Concerned Women for America’s Penny Nance addresses Republican Women in Birmingham
A group of approximately 100 Republican women from across Alabama met in the dining room of the Vestavia Hills Country Club Thursday afternoon to hear a much-anticipated address from Concerned Women for America president and CEO Penny Young Nance. A fixture on cable news and Capitol Hill, Nance’s work with CWA has earned her the respect of liberals and conservatives alike for her ability to graciously engage with those on both sides of the aisle. Facilitated by former Alabama State Rep. Paul DeMarco, Nance’s conversation at the Alabama Federation of Republican Women’s luncheon covered everything from her new book to what conservatives should do if Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wins the White House in November. “This is our Esther moment,” Nance told the crowd, referring to the Old Testament story of Queen Esther, whose uncle told her she was likely made queen for “such a time as this.” “Women should never be caught in a conversation where they’re looking down at their shoes because they don’t know what to say,” Nance said, urging women to “first pray, then prepare,” to adamantly defend their beliefs in the public sphere. Nance spent much of her time talking about the need to fervently address the issues surrounding sexual assault, rape, and sexual exploitation. One of CWA’s core issues is fighting sexual exploitation, Nance explained, and as a victim of attempted rape herself, she is personally sensitive to the issue. “I don’t know why I was spared,” she said, “but what I do know is I have a national platform I can use to help other people, and that’s what I intend to do.” Calling sexual exploitation and assault a “least of these issues,” Nance said the core of the problem is one of moral decline. “We’re in the middle of a moral crisis in this nation, and the evidence is all around us.” Nance also condemned politicians and bureaucrats for failing to implement policies that will actually protect women, specifically citing the Debbie Smith Act. Named for a rape victim who had to wait six years for her “rape kit” to be tested, the law was supposed to grant money to state and local law enforcement agencies to clear the backlogs of medical tests needed to bring rapists to justice. That money, Nance asserts, never made it to its intended target. Nance also addressed her belief that the 60 million evangelical and devout Catholic American women need to stand together to support Trump, if for no other reason than the one to four Supreme Court justices the next president will appoint. Even if Trump isn’t elected, she believes conservatives must keep the pressure on the U.S. Senate not to appoint pro-choice justices or federal judges. She went on to criticize the political left’s tolerance of radical islam, saying “Islam gives women no power, but the left won’t condemn them. … There’s so much to be said for honestly looking at the ideology and its treatment of vulnerable people, and also the ignorance of the left and its refusal to admit the hatefulness and evil of [radical Islam]. At the end of the discussion there was only time for one question from the audience, which came from a young African-American man who asked her to bring her message to communities of color where he said women are being mistreated and disrespected by men. Nance responded by explaining her belief that the growing disrespect for women in low-income communities isn’t a color issue, it’s a failing of the church. “Income inequality is rooted in family inequality,” explained Nance. “Churches have failed, men have been told they don’t matter, and we have a hurting world and a hurting country, and children and women are harmed in the fallout.” The first, most important group to address this, she believes, is the church, because “we are one in Christ.” Attendees of the lunch received a copy of Nance’s recently published book “Feisty and Feminine: A Rallying Cry for Conservative Women.”
Kenneth Paschal: Government needs to stop hurting Alabama families
Parental rights in Alabama are under assault. These fundamental rights are consistently treated as “ordinary” by federal and state government, which essentially provides government with unlimited power to undermine the family unit. We all know laws and the court system are intended to protect citizens, but when it comes to families, husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers, laws and their enforcers can sometimes become harmful instigators. This harms children, parents, families and society. Power over the family unit is best placed in the hands of the parents not government. In 2011, Senate Joint Resolution 65 (SJR 65) was approved by the Alabama legislature, which requires proper proof of harm before the government will intervene in parental decision-making. (As acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), that held, “The primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition.”) The signing of SJR 65 sent a strong message to Washington. The state of Alabama acknowledged the fundamental right (God-given) of parents (meaning, granted by God and cannot be take away without compelling reason) to direct the upbringing and education of their children, is protected by the Alabama and U.S. constitutions. The Alabama Supreme Court has declared parental rights are fundamental in prior rulings; however, the Legislature has never before defined the level of protection granted to parents. I am appreciative of our Legislature and governor for publicly announcing to citizens a defined standard in SJR 65, “the right of the parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution of the United States and the state of Alabama”. Because SJR 65 is not codified in Alabama statutes, the result of such failure to “Secure Parents’ Fundamental Rights” is allowing the courts and other state agencies to routinely over-reach their responsibilities. Examples include a court order stating parents are not allowed to have a glass of wine during dinner; parents not allowed to send their children to church on Wednesdays; discontinuation of homeschooling of a teenager based on an argument that he needed more diversity; a 14-year-old is not required to share health information with his or her parents. This is why Senate Bill 135 and House Bill 213 were filed this year and why they are so important to Alabama’s families. They would protect parents’ fundamental rights (God-given) in Alabama. We need to strongly urge our Legislature to increase the protections of family values by declaring in this State, what they have already declared to the U.S. Congress, any political subdivision of the state, or any other governmental entity or institution shall not infringe upon the fundamental rights of fit parent’s to direct the upbringing, education, and physical and mental health of his or her minor child subject to strict scrutiny without demonstrating a compelling governmental interest, as applied to the child involved, is of the highest order, and the same is narrowly tailored in the less restrictive manner. SB 135 and HB 213 have seen opposition from the divorce industry and Alabama Association of School Boards. SB 135 is assigned to the Human and Health Services committee and chaired by Sen. Gerald Dial, a Republican and a Baptist. HB 213 is assigned to the House judiciary committee and chaired by Rep. Mike Jones, a Republican, family law attorney, and a deacon of his church. Both bills have seen support from across the state and country to include the Homeschool community and the Alabama Federation of Republican Women (AFRW). AFRW passed a resolution in support of Parental Rights in Alabama during its Legislative Days event April 1 and 2. Citizens of Alabama have requested weekly that Dial and Jones place these bills onto their committee agenda. The Alabama citizens’ requests so far seems to fall on deaf ears. I encourage everyone reading this to write and call their members as well as committee chairmen Dial and Jones to ask them to support these bills and bring them up before the session comes to an end. Retired Army 1st Sgt. Kenneth Paschal is the director of governmental affairs of the Alabama Family Rights Association. Information on the organization and its efforts can be found here.
