On Wednesday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation to recognize that Alabama parents have a fundamental right
to make decisions on how they raise their child.
House Bill 6 (HB6) is sponsored by State Representative Kenneth Paschal (R-Pelham).
“HB6 is a commonsense bill,” Paschal said on the floor of the House, defending his legislation.
“HB6 is a focus on two principles: God and Country.”
“Parental rights are related to the noble duty of parents
to raise their children,” Paschal said. “Parental rights are natural rights that cannot be taken away by any form of government.”
Paschal was the President of the Alabama Family Rights Association (ALFRA) before being elected to the House of Representatives in a special election.
“The child is not the mere creature of the state,” Paschal said.
On Wednesday, the House voted to table the committee substitute version of the bill.
The bill was instead amended. Paschal accepted the amendment as friendly.
The amendment included the following:
Removal of the references to “fit” and “custody.”
“HB6 shall only be construed as applying to disputes between parents and the government or third parties and does not modify the law as to disputes between parents.”
Paschal previously presented House Bill 6 on the floor a few weeks ago.
Paschal, the lone African American lawmaker elected as a Republican in over 130 years, was attacked by Democratic lawmakers.
One Representative, Juandalynn Givan of Birmingham, went over the line when she referenced a song by the sometimes-divisive performer Jay-Z to make a racial smear of Paschal, calling him the N-word by using the lyrics of the song – The Story of O.J. The incident was condemned by Republicans statewide.
Paschal’s bill was carried over at the call of the chair at that time, but it was brought back on Wednesday late in the session while there was still time for it to be considered by the second House before the session ends.
HB6, as amended, passed the House by a vote of 87 to 8. The bill now goes to the Senate for their consideration. It was assigned to the Senate Children and Youth Committee, where it was given a favorable report on Thursday.
The Alabama House of Representatives will meet on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. for Day 28 of the 2023 Alabama Legislative Regular Session. The Constitution of Alabama limits the legislative session to thirty days.
A previous version of this article mistakenly quoted from the tabled substitute version of HB6. That language was not included in the engrossed version that passed the House.
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