Before sending us out to lobby, Will Estrada along with other ParentalRights.org and HSLDA staff briefed us on the issues with the UNCRPD. I was fascinated by the information they shared and definitely came away with a better understanding of the UN treaty of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Basically, this treaty would sign away our national sovereignty on the issue of disability provisions to a UN committee, while not offering us any benefits as the US already has laws in place that protect and provide for the needs of the disabled. Of key concern to me and many other home school families is the phrasing of the bill which gives the government the ability to over-rule parental decisions for disabled children. This would mean a huge loss of parental rights.
Since this was our first time lobbying, we were teamed up with three staff from HSLDA and ParentalRights.org. Jonathan, David, and Ethan did a great job guiding us through the buildings to each senator's office. They let us do most of the talking, but were always around to step in if we did not know the answer to a question.
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| (L-R) Ethan, Molly, Myself, Jonathan, and David --These guys did a wonderful job of coaching us through our first day of lobbying |
We were assigned to hand-out packets of information on the bill to six different senators. HSLDA (who organized the day) was only able to get two of the offices to schedule meetings with us. These particular senators (from Texas and Louisiana) had voted against this treaty last December when it came up, so we mainly we tried to thank them for their vote and encourage them to continue to vote against it.
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| Molly and I outside Senator Cornyn's (Texas) office |
For the senate offices we did not have meetings scheduled with, we tried to get an impromptu meeting with a staffer. Otherwise, we simply left our information packet for their review.
Although we did not have a meeting scheduled, we did talk to a staffer from Senator Ben Cardin's office. As it happens, he is a senator from Maryland. Despite our attempts at lobbying, the staffer adamantly shared that Senator Cardin intends to continue to support this treaty. She said that they have received very little communication from constituents urging them to stop supporting this treaty. I came away with a renewed sense of urgency to communicate my views on issues to my senators. There is a large conservative base in Maryland. However, based on the staffers comments, I see that I need to be diligent in contacting them -and urging others to contact them- about issues such as this treaty!
"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." ~Colossians 3:17