Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) held a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to introduce the bi-partisan Parental Rights Amendment.

Contact: Rebekah Pizana, National Coalition Director, ParentalRights.org, 540-751-1245, rebekah@parentalrights.org

WASHINGTON, April 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- A flurry of media attention is exerting pressure on members of Congress to sign on as co-sponsors to the new Parental Rights Amendment. Following news that House Joint Resolution 42 received its first Democratic co-sponsor this week, ParentalRights.org President, Dr. Michael Farris, chancellor of Patrick Henry College, was booked to tout the measure on the Huckabee show Saturday in New York City.

The amendment, introduced in the U.S. House last week by Rep. Hoekstra and Sen. DeMint, will bolster existing family law and codify the fundamental right of parents to "direct the upbringing and education of their children." The threat of government infringement upon parental rights comes in the form of a controversial, legally binding international treaty known as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. If ratified, as urged by the Obama administration, the treaty would supersede even the U.S. Constitution.

ParentalRights.org President, Michael Farris, chancellor of Patrick Henry College, predicts that the Amendment will resonate with Americans across party lines as a bi-partisan, pro-family issue. "This Amendment preserves two essential values," he said, "that good families, not government, have the right to make decisions for children; and that America, not the UN or any other nation, gets to make our public policy to govern the critical relationship between parents and children."

The Amendment's three Sections are strict interpretations of Supreme Court decisions, says Dr. Farris, granting parents' "liberty to direct the upbringing of their children."

While the Amendment upholds existing statutes limiting parent rights in the case of abuse or neglect, it asserts that the "only law which can be used in American courts regarding American families is the law made in America by our legislatures or the people themselves." Zogby poll statistics show that a majority of Americans of both political parties, of every ethnic group, and from every region, reject international law in making decisions that effect American families. "The use of international law for domestic purposes," Dr. Farris concludes, "is utterly contrary to the idea that this nation is a self-governing Republic."

Dr. Farris will appear on the Huckabee show, Fox News Channel, Saturday (4/11) at 8 P.M. ET and 11 P.M. ET, and on Sunday at 2 A.M.

For a complete copy of Michael Farris's speech or if you would like to schedule an interview with Michael Farris, please email Rebekah Pizana at or call 540.751.1200. Click here for a full bio.

ParentalRights.org is a 501c4 non-profit organization existing solely for the purpose of passing a parental rights amendment to the US Constitution.