendment to the United States Constitution relating to
5parental rights.
6
7     WHEREAS, the right of parents to direct the upbringing and
8education of their children is a fundamental right protected by
9the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Florida,
10and
11     WHEREAS, our nation has historically relied first and
12foremost on parents to meet the real and constant needs of
13children, and
14     WHEREAS, the interests of children are best served when
15parents are free to make childrearing decisions about education,
16religion, and other areas of a child's life without state
17interference, and
18     WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in Wisconsin v.
19Yoder held that "This primary role of the parents in the
20upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as
21an enduring American tradition," and
22     WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in Troxel v.
23Granville produced six different opinions on the nature and
24enforceability of parental rights under the United States
25Constitution, creating confusion and ambiguity about the
26fundamental nature of parental rights in the laws and society of
27the several states, and
28     WHEREAS, a number of members of Congress have introduced
29joint resolutions that propose an amendment to the United States
30Constitution to prevent erosion of the enduring American
31tradition of treating parental rights as fundamental rights,
32commonly referred to as the Parental Rights Amendment, and
33     WHEREAS, the Parental Rights Amendment will add explicit
34text to the Constitution of the United States to forever protect
35the rights of parents as they are now enjoyed, without
36substantive change to current state or federal laws respecting
37these rights, and
38     WHEREAS, such enumeration of these rights in the text of
39the United States Constitution will preserve them from being
40infringed upon by the shifting ideologies and interpretations of
41the United States Supreme Court, NOW, THEREFORE,
42
43Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
44
45     That the Florida Legislature respectfully petitions the
46Congress of the United States to propose to the states an
47amendment to the Constitution of the United States to read as
48follows:
49
ARTICLE ___
50     Section 1.  The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing
51and education of their children is a fundamental right.
52     Section 2.  Neither the United States nor any State shall
53infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its
54governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest
55order and not otherwise served.
56     Section 3.  No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source
57of international law be employed to supersede, modify,
58interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.
59     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
60dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
61President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
62United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
63the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.