Jul 8, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Wisconsin has increasingly deviated from biblical principles. In order to restore our culture and change the course of our state, we need to raise up Christians who are equipped with godly character to be leaders in their families, schools, and professions.
For the second year in a row, Wisconsin Family Council is hosting LEAD Wisconsin, a week-long camp built on a government and civics platform with the purpose of equipping teens to become effective godly leaders who engage the culture from a biblical perspective.
Last year, we had an unbelievable week carrying out that purpose! We saw three campers come to faith in Christ, spontaneous revival, and amazing work all week long as the teens heard practical presentations on biblical worldview, gained leadership experience, and grappled with the bills they supported and opposed.
This year, from July 10-15, campers ages 13-19 will again experience authentic leadership simulations, engage in biblical worldview discussions, take part in faith-building worship, and build relationships with other teens.
Over 100 campers are attending this year and almost half are alumni from last year. Over 40 crew members will come to minister to the teens as counselors, chaperones, and other camp helpers.
First year campers are in the Assembly Track while returning campers are in either the Senate Track or the Media Track. Only five campers are in the Media Track, selected by an application process.
Alumni campers will role-play as state senators and take up challenging tasks by offering amendments to bills and engaging in open debate.
Through the media track, campers will cover all camp events. The LEAD News Network’s (LNN) print publication, “The LEADer,” is a daily newspaper featuring the latest news, updates and opinion pieces—all written by the Media Track campers. LNN produces a broadcast shown at the end of the week during the commissioning ceremony. This track focuses on Journalism and Reporting, Writing and Research, Videography and Photography, Interviewing, Editing, and Media Ethics.
For all LEAD WI attendees, trained instructors will discuss abortion, religious freedom, worldviews, creationism, leadership, marriage and family, racial issues, and social media. The teens will gain crucial life-skills that they will need as Christian leaders in a secular culture.
Joseph Backholm with Family Research Council is our worldview speaker this year. Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA will also join us for an afternoon.
Other speakers include Pastor Curtis McMiller from Kenosha; Jacky Drewry with Anchor of Hope pregnancy care/medical center in Sheboygan; Daniel Suhr, former legal counsel to Gov. Scott Walker and former Chief of Staff for Lt. Gov Rebecca Kleefisch; and Dave Gerry, a Christian businessman in Madison.
Sustaining the vitality of our society depends on the modeling of and transferring of those moral and social ideals to the next generation. This is exactly what WFC intends to do.
Please pray for LEAD WI during the week of July 10-15: for our speakers as they prepare and deliver, for our teens as they listen and engage, and for God to move in amazing ways as we help build the next generation of Christian leaders.
Jul 7, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
A group of 89 House Democrats introduced a “Transgender Bill of Rights” that poses serious threats to women’s sports, religious liberty, and freedom of conscience for medical professionals.
“With this resolution, we salute the resilience and courage of trans people across our country, and outline a clear vision of what we must do in Congress in order to allow trans people to lead full, happy lives,” said Rep. Jayapal (D-WA) in a statement.
The bill is riddled with gender ideology, propaganda, buzzwords and several items that are cause for concern.
First, the bill aims to “ensure that transgender and nonbinary people have equal access to services and public accommodations” and “ensure transgender and nonbinary people have the ability to provide for themselves and their families.” While these statements are concerningly vague, the Biden administration will likely use this section of the bill to infringe upon the religious freedom of faith-based businesses. It likely also means that people who “identify” as transgender would legally be allowed to use whichever restroom or facility that matches their gender identity as opposed to their biological sex.
Moreover, the bill would “promote the safety of trans and nonbinary people” and “enforce the civil rights of transgender people.” Again, these statements seem to be intentionally vague, meaning the left could use this portion of the law to grant LGBT people a number of special privileges at the expense of Christians. Plus, there is no mention of how allowing individuals to use whichever restroom or facility they choose endangers the safety of women and children.
Jayapal’s statement also notes that the bill would amend “the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly include gender identity and sex characteristics as protected characteristics and amending federal education laws to explicitly clarify that they protect students from discrimination based on gender identity and sex characteristics.”
This would impose detrimental consequences for women by redefining the term “woman” and equating gender-confused men to biological women. This means that any man who believes he is a woman would be legally permitted to compete against female athletes, and it would be illegal for sports teams to disallow members of the opposite sex to compete on their teams.
In other words, women’s sports as we know it would soon be erased. No matter how hard they train, women will know that there is nothing they can do to match the physical capabilities of the men that are unfairly competing against them.
Yet, a recent NPR poll actually found that Americans opposed biological males competing in women’s sports by a margin of 2-to-1. Thus, the “Transgender Bill of Rights” does not seem to represent the actual will of the people.
This amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would also mean that sex-segregated restrooms and facilities would be a thing of the past. Women would be forced to share locker rooms with men, violating their privacy rights and threatening their safety.
Another section of the bill aims to “expand access to gender-affirming medical care, codifying the right to abortion and contraception, [and] protecting transgender people from discrimination in healthcare.” “Gender-affirming medical care” includes “transition” surgeries that mutilate healthy bodies and injecting cross-sex hormones into adolescents who are too young to be making life-altering decisions about their bodies.
This section could also infringe upon the conscience rights of physicians by forcing them to perform harmful surgeries or offer procedures that they morally or medically disagree with. For example, if a female who believes she is a male wants a hysterectomy and breast removal, the doctor would be required to perform the surgery or face legal consequences.
While the left continues to push these procedures onto young children, countless detranstioners have come forward to tell their heartbreaking stories of how they were victimized by transgender ideologues and are now suffering from irreversible damage.
One detransitioner named Richie Herron calls the surgery “the biggest mistake of his life” and is experiencing painful complications, including incontinence, numbness and infertility. Richie’s is just one of numerous similar stories.
With this bill, House Democrats are promoting dangerous lies, bodily harm, and psychological derangement while legally erasing women.
Pray that this bill is defeated and that respect for God’s design is restored in the public and political spheres – and take action. Reach out to your representatives and make sure they know where you stand.
Jun 30, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court earlier this week affirmed Coach Kennedy’s right to silently pray in public after high school football games in Kennedy v. Bremerton School Board.
For years, Kennedy would pray very briefly by himself following football games. At one point, students became curious about what he was doing. When asked if they could join, he told them it was a free country, and they could do what they wanted. As time went on, more and more students and even coaches from other teams joined in.
After nearly half the team began to participate in these short prayers, the school told him he could no longer pray publicly. Kennedy initially obeyed the order, but later believed it violated his freedoms of speech and religion. He felt responsible to thank God for the games in that way. So, he continued to pray; and as a result, lost his job.
WFA signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in order to support Coach Kennedy and urge the court to protect religious freedom. The brief argued that the First Amendment was expressly written to protect our right to exercise our religion in just such situations as Coach Kennedy did.
Thankfully, the high court upheld Coach K’s right to freely live out his faith in public.
“The Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in a personal religious observance from government reprisal,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch in the 6-3 majority opinion, adding that the Constitution “neither mandates nor permits the government to suppress such religious expression.”
The court rejected the school district’s argument that the coach’s prayers were “coercive” of the players. The decision also corrects the widespread misconception that religious speech and actions must be suppressed to avoid the First Amendment’s ban on the “establishment of religion.”
“Both the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect expressions like Mr. Kennedy’s,” Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion. “Nor does a proper understanding of the Amendment’s Establishment Clause require the government to single out private religious speech for special disfavor. The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”
As the high court claims, our constitution does not require us to abandon our religious traditions and the Establishment Clause does not require schools to fire a coach like Joseph Kennedy.
“Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed a long-standing principle, correctly ruling that teachers and other school employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate,” Sarah Parshall Perry, a senior legal fellow for The Heritage Foundation, said in a statement.
This is a monumental victory for religious freedom throughout the United States. It serves to protect teachers who bow their heads to give thanks during lunch in the cafeteria, or school employees who wear a cross or religious symbol, as the opinion specifically mentions.
It will not only help preserve a free and diverse society, but also uphold human dignity, which is inseparable from the freedom to express one’s deeply held beliefs.
Jun 24, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Details about a free pro-life book for you below!
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We are still waiting for the Supreme Court to release its final decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which could overturn Roe v. Wade.
We expect to receive the decision no later than next Wednesday, unless the court decides to wait until after the July 4th holiday, which has been speculated.
Tensions are high. Over 35,000 people were on SCOTUSBlog Thursday morning! That number will grow now that we are down to just nine cases left to be released before the end of the court’s session, one of which is Dobbs.
Please pray for this case and for the safety of our justices. After the Dobbs draft leaked, revealing that the court is poised to overturn Roe, the left erupted in violence. They attacked our office and several other pro-life organizations. Domestic terrorist group Jane’s Revenge has declared “open season” on pro-life groups that refuse to back down.
The left has also protested outside of the justices’ homes in order to intimidate them into submission. One individual even traveled across the country to Justice Kavanaugh’s home with the intent of assassinating him. We expect this violence to only increase in the aftermath of Roe.
In the coming days, “Watch for the revelation of the spirit of murder that fuels the fires of abortion. And then remember: these arsonists and protesters and terrorists are doing this because they can no longer terminate the life of their child in the womb. They are furious and violent because they cannot do violence to their own flesh and blood. What kind of madness is this?” writes Dr. Michael Brown.
We will clearly see, as we have already, which side is influenced by the spirit of life and which group is motivated by the spirit of death. Only one side espouses compassion and care while the other espouses violence.
While the left responds in anger, our response must always be love. We should never resort to threats and intimidation, but show respect for every individual by appealing to reason and working to transform hearts and minds.
Debates surrounding this issue will become more intense, and we need to be equipped with the facts and prepared to defend the sanctity of life at all times.
Think about what you can do to help create a culture of life in Wisconsin in a post-Roe world. We need to practice radical love and compassion toward expecting mothers who are in difficult situations. We must also speak the truth in love about the unborn and create a culture of deep care for all life.
Once Roe is overturned, there will still be much work to be done. Through intentional discipleship, we need to undo the culture of death that Roe fostered.
We have 5000 copies of “Thinking Clearly After Roe: A Five-Part Strategy Moving Forward,” which we will make available to folks at no charge. Contact us to receive your copy!
Please pray that God continues to guide and strengthen the pro-life movement regardless of what the Dobbs decision brings.
Jun 22, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a major win in Carson v. Makin in a ruling that says the state of Maine cannot bar parents from using state funds to send their children to a religious school.
In 2018, parents sued Maine after it banned families from sending their children to private schools using state tuition assistance.
In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “a neutral benefit program in which public funds flow to religious organizations through the independent choices of private benefit recipients does not offend the Establishment Clause.”
The high court’s decision reverses the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
This is excellent news for school choice and religious liberty throughout the country. Parents should never be prevented from directing their children’s education and sending them to whichever school best suits their needs.
School choice is really educational freedom and is a parent’s right and should not be determined by the state. Every child is different, and we should let parents, who know their children best, decide where to send them to school.
Wisconsin is currently a national leader in school choice. Parents can choose the public school in the district where they live, or they can opt for open enrollment and enroll in a school in a different district, with some exceptions. Charter schools and virtual charter schools are also included under the public-school umbrella.
Wisconsin also offers the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, and the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program—all of which are part of the “voucher school” option. These programs allow income-qualified families to send their children to private schools participating in Choice (voucher) Programs. Parents can apply to be part of a school choice program.
This voucher program, which was first-in-the-nation, years ago went to the WI Supreme Court over allowing religious schools and received a favorable decision. At the time of the court case, only the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program was in place.
The decision to expand the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to include private religious schools “places on equal footing options of public and private school choice and vests power in the hands of parents to choose where to direct the funds allocated for their children’s benefit,” wrote Justice Donald Steinmetz in the majority opinion.
Wisconsin also has some of the best homeschooling laws in the country. Parents are encouraged to homeschool and are not burdened by overbearing restrictions as they are in some states.
While Wisconsin is leading the nation in educational opportunities, we have more to do. We need universal choice in Wisconsin. Incomes and zip codes should not determine who gets to take advantage of our educational options. However, our current governor is no fan of school choice.
We are currently in an election cycle, and this fall we have the opportunity to hold Gov. Evers accountable and elect leaders who will uphold parents’ right to school choice.
Jun 20, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Last week, President Biden announced he would sign an executive order to advance “LGBTQI+ Equality During Pride Month.”
Parts of the order are cause for concern, such as the following:
- “Addressing discriminatory legislative attacks against LGBTQI+ children and families, directing key agencies to protect families and children;
- Preventing so-called “conversion therapy” with a historic initiative to protect children from the harmful practice;
- Safeguarding health care, and programs designed to prevent youth suicide;
- Supporting LGBTQI+ children and families by launching a new initiative to protect foster youth, prevent homelessness, and improve access to federal programs; and
- Taking new, additional steps to advance LGBTQI+ equality.”
Much of the legislation is vague and lacking critical definitions. The Biden administration is clearly using euphemisms to sugarcoat its true agenda, but it’s not difficult to infer what these action points really mean.
“Addressing discriminatory legislative attacks” most likely means opposing, blocking, or undermining state laws that prohibit classroom instruction about sexually explicit material or lessons on gender identity for children without parental consent. Children are being groomed and indoctrinated with radical gender ideology in the classroom, and they desperately need legislative protection. Unfortunately, the Biden administration will likely cater to the liberal mob at the expense of vulnerable children.
This item also likely includes laws that protect women’s sports. The Wisconsin state legislature has passed vital bills that would ban biological men from unfairly competing against women. These bills were never given to the governor this session, but the authors are set to bring them back next session. Wisconsin should be able to pass these laws with a different governor – and we have that chance come November 2022 – but with Biden’s new order, Wisconsin could face threats from the federal level for doing so.
Preventing “conversion therapy” is also concerning, as it’s likely that the Biden administration is referring to faith-based counselors who provide therapy to clients who want to avoid same-sex attraction and deal appropriately with gender confusion. One counselor in the state of Washington was banned from treating clients with a faith-based approach to same-sex attraction. As our sister organization, the Family Policy Institute of Washington, explains:
“Brian Tingley is a Marriage and Family Therapist in Tacoma, Washington, and works with adults, couples, and children on a variety of topics from “gender identity” struggles to depression to marriage counseling and more. His practice employs techniques that are no different than those used by any other counselor: he listens to clients, supports them in their goals, and offers advice based on his training and knowledge.
However, many of Brian’s clients are referred to him by local churches, leading to a shared faith and belief system between him and many of his clients…The law specifically prevents conversations between counselors and clients who desire to become comfortable with their biological sex and are attempting to change certain sexual behaviors or practices. This includes clients who seek out counselors like Brian because their goal is to become realigned with their faith and have their actions and desires match the teachings of that faith.”
Under President Biden’s new executive order, this could easily happen in Wisconsin and throughout the country.
“Safeguarding health care” sounds harmless and even admirable, but it likely translates into removing freedom of conscience protections from healthcare providers who object to providing certain services for religious reasons and pushing taxpayer-funded transgender “care.”
Lastly, the White House stated that “the President’s Order charges HHS to work with states to promote expanded access to gender-affirming care.” This includes cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and mutilation surgeries, all of which cause irreparable harm to children. In fact, a recent study revealed that increased access to these harmful “therapies” actually leads to increased rates of youth suicide. In other words, the president is enabling child abuse.
The White House FACT SHEET announcing this EO says Biden is taking this action “to stand up to the bullies targeting LGBTQI+ people.” The “bullies” referenced here are people like you and us who believe children must be protected from this dangerous agenda and religious freedom must be respected and preserved.
If Biden moves forward with this executive order as we think he will, the religious freedom, free speech rights, and safety of children are all in danger.
Hopefully, the American people refuse to watch their rights be stripped at the behest of a woke agenda and respond to these unconstitutional measures with lawsuits. And here in Wisconsin, we have the opportunity to make serious changes for the trajectory of the Badger State this fall at the ballot box.
Jun 3, 2022 | Election Central, Wisconsin Family Voice
This week, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced its endorsement of Governor Evers in his reelection campaign. The press release says the governor “has shown the people…exactly who he is: a champion for women’s health and a leader who will fight to ensure…everyone has access to the health care they need, when they need it. The stakes of this year’s elections couldn’t be higher…with the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and the possibility that Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban could go into effect.”
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spent $750,000 to help get Evers elected the first time. In the last two years, he has rewarded them with over $2 million in taxpayer funds.
The Human Rights Campaign PAC also announced its endorsement of Gov. Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul for reelection.
“Human rights,” apparently, is a subjective term. The organization praised both Evers and Kaul for their “support” of the LGBT community, which implies that a lack of promotion of the LGBT agenda is somehow pitted against natural human rights. “From day one of his governorship, Governor Evers has prioritized the advancement of equality for the LGBTQ+ community. He enacted non-discrimination protections for transgender state employees and has stood strong against efforts by anti-equality forces in the state legislature to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation,” reads the organization’s statement for Gov. Evers.
As we well know, religious freedom and free speech rights–values fundamental to our nation’s founding–have been trampled upon in the name of so-called “equality.”
Endorsements matter because they tell voters about shared values and beliefs. We know exactly where the Human Rights Campaign and Planned Parenthood’s priorities lie through their endorsements–and the governor’s, too.
If pro-abortion and LGBT radicals are singing their praises for Gov. Evers, we can only expect that he will double down in promoting these ideologies if he were to be reelected.
Planned Parenthood’s main concern is expanding abortion in Wisconsin, and it knows that so long as Evers remains governor, it will continue to receive financial support, regardless of how taxpayers want their money to be spent.
The Human Rights campaign is not actually concerned with protecting human rights, but rather with promoting lies about human sexuality. Under the guise of “equality,” the organization is advancing promiscuity and mass delusion, and endorsing candidates who will support its radical position.
These endorsements can impact voter behavior, which is critical in tight races.
WFA PAC has issued a few endorsements for this fall, and there are still more to come. So far, WFA PAC has endorsed Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson for governor and David Varnam for lieutenant governor.
Each of these candidates gives evidence of a commitment to defending the sanctity of human life, parents’ rights, education freedom, limited government, capitalism and the free market, religious freedom and more.
They understand that Wisconsin’s most important natural resource is the family, and they are committed to strengthening, promoting, and preserving it.
They strongly support the biological reality that life begins at conception and deserves protection from that moment.
WFA PAC’s endorsements act as a “seal of approval” that says to voters “this candidate has been carefully and fully vetted.”
These candidates reflect WFA’s values and beliefs, just as Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign’s endorsements reflect theirs.
Stay tuned for more endorsements from WFA as the fall election approaches.
May 26, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Doe v. Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Tuesday. This is a critical parental rights case in which parents are rightfully challenging an absurd school policy that allows the school to majorly overstep its boundaries.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) brought the case to the Dane County Circuit Court in 2020 after MMSD implemented policies allowing students to use a different gender identity at school by changing their name and pronouns without consent from their parents. The district even instructed employees to hide the information from parents.
WILL argues that it is the right of parents to make healthcare decisions for their children, and gender confusion can significantly impact a child’s mental health. “Transitioning to a different gender identity is a significant psychotherapeutic intervention that requires parental notice or consent,” said WILL. MMSD is clearly violating parental rights by attempting to make this decision for them.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Frank Remington issued a partial injunction in 2020 that prevents the school district from “applying or enforcing any policy, guideline, or practice” that “allows or requires District staff to conceal information or to answer untruthfully in response to any question that parents ask about their child at school, including information about the name and pronouns being used to address their child at school.”
This injunction is not enough, however. It still permits minors to “transition” at school without requiring schools to notify parents or ask for their consent. The parents challenging this rule also requested to remain anonymous, but Judge Remington partially denied this request.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is now deliberating on the case and will determine whether the parents can proceed anonymously and whether the partial injunction goes far enough.
During oral arguments this past Tuesday (May 24), one of the attorneys for the school district struggled to admit parents have inherent rights regarding their children, saying that parents basically don’t have rights when it comes to the issue of their child’s gender identity at school.
When discussing the need for anonymity for the parents, WILL attorney Luke Berg asserted that disclosing the names could result in bullying and even harm to the parents and their children. Attorneys for the district refuted that idea and asked that the names be released to all the attorneys and everyone in their 3 large law firms, contending that these individuals (amounting at least 1000 attorneys alone) would not leak the names. Justice Rebecca G. Bradley spoke up and said essentially that she disputed the district’s assertion, noting that one of the groups that had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in support of the parents had their office firebombed after the leaked US Supreme Court draft opinion. Obviously, Justice Bradley was referring to us. (I was in the court room for the oral arguments.)
This case has huge ramifications not just here in Wisconsin but nationwide since it’s the first case in the country dealing with this issue. It could either help enshrine parental rights or severely compromise them.
For the sake of children’s well-being, parents need to be their primary decision makers, especially when it comes to questions of healthcare. Reaffirming a child’s delusion can pose significant negative consequences to their psychological development. They need the protection of their parents.
Chief Justice Annette Ziegler indicated the court would issue a decision promptly, which means we should certainly have the court’s final decision no later than June or July. In the meantime, please pray that the court rules justly and upholds parental rights.
May 26, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Radical gender ideology and its false realities continue to control our schools and our children. The latest case of absurdity from the left demonstrates that they are not giving in to reality any time soon. They are doubling down and using the legal system to enforce their delusion.
Three eighth graders at a Wisconsin school district are being charged with sexual harassment for not using a peer’s preferred pronouns.
Kiel Area School District (KASD) filed a Title IX complaint against three students, claiming that its policies prohibit “all forms of bullying and harassment in accordance with all laws, including Title IX.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) is representing the students, who are being sued for using a peer’s biological pronouns instead of his or her preferred pronouns of “they/them.”
“I received a phone call from the principal over at the elementary school, forewarning me; letting me know that I was going to be receiving an email with sexual harassment allegations against my son,” said Rosemary Rabidoux, the mother of one of the three students. “I immediately went into shock. I’m thinking sexual harassment? That’s rape, that’s inappropriate touching, that’s incest. What has my son done?
In reality, Rabidoux’s son had not engaged in sexual harassment at all. He simply exercised his First Amendment right to free speech and is being charged because the left disapproves of that speech.
Thankfully, WILL is arguing that the students’ speech is protected by the First Amendment and that using someone’s biologically correct pronouns does not qualify as sexual harassment.
“School administrators can’t force minor students to comply with their preferred mode of speaking,” said WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg. “And they certainly shouldn’t be slapping eighth graders with Title IX investigation for what amounts to protected speech. This is a terrible precedent to set, with enormous ramifications.”
This is a deeply disturbing case in which a school district is attempting to control speech. Further, they are coercing students to speak in a way that is not reflective of reality and is even delusional.
As the left often does, KASD believes the feelings and desires of the minority trump the rights of the majority. They believe one person’s confusion necessitates a mass denial of reality because to them, reality is subject to one’s feelings.
In enforcing their Orwellian newspeak, the left is going so far as to damage the reputation of three minors who made statements aligned with biological reality. This is really what we have come to? It is the right of these students to speak the truth, regardless of how others may react. If this right is denied, respect for human dignity is lost.
Schools are meant to be places where children learn how to seek the truth. Instead, they are learning the opposite, and our country will pay for it.
Hopefully, this case will serve as a lesson to Wisconsin parents. Public schools are not safe places for our children, and we need to stand up and fight back. Wisconsin is a national leader in school choice – learn more about your options and utilize them! Click here to learn more about school choice options in your area or keep in mind the Academy of Excellence Online (AoE) program – which provides an excellent homeschooling opportunity for families in Wisconsin – for next school year. HSLDA is also a helpful resource to learn about homeschooling options in The Badger State.
Please pray that justice is served in this case, not only for these three students but for the sake of reality and free speech throughout Wisconsin.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Kiel Area School District has dropped the charges against the students. This happened because the boys’ parents refused to back down. They have been well represented y our friends at Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. Read more HERE.
May 12, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
After news of the fire-bomb attack on our office spread like wildfire (no pun intended), the Wisconsin Family Action team received many messages of support and well-wishes…but we have also received some alarming comments, and disturbing voicemails, too.
Here are some of the quotes from those voicemails:
- “I hope you all burn with it…that’s what you deserve.”
- “Whoever set that fire is a true American patriot. You people are just utter filth of the planet, and it’s too bad your whore mothers didn’t abort each and every last one of you. Hopefully you all get cancer…for the betterment of all humanity.”
- “Burn, little Jesus freaks, burn, burn, burn!”
Some of voicemail messages are impossible to provide a transcript for because the quotes would be a string of several “expletives” in a row.
It’s not pleasant, but you can listen to the voicemails we have received by clicking here.
We now have more information on the perpetrators of this attack. An anarchist group by the name of Jane’s Revenge claimed responsibility.
WFA president Julaine Appling has issued the following statement:
“Now that the Madison Police Department has been made aware of who is claiming responsibility for the attack, I expect that they, along with Governor Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, will move to prosecute the perpetrators to the very fullest extent of the law. Tolerance cannot be a one-way street, and if we are to preserve a free society, we must always hold accountable those who promise violence against others and their deeply held beliefs. I echo the concerns of many other Wisconsinites who believe as we do, that we should all be able to live out our beliefs without intimidation and violence.”
“Let me very clear: WFA will not stop lawfully fighting for the unborn no matter what threats may come.
“We are also releasing a sample of voicemails received at our office voicemail or received on the personal phones of our staff. These voicemails are just a taste of the deluge of threatening and hateful messages we have received at Wisconsin Family Action since the Mothers’ Day arson and vandalism at our office.”
Read the full press release HERE.
May 11, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
WFA President Julaine Appling appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show Monday evening to discuss the attack on our office.
“This is fundamentally because we hold a Christian worldview and actually live it out when I work with legislators or when we talk in churches or when we take our message to the media. That is the core issue,” Julaine told Tucker.
Tucker noted that Christians are the kindest and most committed to human rights of any group of people. “Why do they [the left] hate you so much?” he asked Julaine.
“When there is an impediment in the way of the liberal agenda, they have to find a way to sideline you, to silence you. I’ve even been told their ultimate goal is to destroy us. I’d say they tried that on Sunday morning under the cloak of darkness when they attacked our office.”
“They want us to go away. They want us to be cowed into silence. And I’m telling you right now, they picked the wrong group if that’s what they want because this has made us stronger. This has made us bolder. We are not going to go away…We are speaking truth,” said Julaine.
These attacks are made possible by weak leadership that refuses to speak out against acts of violence, much less investigate the incident and hold the perpetrators accountable. While Wisconsin US Sen. Tammy Baldwin condemned the attack on Twitter, the rest of her Democrat colleagues have remained silent.
The White House released a statement condemning the attack, but more needs to be done. We need an overt call to stop the violence. “We need stronger leadership that makes it very clear that we don’t just disagree with it. We are calling for it to stop right now,” said Julaine.
Fox News Digital even reached out to the offices of several Wisconsin Democrat lawmakers for comment and none of them responded.
Unfortunately, WFA was not the only victim of the left’s inhumanity this weekend. A number of other pro-life advocates, including pregnancy centers and churches, were vandalized or damaged by leftist groups.
Approximately 100 pro-choice demonstrators targeted a Catholic church in New York City, forcing the church to cancel a monthly pro-life event. Leftists also wrote “[expletive] CPCs” in graffiti on a clinic in Portland, Oregon and “My body, my choice” on a Catholic church in Boulder, Colorado, among several other incidents throughout the country. “CPC” stands for “crisis pregnancy centers.” You would think providing help and resources to a woman in crisis would be something both sides of the aisle could agree on, but apparently not.
As we continue to do God’s work, we should expect to face persecution. This is a sign that we are making a difference and that the devil is threatened by us. We must also, however, expect our leaders to do everything in their power to put an end to violence; and we should hold them accountable when they fail to do their jobs.
A look at the damage done by the radicals that attacked the WFA office.
May 6, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Earlier this week, Politico dropped a bombshell by publishing a leaked draft of an early decision in the Dobbs Supreme Court case.
In an opinion dated February 10, 2022, Justice Alito writes, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.” Boom! With those nine words, the liberals’ became unhinged in our state and across the country.
Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin Democrats expressed their outrage and made egregious demands in response.
Gov. Tony Evers announced on Twitter that he is urging Congress to take action to combat the Court’s potential decision. “Today, I’m leading a coalition of 17 governors to call on Congress to immediately protect access to abortion and reproductive rights. We cannot wait for #SCOTUS to overturn #RoeVWade. We need action now, and we need to pass the #WHPA,” he tweeted.
WHPA is the so-called “Women’s Health Protection Act.” Of course, abortion is not health care for either women or their unborn babies.
Once again, Evers is ignoring the will of the Wisconsin people. He is removing power from voters in order to perpetuate the most violent and evil human rights violation of our lifetime.
Wisconsin Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, a Democrat who is running for US Senate this cycle, released a similar statement, saying, “It has never been more clear why we need to abolish the [US Senate]filibuster and take immediate action to protect every person’s right to make decisions about their own bodies. Republicans have proven they will stop at nothing to strip every individual of their right to an abortion. We must act now.”
Both of these supposed “leaders” erroneously deem abortion a “right.” And Barnes isn’t even willing to use the word woman. Instead, he refers to “every person’s right” and “every individual of their right to an abortion.”
Topping all this off, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul blatantly said this week if Roe is overturned, that “[a]s long as [he’s] attorney general, we will not be using any resources” to enforce Wisconsin’s pre-Roe law that criminalizes most abortions—a law we have successfully kept on the books since 1849. Kaul, a Democrat, is up for re-election this fall. Enforcing and upholding Wisconsin law is the main job of our attorney general.
The left is denying reality in a number of ways. While refusing to properly define a woman, they fail to recognize that murder is objectively evil and that the right to life is the only right that exists in this case. Simply calling something a right does not make it one, and no one has the right to kill an innocent child.
President Biden also joined the conversation and further revealed the moral depravity of the left: “So, the idea that we’re going to make a judgment that is going to say that no one can make the judgment to choose to abort a child based on a decision by the Supreme Court … goes way overboard,” said Biden during a press conference about the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade. (Emphasis added.)
Probably without realizing it, Biden admits in his statement that abortion ends the life of a child, yet he is still in favor of it. It seems the task at hand now is no longer to convince the left that children in the womb are in fact children, but that murder of innocent life is always wrong. This is what happens when we remove God, the only source of objective truth and morality, from our culture.
We need leaders who will honor their commitment to serving their constituents. It’s clear that Evers, Barnes, and Biden are far more concerned with their own ideologies and pacifying their base than respecting traditional legal processes or the will of the people, not to mention respecting the lives of unborn children.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, control over abortion laws will simply return to the states, giving the people a greater voice. If our leaders truly cared about our constitutional republic and the principles of federalism, they would support the overturning of Roe.
This fall we have an opportunity to have a say in Wisconsin about what kind of leadership we have in our governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Will we replace the current pro-abortion office holders with pro-life, pro-women individuals? That’s up to us and our willingness to get involved in really meaningful ways – that includes voting, but also going beyond our personal vote to engage many others.
Apr 28, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
The California legislature recently introduced AB 2223, a radical bill that would essentially legalize infanticide.
The legislation protects mothers from being charged for any “actions or omissions” related to her pregnancy, which include “miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death.” The definition of “perinatal death” typically includes the death of babies seven days or older.
In other words, the bill legalizes the killing of babies born alive under basically any circumstances. It also shields anyone who “aids or assists a pregnant person in exercising” this “right” from just consequences.
This is morally abhorrent and downright evil. A society that permits murder has succumbed completely to nihilism and the forces of darkness.
“For years, pro-life advocates have argued there is no moral difference between ending a child’s life days before birth or days after birth. California’s pro-abortion legislators now seemingly agree,” said Jonathan Keller, President of California Family Council. “A political culture that justifies killing millions of children in the womb is now declaring open season on unwanted newborns. Every Californian must oppose this heinous bill.”
The bill has had two hearings in Assembly committees and passed last week in the Assembly Health Committee on an 11-3 vote. Soon it will head to Assembly Appropriations and then go to the Assembly floor.
While this bill is specific to California, it will inevitably impact Wisconsin. The policies and ideas that come from California won’t stay there. What policymakers do in one state influences elected officials everywhere.
A bill like this is really only one election away in Wisconsin because elections have consequences—sometimes even life and death consequences. Laws really do matter.
As progressives in California continue to push the line on pro-abortion extremism, Democrats in Wisconsin will attempt to keep up and do the same. If we don’t take action, evil ideas about the sanctity of life will soon make their way to our state.
What’s kept a bill like this from becoming law in Wisconsin is conservative majorities in both the Assembly and Senate. However, Governor Evers would certainly sign such a bill if it ever reached his desk. If the state legislature ever flips from conservative to liberal while we have a liberal governor in office,we are in trouble, especially if this bill is already law in California.
This is why all Christians must be involved in politics, remain informed, and vote in a way that honors God. We need to be keenly aware of what the candidates stands for and hold them accountable for what they say they believe. The cost of our ignorance or inaction may be the lives of innocent children.
Let’s keep dangerous legislation like California’s AB 2223 out of Wisconsin by making our voices heard in this year’s fall election. It’s time to elect leaders who will fight back against the moral depravity of the left and who understand, at a minimum, that all human life deserves protection from the moment of conception on.
Please pray that AB 2223 is defeated in California and that all life from the moment of conception is finally respected as a sacred creation of God, bearing His image..
Apr 22, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
We are in the midst of a troubling crisis of faith in America. As church attendance continues to decline, fewer people are picking up their Bibles and staying rooted in God’s Word.
Last week the American Bible Society released the results of its State of the Bible 2022 survey. It revealed an unprecedented drop in Bible reading among Americans over the last year, decreasing from 50% to 39% of self-described Bible users.
In the survey, Bible users are defined as those using the Bible at least three to four times each year on their own outside of a church setting–not an extraordinary amount of time by any means. For Americans who use the Bible, at least 73% percent were introduced to it as children. Of those who don’t use the Bible, 55% come from homes with little or no Bible engagement.
Just 10% of U.S. adults use the Bible daily and 5% read the Bible once a week. This means the vast majority are not relying on the Word of God on a daily basis.
These results are sobering since the Bible is God’s Word to mankind, giving us the Gospel, direction, wisdom and more. The Bible must influence our everyday decisions and change the way we live our lives. Without God’s Word as our guide, we are forced to rely on our flawed and sinful nature.
Further, it is vital that our worldview comes from the Bible rather than our pagan culture. Society tells us that the purpose of life is to discover and express our most authentic inner selves. The Bible, however, tells us to lean on God and His wisdom rather than on our own understanding and submit to Him in all things (Proverbs 3:5-6). Unless we continuously read and remind ourselves of God’s Word, we will surely fall victim to the lies of the devil being promoted by our culture.
One positive take-away of the American Bible Society’s survey is that when children are exposed to the Bible, they are likely to grow up to be Bible users. Thus, the tonic to America’s spiritual illness is to raise the next generation with God’s Word. Parents should regularly read the Bible to and with their children.
Parents must be countercultural as they raise their children and instill in them a biblical worldview. Simply living as everyone else does will lead our children to moral decay as they are formed by the anti-Christian culture. We must honor God’s Word first and foremost through our own example and secondly through intentional at-home education. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” says Proverbs 22:6.
Please pray for a Christian revival and a return to biblical principles in Wisconsin and our country at large. A free and prosperous nation is only possible with a moral people, and the only reliable morality comes from God’s Word.
Apr 20, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
The coronavirus crisis has catalyzed a drastic surge in homeschooling as parents’ concerns grow about public education.
While homeschooling numbers are slightly lower than last year’s record high, they are still significantly higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. During the 2020-2021 school year, the number of homeschooling students in the U.S. increased by 63%. Even though schools have re-opened, the majority of families that opted for homeschooling over remote learning have continued with it.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum reported historic drops in enrollment for public and private schools in Wisconsin. Nearly 31,900 students were homeschooled during the 2020-21 school year, which is a 47% increase from the previous year.
Private school enrollment took less of a hit than public school enrollment, but still saw the greatest decrease since 2013.
Virtual charter schools also attracted new Wisconsin families, as enrollment increased by 84% from last year.
In Milwaukee, public school enrollment decreased by 4.2% and 151 students switched to homeschooling.
Parents have attributed their decision to homeschool to philosophical differences with their schools, Covid restrictions, and concerns about the quality of education. Generally, children arebetter off learning vital skills and values from their parents than being propagandized from activist teachers.
With so much corruption happening in public schools, homeschooling acts as a beacon of hope. Children benefit greatly, especially mentally and spiritually, when they are primarily guided by their parents rather than the anti-Christian culture that is overrunning schools.
Thankfully, Wisconsin is leading the country in school choice, and it offers homeschooling parents plenty of freedom to direct their children’s education. The homeschool law was passed in 1983 and hasn’t been changed since then, making it one of the best homeschool laws in the country.
The Academy of Excellence Online (AoE) provides an excellent homeschooling opportunity for families in Wisconsin – it is a virtual program available for Wisconsin parents interested in homeschooling and also is part of the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (“the voucher program”).. The deadline for applying is April 21st! AoE also has brick-and-mortar Christian schools in Milwaukee that also participate in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.
Homeschooling is an excellent option for parents who want to protect their children from radical indoctrination. It provides parents the opportunity to train their children for the ideological battle being waged against them. Children need to learn how to recognize and combat the lies they are being fed, meaning all parents must engage in some form of education at home. The very best defense for children is parents being on offense!
This transition away from public school is a necessary and exciting change. Let’s keep the momentum going in Wisconsin and continue to vouch for homeschooling and school choice in order to protect children and parents’ rights. Hopefully next legislative session we can expand educational freedom in Wisconsin.
Apr 14, 2022 | News, Uncategorized, Wisconsin Family Voice
Divorce has become so prevalent that we often forget how harmful it is to children.
Statistically, children with divorced parents suffer in all areas of life. They are more likely to develop behavioral problems, struggle academically, commit crime, live in poverty, abuse drugs and alcohol, experience illness, and suffer from psychological distress.
Demographic Research claims that divorce has an even greater impact on children than parental death when it comes to their education.
Unfortunately, state laws are not helping the millions of children who will suffer from broken families. With no-fault divorce laws, marriages are now easier to end than cell phone contracts, and they reflect the ever-growing belief that all that matters is what the adults want—what they “need” to be “happy”—regardless of what is best for the children.
Wisconsin in particular has the worst combination of divorce laws in the country. Since the early 80s, Wisconsin couples have been able to divorce without presenting allegations or evidence of fault.
Since the no-fault laws passed, no judge in Wisconsin has denied a divorce. Why? Because there is no legal way for a judge to deny a divorce under our current law.
Each year, thousands of minor children are directly impacted—as truly innocent victims—by divorce in the Badger State.
For the past three sessions, Republican legislators have introduced a bill we dubbed the “divorce-today-remarry-tomorrow” bill. This session, it was Assembly Bill 79. The proposal would have completely eliminated Wisconsin’s six-month waiting period after a divorce before a remarriage. Fortunately, for the third time, Wisconsin Family Action successfully killed this bill that would further erode the institution of marriage and would certainly hurt minor children.
In the last two sessions, we offered two ideas for amendments. The first proposal was to refrain from completely eliminating the waiting period and instead reduce it to three months (or some other reasonable amount of time). Our second offer was to keep a serious waiting period for couples with minor children—because it’s the children who are most traumatized by all that transpires in these tragic situations.
The Assembly rejected the ideas and passed the bill as originally proposed. In this current session, the bill died in the Senate, as it had in the previous session. Marriage counselors and therapists have repeatedly told us the waiting period after a divorce should be longer, not shorter, because of the stress that happens during a divorce proceeding. Changing this waiting period is all about adult desires trumping what is best for children.
On a practical level, we know that every divorce brings both a social and financial cost to the entire society.
Divorce undermines the sacred institution of marriage and weakens the family unit. A weak family unit results in a tumultuous society that rests on a crumbling foundation.
After a divorce, the custodial parent’s income decreases significantly. Families of divorce are nearly five times more likely to live in poverty than those with married parents.
Most notably, divorce causes children to suffer from emotional wounds that affect them for the rest of their lives. They are left with severe deficiencies as they lack a stable home environment while they are most vulnerable.
In order to protect children and honor the sacred institution of marriage, Wisconsin needs to reform its divorce laws in a way that will better protect children. If it means bringing fault back into the process, then we should strongly consider that abuse, abandonment, or adultery should be back on the table as faults. We certainly don’t need to eliminate completely the waiting period after a divorce before a remarriage—in particular for couples with minor children. That would just make matters worse.
When children are involved, adult desires must be secondary to what is truly in the best interest of the children. The bottom line is we need a return to the belief that marriage, as designed by God, is a lifelong, monogamous relationship between one man and one woman, generally not intended to be broken except by the death of one of the spouses.
Apr 12, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Gov. Tony Evers took action on 78 bills last week, signing 35 and vetoing 43. He vetoed a number of bills that would have made beneficial laws in Wisconsin. With these vetoes, Evers has set a new gubernatorial veto record for a single session. He’s vetoed 98 bills.
Several of the bills pertained to election reform. Senate Bill 942 required the Elections Commission to disclose any failures of the Commission or Departments of Transportation, Corrections, and Health Services to abide by election laws. The Department of Administration would also be required to remove positions and funding from state agencies as punishment for failure to abide by election laws.
In his rationale, Gov. Evers called the bill a “flagrant violation of the separation of powers” and a threat to “independent elections.” Ironic, no?
Election integrity is a major issue throughout our country right now, with Wisconsin in several ways leading the pack. Many voters are rightly concerned that their voice is being undermined by fraud. Had it been signed into law, SB 942 would have helped safeguard secure and transparent elections and re-instill confidence in Wisconsin voters. Unfortunately, this was not a priority for Evers.
Senate Bill 938 also would have helped safeguard fair elections. It required the Department of Transportation to mark IDs that are invalid for voting purposes. Evers claimed that “there is no evidence of non-citizens voting in this state.” That’s an interesting way to dodge the well-documented trail of evidence of voter fraud in Wisconsin in general. Regardless, this measure would have prevented fraudulent votes from being cast and boosted voter confidence.
In addition, Senate Bill 939 would have made several changes to the process of obtaining an absentee ballot such as restricting automatically sent ballots, prohibiting sending ballots before voters request them, and others. Again, the bill would have helped prevent election fraud and safeguarded our form of government in Wisconsin, but Evers blocked it from becoming law. Again, given the well-documented voter fraud in Wisconsin that involved absentee ballots and nursing homes, SB 939 should have been a no-brainer.
Fact: Governor Tony Evers has vetoed every election reform bill given to him—and there have been many since January 2021.
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen governors in many states, including in The Badger Srate, abuse their emergency powers and enact tyrannical Covid restrictions. To protect individual liberties, we need to place limits on such powers through legislation. We had the opportunity to do so in Wisconsin with Assembly Bill 912, which would have placed limits on emergency powers during emergencies, but again, Evers blocked it.
Assembly Bill 414 is another vital piece of legislation that Evers shot down. The bill would have banned Critical Race Theory (CRT) training for any local or state employees. CRT is a racist worldview that is plaguing education and government agencies. No employee should ever have to endure harmful indoctrination to keep their job. In his poor rationale, Evers simply claimed that he is opposing the bill because it infringes upon the executive branch. Does he need a reminder that it is the legislature’s duty to write laws?
Lastly, Evers vetoed several bills that would allocate taxpayer-funded federal Covid relief monies to specific entities with specific amounts rather than his unilateral disbursement of these funds to groups that he is paying back or that will support his re-election this fall. Unfortunately, Evers refused to ensure that Covid relief funds are used fairly and efficiently.
Evers is clearly not honoring the will of the Wisconsin people. Voters wanted to see these measures passed, and their elected representatives did so. It is Evers’ job to listen to his constituents.
Thankfully, there is an election coming up this fall, and we have the power to hold this governor accountable.
Apr 7, 2022 | News, Uncategorized, Wisconsin Family Voice
Tuesday’s non-partisan spring general election provided one big lesson for Wisconsin: parents are catching on to what is happening in public schools. Conservative school board candidates had a banner night on Tuesday, winning all the available seats in Wausau, Manitowoc, Waukesha, Menomonee falls, Elm Brook New Berlin, Mukwonago, Kewaskum, West Bend, and Germantown, just to name a few. Conservatives made gains in many more school districts across the state by displacing incumbent liberals and flipping county boards, city councils, and school boards.
In Brown County, three of the seven candidates WFA PAC endorsed won, and in Kenosha County, conservatives flipped the county board and also won three seats on the School Board. Cedarburg School District and Wausau also favored conservatives, as three of four conservative candidates that WFA, Inc.,encouraged people to vote for won in both areas.
Education has been the major issue in elections since last year when Terry McAuliffe, Democrat candidate for governor of Virginia said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” He lost the Virginia governor’s race because of that rare moment of honesty. Shortly after that, President Biden’s education secretary, Miguel Cardona, was asked if he thought parents are the primary stakeholder in their children’s education. He responded that they were “a stakeholder,” but refused to say that they were the primary stakeholder.
Then earlier this year, right here in Wisconsin, we had Representative Lee Snodgrass, a Democrat from Appleton, tweet, “If parents want to ‘have a say’ in their child’s education, they should home school or pay for private school tuition out of their family budget.” Well, it turns out that on Tuesday, parents got to have a say after all.
The tone deafness coming from the left about our children’s education continues, however. Right now, many public school districts in Wisconsin are, as a policy, trying to put parents in the back seat of their children’s education. One of the worst examples comes out of Eau Claire, where the school district held a training event that told school staff, “Facilitators, guide this discussion [about sexual and gender identity]. Remember, parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities. That knowledge must be earned.” As if this was not shocking and inappropriate enough, the same school-sponsored event went on to characterize a parent’s objection to a child transitioning their gender away from God’s design as weaponizing religion.”
It is important to remember that God entrusts children to their parents, not to the government. Parents are responsible for raising up a child in the way he/she should go, which includes being responsible for and making decisions about, the child’s schooling. Hopefully, this Tuesday’s election results are taking us a few steps closer to putting parents back in control of their children’s education.
Apr 1, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
It seems Disney is no longer wholesome family entertainment. A video was leaked Tuesday in which Disney President Karey Burke stated that she wants a “minimum of 50 percent of its characters to be LGBTQIA” or of another minority group.
“I’m here as the mother of two queer children,” Burke said during the Zoom call, “one transgender child and one pansexual child.” She claimed that “going forward,” Disney should be telling their stories.
To make matters worse, Disney’s Animation Executive Producer bragged about her attempt to groom young children. “Our leadership over there has been so welcoming to my not-so-secret gay agenda,” she said. “Wherever I could I was adding queerness. No one would stop me and no one was trying to stop me.”
Further, Production Coordinator Allen March boasted about a “tracker” he uses to meet quotas for LGBT characters in a new Disney TV series called “Moon Girl.” Not only is he working to ensure that LGBT characters make an appearance, he also aims to center stories around these characters.
This gives us further insight into Disney’s recent string of ultra-liberal and woke decisions. The company also ultimately opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (now law after Gov. DeSantis signed the bill this week), which prohibits schools from teaching kindergarten through third grade students gender identity and sexual orientation. Employees staged a walkout during which they wore rainbow colors, held pro-LGBTQ+ signs, and shouted “say gay” in protest of the bill. Evidently, these employees have joined an astonishing number of other leftists who didn’t read the bill, because nowhere does the text say, “don’t say gay.”
It seems Disney wants schools to indoctrinate children who are too young to be learning about sexuality, with lies about gender and sexual orientation. And now Disney will aggressively join the indoctrination.
In response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, Disney issued a corporate statement, which reads, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the Legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that.”
Christopher Rufo, the journalist who leaked the video, said he’s received numerous messages from parents who are cutting all ties with Disney over its attempt to indoctrinate their children.
It’s no wonder that the number of children reporting symptoms of gender dysphoria is on the rise. Gender ideology is being intentionally made part of their seemingly harmless entertainment. They are constantly inundated with dangerous leftist propaganda that threatens to corrupt their developing minds. In a recent study from Brown University, parents reported “that their children exhibited an increase in social media/internet use prior to disclosure of a transgender identity.” It is reasonable to expect that the rates of gender dysphoria among youths will only increase as their consumption of LGBTQ+ propaganda increases in entertainment.
Florida State Rep. Joe Harding (R) warned that the left is using Disney to further its agenda and believes parents need to fight back. “[The Left has made] Disney, which is in every home in America…part of their arm of influence. If we do not make this the last stand — [if we] do not make this a turning point, I believe it could be too late to recover from it.”
Harding is right. Parents must be vigilant when it comes to the media and entertainment their children consume. Every parent needs to be aware of Disney’s concerted effort to groom their children and make decisions for their family going forward.
If parents don’t take action, they are risking that their children will end up pledging allegiance to radical gender ideology and placing their faith in the secular whims of the day instead of in God.
Mar 30, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
The Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is now our governor, refused to grant an independent Catholic school transportation benefits unless it agreed to not call itself “Catholic.” Now the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court review the case to determine whether the superintendent violated the First Amendment.
Wisconsin provides funding to private schools as long as there is not overlapping attendance between multiple private schools that are affiliated with the same sponsor. The Department of Public Instruction denied students at St. Augustine transportation because there is another Catholic school in the area. St. Augustine, however, is independent and not affiliated with Archdiocese, rendering Evers’ decision unlawful.
WILL previously won a lawsuit when an appeal court ruled that Tony Evers did break the law. However, the court did not address the constitutional question regarding religious liberty.
It’s clear that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment prohibits Evers from giving St. Augustine school this ultimatum.
“The critical constitutional questions at the heart of this case remain unresolved,” said Anthony LoCoco, deputy counsel for WILL. “Government bureaucrats cannot withhold a benefit by imposing their own religious definitions on institutions like St. Augustine School.”
Government officials have been hostile toward private and religious schools in Wisconsin and refused transportation funding for years, suggesting that their discrimination is intentional.
“I do think one takeaway from this case is just how far government officials are willing to go in fights against parents and families in private schools. We’ve been at this now for six years, and we’ve been to the Supreme Court twice now, and they’re still unwilling to pay this transportation aid,” LoCoco continued. “The ordinary Wisconsin family cannot afford six years of litigation just to get their kids to school.”
The court’s decision will impact not just Catholics, but people of all faith backgrounds. Any institution that identifies with a religion could be denied funding or discriminated against if the court sides with Evers’ decision. If institutions must decide between professing their faith and receiving funding to keep their operations running, they do not truly have religious liberty.
Every institution and every individual must be free to express their faith and identify with a religion, without contingencies. This is the very principle that our country was founded on. “The constitutional freedom of religion is the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights,” wrote Thomas Jefferson.
Any effort to repress this freedom is an attack on the very foundation of America.
Further, any refusal to allow religious liberty is also an attack on human dignity. Our ability to contemplate the transcendent, search for Truth, and profess our faith is bound to our humanity.
Join Wisconsin Family Action in prayer that the US Supreme Court establishes justice and protects human dignity by upholding religious liberty in Wisconsin, and use your voice to talk to your neighbors about this continued assault on religious freedom right here in our own backyards.
Mar 25, 2022 | News, Uncategorized, Wisconsin Family Voice
In spite of the fact that experts say time has expired on enshrining the so-called “Equal Rights Amendment” (ERA) as the 28th Amendment to our US Constitution, a number of Democrats are still working aggressively to that end.
The ERA allegedly aims to guarantee equal rights for men and women. It reads, “equality of rights under law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Proponents of the ERA seems to overlook the 1964 Civil Rights Act which already prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, among other things, and the left is no longer hiding that the ERA is simply a vehicle to enshrine abortion on-demand and transgenderism into our federal laws.
Many Democrats, however, are today refusing to define the term “woman,” despite the fact that biology and common sense provide a clear definition. This, of course, begs the question: what’s the point of the ERA?
During this week’s confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Marsha Blackburn asked the judge to define the word “woman.” “Can I provide a definition? No, I can’t,” responded Jackson. Throughout the course of the hearing, however, Jackson repeatedly used the word woman.
Blackburn pointed out the danger in the left’s unwillingness to differentiate the sexes. “Just last week, an entire generation of young girls watched as our taxpayer-funded institutions permitted a biological man to compete and beat a biological woman in the NCAA Swimming Championships,” said Blackburn.
The public is told not to trust their eyes, but to call a man with XY chromosomes a woman simply because the transgender revolutionaries say he’s a woman. “The case of this collegiate swimmer reveals nothing less than a deep insanity that is now gripping our culture…It is a communal act of mass delusion,” said Albert Mohler.
Further perpetuating this mass delusion, USA Today recently included Rachel Levine, a biological man, in its “women of the year” list. Along with the rest of the cultural elites, the outlet seems to not know what a woman is.
What, then, we ask again, is the point of an Equal Rights Amendment? If men can be women and women can be men, why do both sexes need distinct protections? Democrats are pretending that the line between men and women is blurred yet want to solidify the line when it suits them, like when there’s an opportunity to push their progressive agenda in other areas. The ERA is a perfect example of this opportunist flip-flopping; proponents of the ERA claim that its passage is absolutely necessary for “women’s rights,” which in this context, conveniently translates into the federal codification of Roe v. Wade.
History has demonstrated time and time again that when we subvert nature and God’s design, our actions end in disaster.
As we prepare for the upcoming spring and fall elections, we should consider this issue and vote in accordance with biblical principles. Our elected officials should, at the very least, be able to define the word woman. They should honor God’s creative design and recognize that men and women were created differently and distinctly, each with a unique purpose. God does not make mistakes, and no one gets to choose their gender.
The good news is that there are Christ-centered candidates who reject the lies of the left and are willing to stand up to the progressive mob. We have an opportunity this year to change the trajectory of our communities and state by electing leaders who value truth over ideology, leaders who haven’t fallen prey to the delusions of the day.
If you need a biblical worldview on this issue, we urge you to “put your ears on” and “gird up the loins of your mind” (I Peter 1:13, KJV)and listen to Dr. Mohler. Take 23 minutes to do so and you will be glad you did.
Mar 23, 2022 | News, Uncategorized, Wisconsin Family Voice
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male, was permitted to compete at the NCAA Women’s Championships last week where he dominated his competition.
Thomas took first place in the 500 free event and the Thursday morning qualifier, beating the second-place competitor by nearly 3 seconds, a larger gap than the time difference between the second and eleventh place finishers.
While competing on a men’s team for three years, Thomas was ranked No. 462 nationally. Now that he is competing among women, he is ranked No. 1.
It’s abundantly clear that Thomas is cheating, and men do not belong in women’s sports. His gender identity is irrelevant to the question of whether or not it is fair for him to compete against women. The only thing that matters is his biology.
We know that men possess innate physical advantages over women. Ross Tucker of the Science of Sport podcast explains that “[m]ale bodies have 10-30 percent greater muscle strength, greater bone density, better oxygen efficiency, larger heart and lungs, more efficient pelvic Q-angle and elbow angles, as well as 10 percent more overall body mass.”
USA Swimming released new rules for transgender swimmers that require men to show testosterone levels within a certain range in order to compete against women. However, this is not enough to level the playing field. The advantage that men hold cannot be reversed.
The woke athletic culture is making decisions based on ideology rather than reality. The reality is that Thomas boasts an advantage even greater than if an athlete were using performance enhancing drugs that would disqualify him/her from participating.
He is stealing titles and opportunities from deserving women who have worked tirelessly to be the best in their sport. He has also broken several records, meaning the women who held them previously no longer do.
“I’ve got a teammate who did not make the final today because she was just bumped out of finals,” said one swimmer. “It’s heartbreaking to see someone who went through puberty as a male and has the body of a male be able to absolutely blow away the competition.”
Women’s sports exist purely to create a level playing field for women because men have an undeniable, innate physical advantage. If biological men are allowed to compete against women, women’s sports are pointless. Unless we stop this gender ideology madness, women’s sports will soon be eradicated.
The Wisconsin State legislature tried to mitigate this issue through legislation, but two necessary bills failed to pass this session. Senate Bill 323 and its Assembly companion, Assembly Bill 195, would have prohibited all US System schools and all technical colleges from allowing biological males to compete on or in women’s athletic teams or competitions. Similarly, Senate Bill 322 and Assembly Bill 196 would have prohibited public schools, independent charter schools and private schools participating in the voucher program from allowing biological males to compete on or in girls’ athletic teams or competitions.
All of these bills passed in the assigned committees, but leadership in both the Assembly and the Senate never brought them to the floor for votes. Typically, that means that the majority party, which is the Republicans in both the Assembly and the Senate, did not have the votes from their own party to ensure passage. We also know had these bills made it to the governor’s desk, Tony Evers would have immediately vetoed any and all of them.
These bills need to be brought back in the new session that will begin in January 2023. But between now and then, Wisconsin citizens need to remember that elections have consequences. If we want to keep boys and men out of girls’ and women’s sports, then we need, at a minimum, a governor who will sign the bills.
Mar 18, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Disruptions within the foundation of society are raging throughout the country as children suffer immensely from fatherlessness, single parenting, and divorce.
In 2019, the percentage of households led by single parents was as high as 30-60% in many Wisconsin cities. The issue of fatherlessness, in particular, is rampant. Over 80% of children in Milwaukee are born to single moms. Throughout the country, over 20 million children are living in homes without a father.
Tragically, without a father to act as a role model, these children tend to perpetuate the cycle and repeat their parents’ mistakes.
Children have a right to both their mother and father. Both parents provide different and necessary things for a child. Children need the safety, love, and stability that comes from living with both of their parents. Without a mother or father, children will look for these things in other, often destructive, ways. They are also likely to develop emotional and behavioral problems.
Fatherless homes produce children that are far more likely to become addicted to drugs and alcohol, live in poverty, commit suicide, struggle academically, drop out of school, engage in violence, commit crime, and even go to prison.
Over 80% of children with behavioral disorders and 90% of children who are homeless or ran away from home grew up without a father.
According to the Washington Post, “Single motherhood has grown so common in America that demographers now believe half of all children will live with a single mom at some point before the age of 18…Research suggests that children with two parents fare better in many ways— in school, in their own relationships— than children with only one parent.”
Single parent households are enabled by Wisconsin’s harmful combination of divorce laws. Our state allows no-fault, no-contest divorces, which means there is absolutely no reason for a judge to deny a divorce. No judge has denied a divorce since this law went into effect over 40 years ago.
The root of this issue is that adults have prioritized their desires over children’s needs. The moral framework that God has given us for our good and His glory has been ignored, scoffed at, and shunned. We have many victims as a result, and children have been harmed the most.
The best way to encourage two-parent households is to honor marriage. When children are born outside of wedlock, they are 3 times more likely to live in single-parent homes. Faithful marriages are the solution to so many problems that children face.
Fatherless and single parenting are epidemics that are causing destruction and stripping children of their rights. In order for our communities to flourish and children to thrive, we must address this issue.
Children need strong family units. If we truly are to put children first, we must make sure we approach relationships – marriage especially – with sincerity and responsibility, knowing that our children’s futures depend on our commitment to their well-being. That means ensuring that children are raised in safe, loving homes with a father and a mother whenever possible.
Mar 11, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
We are less than one month away from Wisconsin’s spring election! Tuesday, April 5 is election day.
This is our spring nonpartisan general election. We will be electing mayors, city council members, town and village board members, county executives, county supervisors, school board members, and municipal, circuit and appellate judges.
Early in-person voting starts March 22, and absentee by mail ballots are already available with your local clerk. If at all possible, deliver your absentee ballot (the one you received in the mail) to the clerk’s office in person. Don’t use a drop box or put it in the mail unless absolutely necessary. To find your local clerk and inquire about days and hours of early in-person voting, click here.
Want to know what’s on the ballot? Starting next week, sample ballots should be available, and you can view them here. You can also find information on registering, getting an absentee ballot, where to vote, and more using that link, too.
No level of government impacts our lives more than local government. And we can have more impact on local government than any other level.
There are two things here we don’t want you to miss: 1) how important it is for parents to be actively engaged in their children’s lives and their education, and 2) you — yes, YOU — have a role to play in how elected officials treat you and govern your community.
In a poll on Instagram earlier this week, we asked if viewers wanted changes made in the way their county is governed. 100% of them said “yes.” If you’re one of those people, or you agree with them, we’ve created an event just for you called, Your Backyard: Own It! We firmly believe God has called each of us to play a critical role in our government, whether that’s voting responsibly, speaking up in local government meetings, or running for office. At this event, we will educate you on the unique needs of your local community and how to create positive and lasting change.
We are living in challenging and quickly changing times, and God has a purpose for each of us to impact our local communities. We hope you can join us for an evening filled with practical ways to “own our backyard.” Click here to find a location near you and RSVP.
With significant issues at stake in Wisconsin right now, who we elect is critical to the preservation of life, liberty, and family. We have a wonderful opportunity to let our voices be heard at this election, and it’s important to make the most of it.
See you at the polls on Tuesday, April 5!
Mar 8, 2022 | News, Uncategorized, Wisconsin Family Voice
A recent poll issued by the Marquette Law School revealed that many Wisconsin voters are in favor of expanding school choice and giving parents the right to decide where to send their children, regardless of family income. Fifty-nine percent supported “allowing all students statewide to use publicly funded vouchers to attend private or religious schools” while 37% opposed it. The number in support rose 18% from August 2020.
The poll also revealed that over half of the participants believed that schools are worse shape now compared to a few years ago, whereas in 2018, only 44% thought this was true. Furthermore, “47% of voters say the standards are lower than they should be,” which has remained consistent since early 2014.
With the introduction of Critical Race Theory (CRT), pro-LGBTQ+ curricula, and a shift from American classic novels and history to sexualized literature and education, many parents are frustrated with the public school system and are seeking alternatives.
Some more compelling evidence: another recent poll from RealClear Opinion Research discovered that an overwhelming 72% of voters nationally support school choice (up 8% from 2020) and that includes Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
“These poll numbers are stunning,” said Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children. “The past two years have exposed to the world what many in the parental choice movement have known for decades: no single educational environment is right for every child. As the battle over educational freedom continues, party affiliation is secondary to ensuring all families are empowered to choose the best educational setting for their children.”
And the battle will continue. WFA has been vocal about Assembly Bill 970 (AB 970) which would expand school choice options in Wisconsin. If passed, income limits for parental choice programs and pupil participation limits would be eliminated and an education expense reimbursement program for students remaining in public school for the 2022-2023 school year would be created.
School choice is a parent’s right and should not be determined by the state. Children are not all the same; what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another and it shouldn’t have to. It’s like trying to put a square block into a circular hole; it just won’t fit. Instead of trying to conform children to one specific mold, we should let parents, who know their children best, decide where to send them to school.
Woke indoctrination is flooding our schools and harming our children. We cannot stand by and continue to let it brainwash them; there must be an alternative. Wisconsin voters have voiced their support for school choice, and now it’s time to turn that support into law.
Last month the State Assembly passed AB 970, and the Senate passed it earlier this week. The bill will shortly be on its way to the governor.
Take action: contact Governor Evers and urge him to support educational choice for all. Send him an online message HERE or call his office at 608-266-1212.
Mar 4, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Earlier this week, Wisconsin Family Action filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Coach Joseph Kennedy, who was fired from Bremerton School District in Washington State after he prayed briefly at the 50-yard line.
For years, Kennedy would pray very briefly by himself following football games. At one point, students became curious about what he was doing. When asked if they could join, he told them it was a free country, and they could do what they wanted. As time went on, more and more students and even coaches from other teams joined in.
After nearly half the team began to participate in these short prayers, the school told him he could no longer pray publicly. Kennedy initially obeyed the order, but later believed it violated his freedoms of speech and religion. He felt responsible to thank God for the games in that way. So, he continued to pray, and as a result, lost his job.
Believing his termination to be illegal, Kennedy, represented by our friends at First Liberty, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but subsequently lost. The U.S. Court of Appeals suggested that Coach Kennedy was a bad example to the students when he prayed. Treating such prayers with contempt conflicts with the religion clauses of our constitution, which protect our religious diversity.
At issue before the Supreme Court is whether Coach Kennedy has speech and religious rights to pray briefly in public, and whether the Establishment Clause trumps those rights.
The Supreme Court’s modern interpretation of the Establishment Clause has been premised on the notion that religious pluralism requires neutrality. But the effect at schools like Bremerton School District has not been neutrality; it is only singling out religious speech—among all other kinds of controversial speech — as the only speech worthy of punishment.
We all suffer when our First Amendment freedoms are violated. Religious speech should not be singled-out for punishment in a free and diverse society. A short prayer following a game, joined in only by those who want to, hardly amounts to an establishment of religion, particularly when the school was clear that the district itself had nothing to do with Kennedy’s activities.
As a nation built on Christian principles, we can and must do better. Our constitution does not require us to abandon our religious traditions. The Establishment Clause does not require schools to fire a coach like Joseph Kennedy just because he said a small prayer after a football game.
The issue in this case isn’t whether we approve of prayer or whether we would do what Coach Kennedy did if we were in his shoes. At issue here is whether any of us have freedom if Coach Kennedy can be silenced. And if he can be silenced, anyone can.
Wisconsin Family Action is honored to help support Coach Kennedy. Please pray for him and his family for strength and peace as their case goes before the Supreme Court.
May the Lord grant him favor in the eyes of the Justices and cause them to deliver a fair ruling. And may Coach Kennedy’s godly testimony be used to win souls for Christ.
Mar 2, 2022 | News, Uncategorized, Wisconsin Family Voice
This week, Wisconsin Family Action (WFA), represented by Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), joined Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right to Life in issuing a letter to Governor Evers demanding that he explain the legal basis for the two grants he has given to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
The funds for the grants, totaling $2.4 million for Planned Parenthood alone, have come from a couple of COVID-19 federal relief programs. The state legislature has passed several bills that would have directed at least some of the funds, but the governor has vetoed all of them.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin received $1.4 million from the “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Nonprofit Grant Program” and then received an additional $1 million last month from the “Equitable Recovery Grant Program.” Both programs were concocted by the governor, without legislative approval or permission.
WILL attorneys assert that Governor Evers has no authority to create grant programs, has disregarded appropriate department rulemaking to govern the distribution of the funds, and has violated state law that prohibits federal funds being given as a grant to pregnancy programs that promote, refer for, or perform abortions.
WFA president, Julaine Appling, commented on the governor’s actions:
“The people of Wisconsin deserve a full explanation of the legal authority Governor Evers is using to justify his largesse to Wisconsin’s largest abortion provider. This is the peoples’ tax dollars. Some might consider what the governor has done as a kind of ‘quid pro quo’ since Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spent $700,000 to help get the governor elected in 2018.
“This isn’t the first time the governor has acted with questionable authority. Two years ago, he unilaterally extended an emergency declaration that exceeded the 60-day statutory limit. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately stopped that power grab.
“In this instance, the Governor is giving our hard-earned tax dollars to an organization whose number-one funding source is the killing of unborn babies. Through our elected officials in recent years, ‘we the people’ have made it clear we don’t want public funds to support abortion in any way; and state laws have been put in place to stop that in many instances.
“Unless Governor Evers has a solid legal basis for these grant programs and the distribution of these millions to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, he is apparently just fine with taking the law into his own hands. The voters may have something to say about that this fall.”
The letter sent to Governor Evers is available HERE.
Feb 22, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
For the fifth year in a row, China’s birth rate has dropped significantly. It hit a record low in 2021, of only 7.5 births per every 1,000 people. This rate is barely enough to outnumber deaths.
National Bureau of Statistics head Ning Jizhe said the decrease in births is a result of “a decrease in the number of women of childbearing age, a continued decline in fertility, changes in attitudes toward childbearing and delays of marriage by young people.”
For years, the Communist government forced women to abort all children after their first under China’s one-child policy. Now, the government is feverishly releasing propaganda and passing laws to encourage families to have more children, realizing that its one-child policy led to a shrinking workforce and economic decline.
The Chinese government’s view of children is what we must avoid in the United States.
Having children and expanding families should always be encouraged. It’s healthy for individuals and society as a whole.
While we don’t have to deal with the same roadblocks in the U.S. that have existed in China, our birth rate has also declined significantly over the last several decades. In 2020, the country saw 56 births per 1,000 women, which is the lowest birth rate ever recorded in the U.S. Since the 1960s, the birth rate has decreased by about half.
The birth rate in Wisconsin is not any better than that of the rest of the country. Wisconsin has been below replacement birth-rate since 1974. The replacement birth-rate is 2.1 children for each woman of child-bearing age. That number doesn’t grow a population; it just holds it even.
Birth rates are incredibly important, as they reveal a lot about the health of a community. They often reflect a society’s view of marriage and family or a population’s fertility rate. A high birth rate also helps sustain a growing economy and a high standard of living.
The falling birth rate in America and Wisconsin’s decades-old low birth rate can be attributed to a number of things. First, women are prioritizing things such as education and careers more than ever before, meaning they are getting married later in life. On average, women are having their first child at the age of 27, a stark increase from the average age of 23 in 2010.
Abortion has also undoubtedly affected the birth rate in the U.S. Every year, well over 600,000 children are stripped of the right to life in the U.S.
Not only does abortion end the lives of pre-born children, it also alters our view of children. Our culture tells us that babies are disposable and without inherent value. As a result, our society simply doesn’t prioritize family life.
Restoring a healthy birth rate will require a shift in our culture. We need men and women to recognize the value of marriage and of life and the lasting fulfillment that having children provides.
We must avoid the situation that China has gotten itself into. While legislation typically follows the culture, some legislation can help with at least one contributor to the falling birth-rate.
WFA is supporting Senate Bill 923, which would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat can be detected. If this bill were to become law, we would essentially stop the vast majority of abortions in our state. Meanwhile, we await a US Supreme Court decision on Dobbs, the case that many believe will, at a minimum, roll-back Roe v. Wade, and return the issue of abortion to the states (and Wisconsin still has in place its statute that criminalizes most abortions).
All life is sacred and a high birth rate is an indicator of a healthy society. Please pray that men and women in Wisconsin recognize the importance of marrying and having children and will re-prioritize family life.
Take action: contact your legislators and ask them to support SB 923! (Simply put your address in the top search bar to locate your legislators.)
Feb 17, 2022 | Legislation, News, Wisconsin Family Voice
The Assembly Committee on Education held a hearing on Assembly Bill 970 Wednesday. The bill would essentially provide universal school choice here in The Badger State.
WFA has been a vocal proponent of school choice over the years. We were thrilled when Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-led state legislature expanded the Parental Choice Program (PCP) to the entire state as the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. Assembly Bill 970 will further expand educational opportunities for families and promote parental rights.
I testified to the committee in support of this bill, explaining that several studies demonstrate the efficacy of school choice.
With the formation of School Choice Wisconsin and Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty, we
have conducted extensive research showing that students enrolled in one of our PCPs (Milwaukee, Racine, Statewide), on average, do very well, often out-performing their peers in public schools.
In WILL’s most recent Apples to Apples Study (covering 2019 test data), Milwaukee’s Parental Choice Program Proficiency rates in math exceeded rates in Milwaukee Public Schools by 3.9% and by 4.6% in English Language Arts on average. The same study revealed that children enrolled in choice programs demonstrated greater proficiency than those in traditional public school by 3.05%.
Further, scholars in the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) applied state-of-the-art matching methods to compare students in the MPCP with students in MPS who were similar in neighborhood, race, and prior achievement. Among the findings from this matching analysis are that students in the MPCP were 4-7 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school. Moreover, students in the MPCP were found to achieve higher scores in reading, though similar scores in math.
Students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program are also more likely to graduate from college. Dr. Will Flanders posits that expanding the Parental Choice Program could lead to substantial economic gains for our state. He estimates that Madison could see $100 million in economic benefits, $75 million for Green Bay, $60 million for Appleton and $24 million for La Crosse.
Other findings from the SCDP, not related to academic achievement, show that students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program have lower incidences of criminal behavior and extensive economic benefits. These programs save taxpayers money and in general provide a better return on their tax investment.
Right now, our Choice Programs are limited to individuals with certain incomes, in some cases those with certain zip codes, and also by enrollment caps. It’s time to lift all of those limitations, and Assembly Bill 970 does that.
It’s time to give all parents, regardless of income or zip code or number of people in their school district, an opportunity to choose the best school for their child.
Education isn’t just about today; it’s about tomorrow—and expanding the Choice Programs means good things for Wisconsin’s future.
Our state’s Parental Choice Programs have been tried and tested now over many years. Studies continue to show students in these programs are, on average, certainly performing no worse than their public-school counterparts and in many cases, are performing not just better, but significantly better. It’s time to give this opportunity to all parents across our state.
Parents alone are responsible for the education of their children. The more educational options parents have, the better, as they seek what is best for their children.
Use this link to find your state legislators and urge them to pass this bill and support parents and school choice in Wisconsin!
Feb 15, 2022 | News, Wisconsin Family Voice
Gov. Tony Evers plans to give Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Inc., another $1 million in COVID relief funding. This is the second time our governor has used COVID relief funds to award Planned Parenthood with a massive sum of taxpayer dollars. Instead of helping families who have been affected by the pandemic, Evers is choosing to support abortionists.
The most recent funding is part of the governor’s “Equitable Recovery Grants,” which allocates $82 million to various parts of the state. He’s chosen to use this money in ways that have nothing to do with COVID but do pander to his liberal supporters.
Because of this, many Republican policymakers are skeptical of Evers’ motives. “It’s such a brazen political giveaway at this point I don’t know what else there is to say, other than Gov. Evers would rather give $1 million to the state’s largest abortionist as opposed to law enforcement or any number of ways he could be helping kids,” said Senator André Jacque.
Some speculate that this is a campaign strategy, as Planned Parenthood has consistently supported Evers and his Democratic colleagues. Planned Parenthood Advocates spent over $700,000 in 2018 and 2019 to help elect Evers and other Democrats.
Evers’ loyalty clearly lies with Planned Parenthood, not his constituents.
The governor has vetoed every pro-life bill that we’ve given him, and has promised to “veto any legislation” that decreases access to abortion. Twice he even dismissed a bill that would require doctors to care for babies born alive after botched abortions.
Evers has been staunchly pro-abortion since day one, causing serious harm to our state. The good news is that this year is a gubernatorial election year, and we have the power to make a change. Our governor seat will be up for grabs on November 8th, and by exercising our civic duty, we can begin to transform Wisconsin into a state that values all life.
While we await our opportunity to elect a pro-life governor this fall, we can still vouch for the unborn and work to pass vital pro-life legislation.
Earlier this month, the Senate held a hearing on Senate Bill 923, a crucial piece of pro-life legislation that would prohibit abortion after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected.
This bill highlights the humanity of every unborn child and would save thousands of babies every year.
Contact your state senator and state representative and urge them to support Senate Bill 923. (Put your address in the search space at the top right of the page.)
Wisconsin families and the unborn deserve better. Let’s seize our opportunity this year to change the landscape in Wisconsin through our spring and fall elections. It’s time to elect a governor who is committed to helping families thrive and protecting the most vulnerable.
Please pray that Wisconsin is transformed culturally and legislatively so that every life is valued and protected.
