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It won’t be long before school is out and students will receive their final grades. Our sister organization, The Family Foundation Action, is preparing to issue its own grade report — its 2010-2011 Virginia General Assembly Report Card. This bi-annual compilation grades all senators and delegates in the General Assembly on their pro-family voting record over a full two-year General Assembly cycle, and is released to coincide with the next General Assembly election, which is this November. It provides voters every legislator’s voting record on issues relating to life, marriage, religious liberty, parental authority and constitutional government based on a wide range of key bills and Family Foundation priority legislation.

The Report Card has become a favorite of individuals and churches across Virginia and is one of the commonwealth’s most anticipated political documents and will be available by mid-May. They will be available to order free of charge for distribution at churches, schools or community groups. To be among the first in the state to receive the Report Card, click here to go to our order page, complete the form and they will be sent to you directly from the printer. Please consider placing your order before May 15 to ensure you receive your Report Cards in a timely manner. This also helps The Family Foundation Action by allowing it to prepare for Winning Matters 2011 (more on that in a future post) rather than the fulfillment and shipping of hundreds of orders.

This is another critical election year in Virginia, as all 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election. It will be the first time in four years (when it elected a new majority) that the Virginia Senate has faced the voters, giving Virginians the opportunity to determine whether or not they like the direction the state Senate has taken since 2007.

Our Founding Fathers knew that an educated electorate was essential to good government. This has never been truer than it is today. Be sure to order enough Report Cards to have some extra for your friends, family and work associates.

For an organization that has at the root of its business model the destruction of human life, it’s not surprising that Planned Parenthood has had to resort to deception to defend itself after taking some of its worst PR hits in its history. But the more Americans learn about Planned Parenthood, the less they like.

Purporting itself to be the arbitrators of “women’s health care,” it has successfully siphoned more than $300 million a year of taxpayer dollars out of the economy. Planned Parenthood defenders in the General Assembly, Congress and the media are quick to claim that the majority of services provided by Planned Parenthood are not abortion related. If you weren’t paying attention you’d think that without your money being diverted to its coffers women would not have access to any health care.

That, of course, ignores the truth. Now, former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson and many others are finally exposing Planned Parenthood for what it is — and what we’ve said it is all along. The organization has had to resort to deception and hiding behind the White House to protect its public financing.

Most recently, in the debate over federal funding for the nation’s largest private supplier of abortion, Planned Parenthood apologists made the assertion that abortion amounts to only three percent of the organization’s services (a claim we’ve heard over and over again in the General Assembly). For an organization that has at its core abortion and the politics of abortion, this claim makes no sense, yet politicians and pundits alike have puppeted the talking point.

According to Johnson, in an editorial she wrote for The Hill:

Planned Parenthood’s claim that abortions make up just 3 percent of its services is also a gimmick. That number is actually closer to 12 percent, but strategically skewed by unbundling family planning services so that each patient shows anywhere from five to 20 “visits” per appointment (i.e., 12 packs of birth control equals 12 visits) and doing the opposite with abortion visits, bundling them together so that each appointment equals one visit. The resulting difference between family planning and abortion “visits” is striking.

Further proof of Planned Parenthood’s emphasis on abortion is the directive that recently came down from Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters mandating that all its affiliates provide abortions by 2013. In addition, its adoption referral number is appalling, and has been decreasing exponentially for years. Per Ms. Johnson:

. . . 98 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services to pregnant women are abortion.

That’s just the beginning. It also made the claim that it provides cancer screenings such as mammograms, but the truth is that it simply refers women to facilities that do mammograms, something any free clinic can do. No Planned Parenthood clinic has the equipment to do mammograms (of course, those would cost money, and based on what we’ve seen in the debate over abortion center regulations, safety is not a high priority for Planned Parenthood).

Of course, nearly every “service” provided by Planned Parenthood, with the exception of its primary money winner — abortion — can be done at free clinics and can be paid for through Medicaid or Medicare. There is absolutely no reason that an organization that has faced accusations ranging from targeting African Americans for abortion to covering up sexual abuse of underage girls should be subsidized by taxpayers. But you knew that already.

In Virginia, we have successfully defunded Planned Parenthood by exposing the money that was being diverted to its clinics. But this reminder seems fitting during tax season: Our federal government continues to provide more than one third of this political organization’s budget with your tax dollars.

In Virginia, Planned Parenthood continues to advocate for more money, freedom from minor regulations, and against every single attempt at helping women make a better choice for their unborn children. If a proposal is going to reduce the number of abortions in Virginia, it is sure to oppose it, including funding successful abstinence education programs.

The good news is that this year, we were able to defeat Planned Parenthood over and over again. From passing abortion center safety regulations to abstinence funding to protecting taxpayers from underwriting abortion in Virginia’s health insurance exchange, to defeating its legislative agenda, Planned Parenthood suffered overwhelming defeats this year.

Let’s pray we can build on this momentum!

Near the end of an already extraordinarily long annual “Veto Session” last night, at around 10:00, after intense debate and several failed parliamentary maneuvers by opponents, the Virginia General Assembly handed pro-lifers and Governor Bob McDonnell another big victory. After passing the House of Delegates by a comfortable margin, the Virginia Senate — whose committees long have been the burial ground for commonsense bipartisan pro-life legislation, deadlocked 20-20 on the governor’s amendments to HB 2434 — to restrict Virginia’s health insurance exchanges (when and if ObamaCare takes effect) from publicly funding abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother — allowing Lt. Governor Bill Bolling to break the tie and send the bill back to Governor McDonnell for his signature.

We long have stated that if certain measures could get to the floor, they would pass. This victory, another vote last night to restore the abstinence education funding eliminated by former Governor Tim Kaine, as well as the landmark vote the last week of the regular session to regulate abortion centers (all by 21-20 margins with Lt. Governor Bolling casting the tie-breaking vote each time), vindicates us. As represented by their legislators in Richmond, Virginians are decidedly pro-life.

The hard work began as lawmakers returned to the capitol Monday. Family Foundation lobbyists hit the ground running, going door to door to sure up votes and answer questions from legislators. Preceding that were efforts well before the reconvened session to educate lawmakers and their constituents. While the House looked secure, the Senate was always going to be close, with perhaps one or two senators leaning one way or another, but not fully committed.

Meanwhile, opponents in both chambers used several procedural motions to derail the votes. House members yielded their time from member to member in an attempt to control the debate and even moved to break up the governor’s amendments into separate votes. While that succeeded, all four passed. The bill then moved down the hall where Senator John Edwards (D-21) challenged the germaneness of the governor’s amendments. When Lt. Governor Bolling ruled them in order, opponents attempted to overturn the decision by a floor vote, but lost 21-19 (see vote).

After intense debate, the Senate voted 20-20, with all 18 Republicans and pro-life Democrats Chuck Colgan (D-29, Manassas) and Phillip Puckett (D-38, Tazewell) voting yes. Interestingly, Senator Roscoe Reynolds (D-20, Martinsville), who voted to sustain Lt. Governor Bolling’s ruling, voted no. When the clerk read the result, The LG decisively announced that “The chair votes aye.” Thus, the making of a law (see vote).

Despite the late vote, an early morning event may have had the most impact — the first ever meeting of the Virginia Legislative Prayer Caucus (more on the LPC in a future post). More than 500 Virginians, including many delegates and senators of both parties, gathered at the steps of the historic capitol to pray for God to shower His blessings on our Commonwealth. As Governor McDonnell reminded attendees, Matthew 19:26 says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Family Foundation gives its overwhelming appreciation to Governor McDonnell, Lt. Governor Bolling, all 20 Senators who voted for this pro-life amendment, and to all who contacted their senator to urge their support. If you don’t think this has the grassroots excited, see our Facebook page!

With housekeeping measures and session-opening pomp behind them, Virginia’s lawmakers now are at full pace in the “short session” of the General Assembly and there is no time to lose on a paramount issue that affects our freedoms — the protection of private property. On Friday morning, the House Privileges and Elections Committee (click here for members and contact links) will consider a constitutional amendment that will safeguard your property rights from state and local government and corporations, as well as ensure just compensation in circumstances when land must be taken for legitimate public uses.

Earlier this week, a “P&E” sub-committee barely reported out, on a 3-2 vote (see vote), HJ 647, patroned by Delegate Rob Bell (R-58, Charlottesville). Now it goes to the full committee with local government interests, who use your tax dollars to lobby against your rights, and large utilities and telecoms working behind the scenes with every resource at their disposal to strengthen their hand when they want your property. No less than 10 government and corporations testified against the resolution in sub-committee, while The Family Foundation, The Farm Bureau and the Virginia Agribusiness Council speaking in favor. (A similar version in the Senate yesterday was carried over for a week.)

Without property rights, we don’t have secure homes. Without property rights, we don’t have the security to practice our faith. Without property rights, we have no economic security. The fact is, ever since the deplorable Kelo decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, local and state governments have had eyes bigger than their stomachs for homes, farms and small businesses to feed their economic development schemes. They’ve taken private property and turned it over to developers and corporations for malls and office parks, or for transportation boondoggles. In one heinous case in Hampton, the city took private property for a pittance, and then sold it to a developer for millions while the original owner saw none of the extra money.

At one time, Virginia was a leader in protecting property rights and our Founders, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, ensured these rights in the Commonwealth’s constitution. However, in the last constitutional revision in the early 1970s, they were diminished. But now, with a reawakening of Founding Principles across Virginia and the nation, there is real momentum this year for true reform.

While Big Government and Big Corporations have much money, we have many voices — and they matter! They are a force equalizer. Please contact members of the committee and express your desire to see Virginia protect families’ homes, farms and businesses!

This is the fifth in a series about key issues facing the 2011 General Assembly, which starts January 12. Issue One, Life Defined And Protected, was posted Tuesday; Issue Two, Eliminate ObamaCare Induced Abortion Funding In Virginia, was posted Wednesday; and Issue Three, Restoring The Balance Of Power, was posted Thursday; and the fourth, Transparency Isn’t Just A Word, was posted Friday.

Richmond’s liberal political class appears to have completely missed the message of the voters in Virginia concerned about over spending and joblessness. Instead, taking a page out of the Harry Reid-Lady Gaga playbook (see Film Industry Network blog), they plan on making homosexual issues their top priority (see Richmond Biz Sense) the coming General Assembly session.

Building on what they view as “momentum” from the lame-duck Congress’ vote to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Democrat leaders will focus their energies on passing legislation that would give special protections to homosexuals, not just in state government hiring as they tried in the past, but in all hiring — public and private — across Virginia.

This fulfills the dream of the ACLU’s Kent Willis who said last year:

We hope this is only the beginning, and that [it] will inspire legislators to finally pass a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in both private and public sector employment. (Emphasis added.)

This blatant attack on religious freedom would pose a threat to every church, faith based ministry, adoption agency, school and charity in the commonwealth. No longer content with an incremental approach, it appears that Virginia liberals want it all and they want it now.

Of course, we are confident that their legislation will go no further than it did last year. The fact is that there is no evidence of broad discrimination against homosexuals taking place in Virginia. Even The Washington Post admitted that there are “thousands of homosexuals” working in state government. Proponents of the measure can point to one —just one — case where someone filed suit that they were fired because of their “sexual orientation,” but even that case has been disputed.

According to one of the nation’s leading homosexual activist leaders and recent Obama appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (approval for her nomination took place in the late night final hours of the lame duck Congress), Chai Feldblum:

There can be a conflict between religious liberty and sexual liberty, but in almost all cases sexual liberty should win. I’m having a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win.

Those who advocate for the advancement of sexual behavior protections in our law have little or no room for those who have religious convictions on those issues. In her paper, Moral Conflict and Liberty: Gay Rights and Religion, Feldblum, who authored the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), argues quite openly that it is the primary goal of this political movement to elevate (either through legislation or the courts) homosexual orientation to moral equivalence with heterosexual orientation, and to do so at the cost of religious liberty. She admits in her assessment of the clash that:

We are in a zero-sum game: a gain for one side necessarily entails a corresponding loss for the other side, (but) in making the decision in this zero-sum game, I am convinced society should come down on the side of protecting the (sexual) liberty of LGBT people.

So there you have it, the true motivation behind the so-called “non-discrimination laws.” It is to discriminate against people whose faith teaches that homosexuality is wrong.

This is the third in a series about key issues facing this year’s General Assembly. Issue One, Life Defined And Protected, was posted Tuesday and Issue Two, Eliminate ObamaCare Induced Abortion Funding In Virginia, was posted yesterday.

It’s the word of the day — federalism. Few Americans have any idea what it actually means or know its historical origins, but with the massive expansion of the federal government since the election of President Obama, more people are learning. From the government take over of health care, student loans and auto companies, to bailouts of banks, AIG and Fannie Mac and Freddie Mae, we have seen an unprecedented expansion of federal power.

Essentially, federalism means that the federal government will do what it is constitutionally empowered to do, and the states will take care of their own business. It has long been forgotten that the federal government exists at the mercy of the states or, as per the constitution, “to the people” — not the other way around. The government was meant to be our servant (thus the term “public service”), but now Washington has become the master, controlling aspects of life and the economy once thought preposterous, and demanding us to feed it with ever more of our heard earned money and compliance with its controls on our liberty.

But as the federal government explodes in size and power, some efforts are being undertaken to attempt to restore at least some balance of power (see Pat McSweeney’s Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed). The recent elections are evidence that while Americans may not be entirely familiar with federalism, they support it.

In Virginia, an effort to restore federalism is being led by House Speaker Bill Howell (R-28, Fredericksburg) through a repeal amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The repeal amendment would simply allow for any federal law — ObamaCare, for example — to be repealed if two-thirds of the states agree on the repeal. You might say it’s a bill to protect “fly over country” from ideas that start in New York and California.

The Family Foundation supports this effort. We believe that there is an important role for the federal government but that its jurisdiction is limited. A repeal amendment would be a step toward restoring the intent of the constitution.

A concern is that the resolution calls for the ratification of this amendment through a constitutional convention, rather than through the congressional-state legislative ratification process. While some think a convention could have unintended consequences, any effort to do so can be limited to this issue alone. Frankly, the constitution is being misinterpreted by the courts and federal government just about every day. The repeal amendment would give states the ability to correct some of those misinterpretations.

Senators Ryan McDougle (R-4, Mechanicsville) and Jill Vogel (R-27, Winchester), and Delegate Jim LeMunyon (R-67, Oak Hill) have introduced legislation (SJ 280 and HJ 542, respectively) requiring Congress to call a convention to add the repeal amendment to the constitution. At least two-thirds of the states would have to pass similar resolutions before Congress must act.

Our Founding Fathers understood the need for a system of checks and balances — both within the federal government (executive, legislative and judicial) — and between the federal government and the states that created it. The repeal amendment would be another tool that could be used to protect our freedoms and ensure that balance is restored.

As we approach Christmas and think about our vision for the upcoming New Year, our state lawmakers are preparing to go back to Richmond for the 2011 General Assembly. As always, there will be many battles to fight — the protection of the family and the unborn, the preservation of our religious liberty and standing for the principles that have made our Commonwealth great for so many years.

The Family Foundation and our outreach arm, Pastors For Family Values, are planning for a special Pastors For Family Values Day at the Capitol on Thursday, February 3. Pastors and ministry leaders from across Virginia will come to Richmond to be updated by pro-family senators and delegates as well as staff from The Family Foundation. Pastors will have an opportunity to meet with your elected officials to encourage them to support pro-family legislation and possibly have a chance to minister to them.

It is up to us as the church to let legislators know where we stand on the issues and that we believe the traditional values that made Virginia great are shared by a vast majority of Virginians. One thing is certain: Those who oppose our values will be in Richmond in force and will continue to pressure lawmakers to support an agenda that is against our principles.

The event will conclude with a complimentary lunch at which Martin Brown will be the keynote speaker. Mr. Brown is the commissioner for the Virginia Department of Social Services and is a former executive director of The Family Foundation. He will provide a unique insight into how the church can have an impact on the lives of the poor . . . not just by feeding them or offering a helping hand, but by teaching them the principles of God’s Word. Studies have proven conclusively that the best way out of poverty for a child is to have a mother and father who are married and in the home, to stay in school, and avoid pre-marital sex and drugs.

Youth pastors also are invited this year and we will have a speaker of interest to them: Justin McClure, the youth pastor at Beaverdam Baptist Church, will share his vision and plan for networking with other youth pastors and affecting teens with the Gospel. 

We look forward to an informative, exciting and positive day on Thursday, February 3, at the state capitol, as we make an impact on our state (see a picture from our last pastors event). Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the activities will run from 9:00 until approximately 2:00 p.m. 

Click here to register for Pastors for Family Values Day at the Capitol.

If you are not a pastor or youth pastor, please share this link with your pastor and/or youth pastor. For more information, you may also contact Roger Pogge at roger@familyfoundation.org or 804-343-0010.

What do lawyers and pastors have in common? Plenty, especially when it comes to defending religious liberty against encroaching progressive secularism that means to do away with as much faith-based influence in society and the public square as possible. So here’s a reminder for attorneys and pastors: The Alliance Defense Fund and The Family Foundation are sponsoring a Regional Litigation Academy in Arlington next month. Registration closes on September 10.

The RLA is a one-and-a-half-day continuing education seminar for attorneys, pastors and church administrators. Pending approval, the RLA is worth eight Continuing Legal Education credits (including one ethics credit) in Virginia. The RLA is on Thursday, September 23, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., and Friday, September 24, from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel Arlington (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway). The registration fee is $25 and includes lunch on the first day and all materials. 

Sessions include Protecting the Church as a Non-Profit Corporation: Counsel, Strategies and Tactics; Protecting the Marketplace of Ideas: Combating Campus Censorship; Protecting Life, both Young and Old: Emerging Issues and Responsive Strategies, and others.

To register, or for more information, click here or contact contact Leah Rose at 480-444-8067 or at lrose@telladf.org.

The Alliance Defense Fund is a legal alliance that defends the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding and litigation. ADF is a national leader in law and public policy, and has been a key ally in the battle for values across the nation. Most recently, it provided key testimony on behalf of religious liberty legislation to the Virginia General Assembly.

The Family Foundation is honored to partner with ADF again to sponsor this timely and informative academy on the precious topic of protecting religious liberty. Our past experiences in hosting RLAs prove them to be one of the most worthwhile and educational CLE opportunities available to attorneys. For pastors, it is a great chance to learn more about the threats to religious liberty and how to stop them.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: school choice is coming to Virginia. The questions that remain are “When?” and “How?” There is no “if.”

In fact, it’s not just The Family Foundation (and the public via polls) in support of school choice. It’s the mainstream media and Hollywood!

Last Sunday, CBS’ 60 Minutes aired a piece on the SEED school in Washington, D.C. SEED, an urban public boarding school similar to charter school initiatives, first opened its doors in 1998. It immediately gave inner city students a chance at educational success that they normally would never think to dream. In a community that normally graduates only 33 percent of its high school students, 97 percent of SEED graduates are accepted into college. Due to its overwhelming success, SEED began another school in Maryland and is working with Ohio and New Jersey to begin schools in those states.

 Sewing SEEDs of education and opportunity: 60 Minutes spotlights a success government-run schools couldn’t replicate with all the tax payer money in the world.

In fact, SEED has been so undeniably successfully, it has been heralded by the Obama administration as a “true success story.” Even another notoriously liberal institution — Hollywood, of all places — has noticed: The directors of Al Gore’s climate change conspiracy film, An Inconvenient Truth, have produced a documentary entitled Waiting for Superman (see Variety review) in which an underprivileged student hopes to win a drawing for a slot at SEED in order to get the opportunity for academic success — and a change in life. Waiting for Superman received the Audience Award for Best U.S. Documentary in this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will be released in theaters this fall. See the trailer below:

A Washington, D.C. student waits for Superman. Virginians still wait for even modest education choice.

As SEED clearly demonstrates, contrary to testimony and liberal senators’ reactions in the Senate Finance Committee this past General Assembly (if you haven’t yet, you must see this, click here), the benefits of school choice cross racial, socio-economic and political party lines. School choice is the obvious solution for many families. Why has Virginia waited so long to adopt this common sense approach?

This past session, Delegate Jimmie Massie (R-72, Henrico) introduced a bill (HB 599) that would have created a tax credit for businesses and individuals that donate to scholarship funds for children attending K-12. Carefully designed to be fiscally neutral to the Virginia and fiscally positive to localities, this bill would have created a way out of failing schools for low-income families. In partnership with Delegate Massie, The Family Foundation will work this summer to build an even broader coalition of support for school choice initiatives and will once again push for educational freedom next session.

The 60 Minutes segment and Waiting For Superman prove an undeniable truth about human nature: The young naturally are curious and want to learn. Unfortunately, there’s a counterbalancing truth as well: Government wants to control and, to that end, provides obstacles to freedom — and its people suffer.

We are in the final week of the 2010 Virginia General Assembly session, and legislators now are making decisions regarding the state budget. It is critical that your delegate and senator hear from you concerning budget amendments defunding Planned Parenthood, elective abortions and embryonic stem cell research. They are scheduled to vote on the budget in the next few days!

In today’s financial climate, it is even more essential that these publicly unsupported issues causing the destruction of human life not be financially backed by a fiscally failing government. Here’s a rundown on three budget amendments:

Banning Planned Parenthood Funding: This amendment prohibits taxpayer funding of the radical pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood. In its last fiscal report, this organization reported a budget of over $1 billion! During this decade, Virginia taxpayers have sent nearly $500,000 to Planned Parenthood, one of the most partisan organizations in our nation. They do not need your money! And of course, Planned Parenthood is responsible for nearly a quarter of the abortions that take place in our nation. In fact, as the national abortion rate is declining, the number of abortions taking place in Planned Parenthood clinics continues to rise.

Banning Funding for Elective Abortions: Incredibly, in 2006 and 2007, Virginia tax dollars directly funded 322 abortions. The federal government requires states to subsidize abortions only when a Medicaid-eligible woman’s life is at risk or in the cases of rape and incest. In Virginia, we fund elective low-income abortions — a standard beyond what is required by the federal government.

Banning Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research: This amendment, patroned by Delegate Kirk Cox (R-66, Colonial Heights), prohibits taxpayer funding of research that requires the destruction of human embryos and is consistent with other amendments placed on legislation funding research in Virginia. Embryonic stem cell research has failed, while adult stem cell research has produced dozens of treatments and cures.

In past years, several Senate budget negotiators, in particular Senators Dick Saslaw (D-35, Springfield), Janet Howell (D-32, Reston) and Edd Houck (D-17, Spotsylvania), have refused to include similar amendments in the final budget. Incredibly, they have gone so far as to threaten to break off budget talks — threatening the entire state government and all its services — to keep the money flowing to Planned Parenthood and these other issues. They must be asked: When teachers and social services organizations are screaming because of budget “cuts,” how can they funnel money to partisan organizations and failed research?

Please contact your delegate and senator immediately and urge them to support budget amendments prohibiting taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood, embryonic stem cell research and elective abortions.

If you know who they are, you can get their contact info here for delegates and here for senators, or to look up Senators Saslaw, Howell and Houck. If you don’t know who your delegate and senator are, click here.