Hawaii-2011-SCR49-Introduced

WHEREAS, the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right protected by the constitutions of the United States and the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, our nation has historically relied first and foremost on parents to meet the real and constant needs of children; and

WHEREAS, the interests of children are best served when parents are free to make childrearing decisions about education, religion, and other areas of a child's life without state interference; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), held that "This primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition"; and

WHEREAS, however, the United States Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), produced six different opinions on the nature and enforceability of parental rights under the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, this decision has created confusion and ambiguity about the fundamental nature of parental rights in the laws and society of the states; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, representing the State of Nebraska has introduced in the United States House of Representatives an amendment to the United States Constitution to prevent erosion of the enduring American tradition of treating parental rights as fundamental rights that provides:

SECTION ONE: The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right;

SECTION TWO: Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served; and

SECTION THREE: No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply the rights guaranteed by this article; and

WHEREAS, the proposed amendment will add explicit text to the Constitution of the United States to forever protect the rights of parents as they are now enjoyed, without substantive change to current state or federal laws respecting these rights; and

WHEREAS, section two of the proposed amendment preserves the United States Supreme Court's tradition of upholding state laws against child abuse or neglect as representing a governmental interest of the highest order; and

WHEREAS, the amendment would not impair the tradition of granting parental rights to any individual who has legal custody of children, which may include other members of the family, such as grandparents, as mentioned in Troxel v. Granville; and

WHEREAS, an enumeration of parental rights in the text of the federal constitution will preserve them from being infringed upon by the shifting ideologies and interpretations of the United States Supreme Court; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature expresses support for the Parental Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution as presented to the United States Congress by Congressman Jeff Fortenberry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the United States Congress are urged to propose the Parental Rights Amendment to the states for ratification; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader and members of the United States Senate, the Speaker and members of the United States House of Representatives, and to each of the presiding officers of the legislative bodies of each state of the United States of America.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Constitution Of The United States; Parental Rights Amendment

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	49
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII