Ken Cuccinelli’s Virginia gubernatorial campaign must really be hurting, because it just brought out some classic Religious Right scare tactics.
Today, the campaign sent out a fundraising email, signed by the candidate’s wife Teiro Cuccinelli, warning supporters that “we live in a nation in which our inalienable rights to live and liberty face real threats.” The threats listed in the email include speculation that “clergy might face imprisonment for teaching the Christian morals from the pulpit” and that homeschooling might be outlawed.
The email claims that Attorney General Eric Holder “recently argued in federal court that parents do not have a fundamental right to home school their children” – an apparent reference to a recent case involving a German family that was denied a request for asylum because Germany would not allow them to homeschool their family. Nothing in the case indicated that the Obama administration wants to restrict homeschooling in the United States.
And, despite right-wing hysteria to the contrary, there is absolutely no evidence for the claim that clergy will be thrown in jail for preaching “Christian morals” on issues like gay rights.
We live in a nation in which our inalienable rights to life and liberty face real threats. Our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, second amendments rights, parental rights, and property rights are all slowly being strangled by our federal government.
My oldest daughter, Alie, left a few weeks ago to begin her second year of college. She told me recently she might want to home school her own children one day. I wonder if Alie will even be allowed to home school her children if she desires to do so. President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, recently argued in federal court that parents do not have a fundamental right to home school their own children.
A priest friend of mine recently told me that he is concerned that there might come a day soon when he and his fellow clergy might face imprisonment for teaching the Christian morals from the pulpit.
Several mothers have expressed their concerns to me about how the nationwide implementation of the Obama Administration’s Common Core Curriculum is going to affect Virginia students and standardized testing, including the SAT test.These are similar to the many concerns I hear from people I talk to around the Commonwealth.
What will the future look like for our children?
I do not know the answer.
