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Regular Session, 2010 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 38
BY SENATOR LONG AND REPRESENTATI VES LABRUZZO AND SCHRODER
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To memorialize the Congress of the United States to adopt and submit to the states for
ratification the Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
WHEREAS, the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their
children is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution of the United States and the
Constitution of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, our nation has historically relied first and foremost upon parents to meet
the real and constant needs of children; and
WHEREAS, the interests of children are best served when parents are free to make
child-rearing decisions about education, religion, and other areas of a child's life without
state interference; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court, in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205
(1972), held that "This primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now
established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition"; and
WHEREAS, however, in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), six justices of the
United States Supreme Court filed opinions on the nature and enforceability of parental
rights under the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the number of written opinions in Troxel v. Granville has created
confusion and ambiguity about the fundamental nature of parental rights in the laws and
society of the several states; and
WHEREAS, H. J. Res. 42 and S.J. Res. 16 were introduced during the First Session
of the 111
th
Congress to provide for an amendment to the United States Constitution to
prevent erosion of the enduring American tradition of treating parental rights as fundamental
rights, and the legislation states: SCR NO. 38 ENROLLED
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"SECTION ONE: The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of
their children is a fundamental right.
SECTION TWO: Neither the United States nor any State shall infringe upon this
right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the
highest order and not otherwise served.
SECTION THREE: No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international
law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this
article"; and
WHEREAS, this amendment would add explicit text to the Constitution of the United
States to forever protect the rights of parents as they are now enjoyed, without substantive
change to current state or federal laws respecting these rights; and
WHEREAS, the enumeration of these rights in the text of the Constitution of the
United States would preserve these rights from being infringed upon by shifting ideologies
and interpretations of the United States Supreme Court.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes
the Congress of the United States to adopt and submit to the states for ratification the
Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of
Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States
Congress.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES