An early sign that the Parental Bill of Rights was headed for success just a year after its ignominious defeat came from an unlikely source: a Democrat.
“Last year, this was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation we had before us,” state Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough) said when he stepped to the lectern minutes before Thursday’s key vote. “We were told as Democratic members of this House, ‘Don’t worry, we already support parents’ rights; they’re already in law.’
“After caving and following the very red flag that gets put up by my friends here, I was lied to.”
“Over the course of the last election there were parents who came up to me in liberal Peterborough who said they do not have a clear and concise statutory right to parent their child,” the Democrat explained.
Polls show most Granite Staters agree with Wheeler, a point Rep. Mark Pearson (R-Hampstead) drove home in his floor remarks. He recalled receiving a phone call from a public school teacher who he said claimed, “when those children cross the boundary line onto school property, they belong to me.”
“‘No they don’t,’ I told her,” Pearson said. “Children ultimately belong to their parents.”
Pearson’s words triggered a response as someone from the House chamber shouted out in response, “No they don’t!”
Meanwhile, for state Rep. Peter Petrigno (D-Milford), the Republican-led proposal stepped too far in requiring teachers and public school officials to answer questions from parents about their children.
“No one has the right to compel someone to answer questions,” Petrigno, a former high school teacher, said. “We have all watched enough TV and police dramas to know we have the right to remain silent. Teachers should be focused on teaching and not about surveillance of students on personal and private matters to run back and report to parents.”
Co-sponsor Rep. Deb DeSimone (R-Atkinson) said in a statement the bill “doesn’t change any existing parental rights — it simply ensures they are respected and upheld.”
The bill sailed through the House in a 212-161 vote.
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) said parents will no longer be “left in the dark about what happens in the classroom.”
“We are putting an end to government secrecy and reaffirming that parents — not bureaucrats — are responsible for the children,” he added.
One Democrat offered a warning, however, to Republicans.
“When LGBTQ+ students face harm after being forcibly outed by Republican legislators, we will hold you all accountable,” state Rep. Alissandra Murray said in a social media post hours after the outcome.
Democrats have repeatedly argued parents are too dangerous to be given the same information about their children’s behavior at school that teachers, coaches, and staff have. Prominent New Hampshire Democrats have publicly argued parents might kill their own children if they found out about their behavior related to sex or gender.
(No such killing has ever been reported in New Hampshire.)
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has pledged to sign the bill if it reaches her desk.
House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) summed up the day this way: “Promises made, promises kept.”
In other legislative developments:
- The Senate unanimously approved HB 592, legislation touted by Gov. Kelly Ayotte (more background here) that would roll back a series of progressive bail reforms enacted in 2018 which critics point to as responsible for allowing violent offenders to roam free the street. The legislation is now headed to Ayotte’s desk.
- The House advanced HB 433, which would allow 17-year-olds to marry if one member of the couple is serving in the military, on a 193-178 vote. There were 14 Republicans who voted in opposition.
- House Republicans used the strength of their majority to defeat a series of Democrat-sponsored bills aimed at altering the Election Day process. Republicans had accused Democrats of trying to “change Election Day into Election Week” by introducing proposals to allow for no-excuse absentee voting, extending the Election Day delivery deadline for absentee ballots from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and enabling the process of absentee ballots prior to Election Day.
