A Zogby poll was released almost two weeks ago with little fanfare (even by me, it’s been sitting in my inbox for that long!). The poll however is pretty significant for those who champion parental rights & the sovereignty of parents in making decisions for their children.
ParentalRights.org commissioned a poll meant to analyze their work to protect the right of parents to raise their children free of improper governmental interference. Mike Farris of ParentalRights.org summarized the findings:
The American public stands strongly behind parental rights. America does not want governmental or UN interference in the American family. The public supports a constitutional amendment to protect the rights of all parents.
Below are the survey questions:
Question #1 – Do you agree or disagree with parents having the legal option to give their child a modest spanking?
58.7% strongly agree
26.4% somewhat agree
6.0% somewhat disagree
6.9% strongly disagree
2.0% not sure
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child wants to ban spanking, and many governmental bureaucratic elites (especially within the education and social services fields) want to eliminate spanking. Americans overwhelmingly say no.
Question #2 – In general, parents have the constitutional right to make decisions for their children without governmental interference unless there is proof of abuse or neglect. Do you agree or disagree with this view of parental rights?
73.6% strongly agree
20.0% somewhat agree
2.6% somewhat disagree
1.6% strongly disagree
2.2% not sure
Again pretty overwhelming, and one breakdown I would like to share (ParentalRights.org provides other breakdowns) that is pretty jaw dropping is how this question polled across ideological lines:
Conservative 98.4% agree 0.9% disagree
Moderate 91.4% agree 4.8% disagree
Liberal 91.6% agree 7.1% disagree
Question #3 – Would you support or oppose a constitutional amendment to permanently protect parental rights, allowing them to make decisions for their children without government interference, so long as there is no proof of abuse or neglect?
45.9% strongly support
17.1% somewhat support
8.5% somewhat oppose
18.3% strongly oppose
10.2% not sure
Farris points out that there was no argument made as to why a parental rights amendment is needed. If that were the case it would be higher, but as it stands now 63% support such an amendment while only 26.8% oppose. This should be a slam dunk to be ratified, but yet Congress hasn’t moved on this.
Then people being polled were asked about the whether or not the U.S. Senate should ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC):
Question #4 – A United Nations treaty on children’s rights is currently being considered by the United States government. If this treaty made international law, it would trump some existing state laws on parents and children. Do you support or oppose this treaty?
3.4% strongly support
8.2% somewhat support
9.9% somewhat oppose
44.5% strongly oppose
34.1% not sure
Only 1 in 5 Americans support this being done, but there is still uncertainty with 34% being unsure.
Question #5 – If you knew that the United Nations treaty on children’s rights would give government broad discretion to overrule parents and decide what it thinks is best for a child, would you support or oppose this treaty, or does it make no difference to your opinion?
1.5% strongly support
4.9% somewhat support
11.6% somewhat oppose
66.7% strongly oppose
4.5% no difference
10.9% not sure
Farris notes:
With a single explanation of the effect of the CRC, the opinion of the vast majority of Americans becomes very clear. 78.3% oppose this treaty, and only 6.4% support it.
Opposition to the CRC is found in every political faction. Republicans oppose it 90.1% to 3.9%, Independents 78.5% to 5.2%, Democrats 67.0% to 9.5%. Even liberals opposed the CRC 56.3% to 15.7% – again, a landslide.
So why is the ratification of this treaty still being entertained and a Parental Rights Amendment not being considered? It shows again how out of touch some within the political class are with mainstream America. This issue is a winnable one (with bipartisan support).