Florida Senate - 2011 SM 954 By Senator Flores 38-00425-11 2011954__ 1 Senate Memorial 2 A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 3 urging Congress to propose to the states for 4 ratification an amendment to the United States 5 Constitution relating to parental rights. 6 7 WHEREAS, the right of parents to direct the upbringing and 8 education of their children is a fundamental right protected by 9 the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Florida, 10 and 11 WHEREAS, our nation has historically relied first and 12 foremost on parents to meet the real and constant needs of 13 children, and 14 WHEREAS, the interests of children are best served when 15 parents are free to make childrearing decisions about education, 16 religion, and other areas of a child’s life without state 17 interference, and 18 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. 19 Yoder held that “This primary role of the parents in the 20 upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as 21 an enduring American tradition,” and 22 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in Troxel v. 23 Granville produced six different opinions on the nature and 24 enforceability of parental rights under the United States 25 Constitution, creating confusion and ambiguity about the 26 fundamental nature of parental rights in the laws and society of 27 the several states, and 28 WHEREAS, a number of members of Congress have introduced 29 joint resolutions that propose an amendment to the United States 30 Constitution to prevent erosion of the enduring American 31 tradition of treating parental rights as fundamental rights, 32 commonly referred to as the Parental Rights Amendment, and 33 WHEREAS, the Parental Rights Amendment will add explicit 34 text to the Constitution of the United States to forever protect 35 the rights of parents as they are now enjoyed, without 36 substantive change to current state or federal laws respecting 37 these rights, and 38 WHEREAS, such enumeration of these rights in the text of 39 the United States Constitution will preserve them from being 40 infringed upon by the shifting ideologies and interpretations of 41 the United States Supreme Court, NOW, THEREFORE, 42 43 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 44 45 That the Florida Legislature respectfully petitions the 46 Congress of the United States to propose to the states an 47 amendment to the Constitution of the United States to read as 48 follows: 49 ARTICLE ___ 50 Section 1. The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing 51 and education of their children is a fundamental right. 52 Section 2. Neither the United States nor any State shall 53 infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its 54 governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest 55 order and not otherwise served. 56 Section 3. No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of 57 international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, 58 or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article. 59 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be 60 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the 61 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the 62 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of 63 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.