FamilyFoundationBlog.com

Thursday night more than 600 pro-family Virginians attended The Family Foundation of Virginia’s Annual Gala to hear a dynamic address by former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline. He did not disappoint.

Pacing the stage and speaking with passion, Kline urged an audience that included Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Attorney General Bob McDonnell, Speaker of the House Bill Howell (R-28, Stafford), and several legislators and other elected officials, to continue to fight for enduring truth and for what is right and just regardless of the political consequences, because that is true leadership. He spoke of the breakdown of the rule of law in our nation because of the rejection of fundamental truth and mixed in personal stories from his battle with Planned Parenthood in Kansas, all of which energized the crowd. Because of his principled stands he became a target of Planned Parenthood, the media, the elites and the political establishment — first in his re-election campaign for attorney general, where he was defeated; then, most recently, for re-election as Johnson County District Attorney — this time in the form of a defeat to a Republican primary challenger.

Despite that, Kline continues to pursue the truth and bring justice for those who have suffered at the hands of Planned Parenthood clinics in Kansas. Speaking of the fight and retaliation against him by Planned Parenthood, the media, elitists and the political establishment simply for enforcing the law, he said, “They stole my name. They destroyed my reputation.”

Also last evening, The Family Foundation was thrilled to present the 2008 Legislator of the Year Award to Virginia Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37, Centreville). Cuccinelli fought to defund Planned Parenthood in the 2008 General Assembly by introducing a budget amendment in the Senate. That fight shut down the Senate for over four hours while Republicans and Democrats fought within their own caucuses. Ultimately, the vote was a 20-20 tie with Lt. Governor Bolling casting the deciding vote in favor of the amendment.  The budget amendment, unfortunately, was not included in the final budget.

Senator Cuccinelli has been an advocate for property rights, life, marriage and many other values in his time in the state Senate. We were pleased to be able to honor him.

Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb told the crowd that as we are on the heels of another dismal campaign season, we are once again hear the pundits, media elite and politicians — Republican and Democrat — declare that Virginia is no longer conservative and that the battle is over. But she said that while many of us are frustrated with the state of politics in Virginia, it is how we now respond to that frustration that is going to determine our future success. 

She stressed that we cannot allow ourselves to wallow in pity or despair, and we must carry on; that those who claim our demise do not understand our values; that those who seek to silence us simply do not understand our faith; and that those who wish us to abandon the field do not understand our resolve. They do not understand that we will not stop. 

Thank you to all of you who supported this year’s gala as a patron, a sponsor, a volunteer or in any other way. It was a rousing success, and we are extremely grateful for your continued support and prayers!

A federal court recently ruled in favor of Christian students in the Williamsburg-James City County School District after that district’s superintendent unfairly charged them a fee for use of the district’s facilities (read Richmond Times-Dispatch article here). The district school board ignored advice from Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal group, and now will have to cough up more than $20,000 in taxpayer money for legal fees to pay for its discrimination.

The case was brought by the Child Evangelism Fellowship of Virginia after it was forced to pay fees for use of school facilities when other groups were allowed free access. Liberty Counsel warned the school district that it was discriminating, but the school district refused to listen. Liberty Counsel then brought suit and won in federal court.

Once again a school administration chose to act against religious liberty in the face of not only advice from a premier legal group, but also the United States Constitution and previous court rulings. It is unfortunate that the school administrator’s decision will cost the taxpayers of that school district more $20,000 in  case it was destined to lose in addition to refunding the fees Child Evangelism Fellowship was forced to pay.

As The Family Foundation fought to pass legislation this year to protect the religious liberty rights of students in the classroom we were confronted over and over with the argument that “there isn’t a problem” and that “religious expression thrives in Virginia.”  We know this is not true. This case proves the point.

Unfortunately, some school administrators are outright hostile to religious expression, to the point of ignoring several cases that have well established “equal access” in case law, including cases that go back to the early 1980s, as well as the high profile Good News Club v. Milford Central School in 2001 (read case synopsis here). Exactly what are these school board attorneys advising if even non-legal experts are aware of this case law?

In Milford, the United States Supreme Court held that an outside religious club could meet at an elementary school after school hours because the school permitted other non-religious groups to meet at the same time and there was no perceived endorsement of the club’s religious activity. 

However, unfortunately, many school administrators simply are ignorant. Virginia schools work under religious liberty guidelines drafted by then-Attorney General Jim Gilmore in the mid-1990s as well as the new Religious Liberty law we worked to pass during the 2008 General Assembly. Additionally, we currently are working with Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s office in hopes that it will update those decade-old guidelines.