GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is hosting an Education Town Hall in Manchester next week with Moms For Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice. And the location is no coincidence.
The Queen City is currently ground zero in the Granite State’s debate over parents’ rights and the authority of school officials. Manchester Public Schools maintains it has the right to keep information secret from parents regarding their children’s behavior, particularly if it involves issues of sexuality and gender. A local mother is suing the district after discovering her child was possibly engaging in such behavior. However, the school refused to answer her questions about the child’s activities.
After a lower court ruled against the mother, the case went to the state Supreme Court, which has yet to rule.
“The left’s war on parents and education will stop on day one of a Haley presidency. After shutting down our schools and telling parents they don’t matter, we need a leader who will put parents first and government last. Nikki will join Moms For Liberty’s Tiffany Justice in New Hampshire next week to keep up the fight for our children’s future,” said Haley spokesman Ken Farnaso.
The angry backlash against public schools overriding parental authority inspired the creation of the Moms For Liberty organization, with some 100,00 members and 195 chapters in 43 states, including New Hampshire. It hosted a national summit in Philadelphia last month attended by nearly every major Republican presidential hopeful, including Haley, Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former President Donald Trump.
The far-left Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled Moms for Liberty an “extremist organization,” including it on the same “Hate Map” as neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.
Asked about the SPLC’s actions at the time, Justice told NHJournal the SPLC’s actions were “absurd.”
“They put our picture next to the KKK? How ridiculous is that?”
Haley has also defended Moms for Liberty, telling Fox News, “If it’s a ‘hate group,’ add me to the list.”
“I am honored to join Nikki Haley next week as she hosts an Education Town Hall,” Justice told NHJournal. “Nikki understands just how important parental rights are going to be in the 2024 election. We want all of our moms to know where each and every candidate in this race stands on the issues that affect their children, and town halls like this help to showcase these opinions. We look forward to learning more about Nikki Haley’s plans for the future our children will inherit!”
Richard J. Lehmann, the attorney representing the mother in the lawsuit against the Manchester school district, said he was glad to see the issue being addressed in the Queen City.
“Hopefully, this kind of attention can spur the city’s people to come together to protect children without excluding parents from conversations about their child’s mental and physical health. The idea that schools can better decide what is best for children facing individual issues is simply absurd.”
A NHJournal poll released in February found Granite State voters overwhelmingly support a parent’s right to know about their child’s behavior at school regarding sex and gender by 78 to 13 percent. But New Hampshire House Democrats were able to peel off enough Republicans to defeat a parents’ bill of rights in the state legislature this summer.
Granite State Democrats argue parents are simply too dangerous to be informed of their children’s behavior.
Passing parents’ rights legislation “can, and will, cause serious, irreparable harm to LGBTQ+ youth, the harm that can end up being fatal for our young citizens,” state Sen. Donovan Fenton (D-Keene).
And New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman Ray Buckley tweeted that informing parents would result in “some kids being beaten to death.”
Moms For Liberty has not endorsed a candidate in the GOP presidential primary, and members of the organization joined Vivek Ramaswamy for a New Hampshire event in June.
Haley’s campaign has been on the upswing since her well-received performance in the first GOP presidential primary debate. Polls, along with a NHJournal reader survey, found many viewers liked what they saw. And now her campaign is reporting they raised more than $1 million in the 72 hours after the debate.
The Education Town Hall with Nikki Haley and Moms For Liberty’s Tiffany Justice is scheduled for Wednesday, September 6, at 7:00 p.m. at Founders Academy in Manchester.
