One of my favorite of the 10 Commandments is “Honor your father and mother.” I mention it to my kids quite often. Children need to respect and obey their parents as authority figures because parents (in most cases) know what’s best for their children and act in that best interest. For our family, this is a key part of raising children to become adults who love and obey the Lord.

That said, you can imagine my complete dismay when I recently heard that our government is poised to adopt the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child , a purposed international treaty that empowers the government to over-rule any decision a parent makes on the children’s behalf — decisions like where to attend church and how to correct wrong behavior. This is a deeply disturbing invasion on our rights and freedoms as parents. The worst news is our nation’s top leaders support it wholeheartedly.

Hearing stories about the erosion of parental rights in America’s courts also sends chills up my spine. So, in an effort to safeguard the relationships between me and my children and to protect the freedoms of future generations, I am spreading the word about the Parental Rights Amendment.

Michael and I first heard about this amendement a few months ago, and right away we both signed up to support it. This amendment will protect against the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child and other threats to parental authority.

Here’s the official plug for the Parental Rights Amendment from www.parentalrights.org:

A parent’s right to raise their children as they see fit is a time-honored American tradition, but today it is being threatened. The Supreme Court’s Troxel v. Granville decision in 2000 undermined a 75-year heritage of Constitutionally-protected, fundamental parental rights, which 8 of the 9 justices abandoned. At the same time, a growing body of international law fuels activist judges to legislate foreign standards from the American bench, while treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child would subject parental decisions to government oversight and international review.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (MI-2) has proposed HJR-42, the Parental Rights Amendment, to stop the erosion of parental rights in American courts while simultaneously defending our laws from international invasion. Please, visit parentalrights.org to learn more about the Amendment, and to join their email network by signing the petition to protect parental rights.

I urge you, if you care about your parental rights, please sign up!