They are ignorant, dangerous, and potentially violent. Some are likely “child abusers,” while others should be viewed as “domestic terrorists.”
Who are these “hateful” extremists who threaten our way of life?
They are New Hampshire’s parents, and Democrats have declared them Public Enemy #1.
They’ve launched an all-out rhetorical war against the Parents’ Bill of Rights, claiming it will put young lives at risk.
The premise of the proposed law is simple: Nobody will love your children as much as you do. Parents have a fundamental, biological right to be at least as involved in their children’s lives as any other adult.
Democrats disagree — adamantly.
They believe that not only should teachers, gym coaches, and school administrators be trusted more with information about your children than you are allowed, but if you as a parent somehow find out what your child has been up to at school, you are uniquely likely to become dangerous. Perhaps even deadly.
An exaggeration?
During the debate over New Hampshire’s parental rights legislation, Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D-Portsmouth) said the proposal “opens these children up to a litany of dangers, including hostility, rejection, isolation, and even violence from their parents.”
Rep. Alicia Gregg (D-Nashua), in her defense of allowing teachers to keep secrets from parents, told fellow legislators, “We know how domestic violence can fester and thrive in the secrecy of our homes.”
“While some parents are good and trustworthy,” she conceded, “I know firsthand the damage a parent can inflict.”
And state Sen. Donovan Fenton (D-Keene) added, “Legislation like SB 272 can, and will, cause serious, irreparable harm to LGBTQ+ youth, the harm that can end up being fatal for our young citizens.”
“Fatal?” Fenton was simply echoing Democratic state party chair Ray Buckley, who has repeatedly said informing parents about sex or gender behavior at school will result in “some kids getting beaten to death.”
And, mom and dad, it’s not just that Democrats think you’re potential psychotics. They also think you’re stupid, too.
In her speech on the House floor, Gregg quoted her own 16-year-old daughter’s view of parents as her own: “Teachers and counselors are required to go to school and get degrees to teach and advise kids, but anyone can be a parent.”
Once again, it’s not unique.
In Georgia earlier this week, state Rep. Lydia Glaize (D) objected to an Education Freedom Account-style program being considered in the legislature.
“I see parents being able to direct their child’s education, and they already in the lower 25-percentile, meaning a lot of those parents did not finish high school – could not finish their own education,” the Democrat said. “I am extremely concerned that we would put money in their hands and that entire piece of life in the hands of parents who are not qualified to make those decisions.”
If it sounds familiar, it should. Former state Sen. Jeanne Dietsch (D-Peterborough) made the same claim before being defeated in the 2020 general election.
“This idea of parental choice that’s great if the parent is well-educated. There are some families that’s perfect for. But to make it available to everyone? No. I think you’re asking for a huge amount of trouble,” Dietsch said.
And remember, the information Democrats are trying to keep from parents is information other adults — total strangers who happen to work at their child’s school — already have.
Democrats justify this by suggesting that parents are uniquely dangerous and, therefore, should be treated as a unique threat.
“In 2020, according to the National Children’s Alliance, 618,000 children were victims of abuse in the United States,” Gregg said in her floor speech. “And 77 percent of those were abused by their parents.”
Those numbers are tragic. But in a nation of 330 million people, none of whom are perfect, and some of whom are evil, it’s going to happen.
But what about the 269 educators arrested for child sex crimes in the first nine months of last year alone? And that doesn’t include the hundreds more fired for inappropriate, but not necessarily illegal, behavior?
“The best available academic research suggests that nearly 10 percent of public school students suffer from physical abuse between kindergarten and twelfth grade,” according to the Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo.
Just last year, a former New Hampshire teacher of the year finalist was charged with illegal sexual contact with a student. A Portsmouth High assistant coach lost his job over allegations of abuse. And the sexual assault trial of a former Timberlane Regional High School teacher is scheduled for next month.
To paraphrase Gregg, “some teachers are good and trustworthy…”
The point isn’t that teachers are a menace any more than parents are. The point is that teachers aren’t parents. They may be good, they may be bad. But they aren’t the mom and dad.
For Republicans, that fact means parents deserve the truth.
For Democrats, that fact is a troubling inconvenience.
For parents, the question is how long they will continue to allow one political party to smear them as a public menace.
