A group of New Hampshire Republicans tanked their own party’s parental rights bill in a House floor debate on May 18 because they said they believe children have a constitutional right to privacy from their parents.
“We all agree parents have constitutional rights,” said Rep. Dan Hynes (R-Hillsborough). “You know who also has constitutional rights ... children. One person’s rights cannot be infringed upon by another.”
Hynes also argued that language in the Bill of Parental Rights invites “government intrusion” in the private lives of children.
He was among three Republicans who brought forward amendments to eliminate specific language that school officials be required to give a truthful answer to parents if they asked if their children were undergoing any kind of gender transition at school.
Several Republicans testified against the proposals—by their own fellow party members—to gut the parental rights bill.
One of them, Rep. J.R. Hoell (R-Merrimack) said that concerns about violating children’s privacy were moot, since teachers were already mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse.
Hoell added there was already a process in place for any concerns that a child was being abused at home.
“If they fundamentally believe that sharing information with the parent will harm the child, they already have an obligation,” he said.
Hoell also questioned how the same legislature that passed a bill several years ago prohibiting minors from going to a suntan salon, now was concerned about infringing upon a minor’s constitutional rights.
“This body decided that something as mundane as getting a suntan was worth government getting involved in,” said Hoell. “What we are talking about today is something that children are far more impacted by than a suntan.”
Rep. Jason Osborne (R-Rockingham) caused a brief upheaval when he complained that a move by Travis O'Hara (R-Belknap) to table the bill as amended was forcing parents to “accept that school is a mysterious and secretive black box where they deposit their children and have no right to know what happens inside that box.
“I know that this will send a message to parents that they must continue until the next election when they can replace their representatives,” he said.
The angry reaction to Osborne’s comments swelled to a point where House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Rockingham) had to bang his gavel and call for order.
The efforts of Republicans in favor of the parental rights bill, however, were not enough. The amendments to remove the disclosure requirement to parents was adopted by a 198 to 187 vote with 193 Democrats and 192 Republicans out of the 400-seat House in attendance.
Melissa Blasek, executive director of Rebuild New Hampshire, which promoted the Bill of Parental Rights, told The Epoch Times that the group of Republican lawmakers basically left the bill “utterly meaningless” since all they left in it were already existing laws.
“It’s incredibly frustrating that enough Republicans did not see fit to affirm that parents have a right to know what happens to their own children,” said Blasek.
Blasek, a former House member, said her frustration was heightened by results of a statewide survey released in February that showed that 80 percent of New Hampshire residents believed parents should have an overriding say about health decisions schools make involving students.
The survey also showed 69 percent of Granite Staters polled believe parents should have the right to know what is being taught to their children in schools.
Rep. Mike Bordes (R-Belknap), among the Republicans who favored removing the parental rights components of the parental rights bill, said he was worried about forcing school guidance into ratting out students.
“I used to go to my guidance counselor and discuss situations that I didn’t necessarily want one my parents to know,” said Bordes. “Guess what, if this bill goes out with those lines in it, our guidance counselors will have to rat out students.”
In all, eight Republicans voted with House Democrats to scrub the “if asked, must tell” language from the bill.
Along with O'Hara, Hynes, and Bordes, they include Aidan Ankarberg (R-Strafford), David Bickford (R-Strafford), Jess Edwards (R-Rockingham), Joseph Guthrie (R-Rockingham), and David Nagel (R-Belknap).
