Religious persecution of homeschoolers

In what may be one of the most outrageous rulings ever, a California appeals court this week published its decision that California parents do NOT have a constitutional right to homeschool their children.

Gov. Schwarzenegger has vowed to intervene, and homeschooling groups are lining up legal musclepower to overturn this travesty of justice. As of this writing, Democrats are nowhere to be seen on this issue.

That probably shouldn’t be a surprise, since the case that led to the ruling began as a child welfare complaint against a Christian family apparently trying to preserve their religious values.

According to published accounts, Phillip and Mary Long, a Los Angeles-area couple whose eight children are enrolled or have been enrolled in Sunland Christian School in suburban Sylmar are a typical homeschool family. Their kids were enrolled in a program run through the private school and had contact with teachers there who administered tests to follow their progress. Most of the children’s education was at home, conducted by Mary Long.

According to reports, the Longs’ primary reason for not wanting their children in public school was because they didn’t want the youngsters taught about homosexuality (which is included even in some kindergarten texts now, thanks to legislators like Sheila Kuehl) and indoctrinated into evolution theory until they were mature enough to be able to judge facts for themselves.

Justice H. Walter Croskey, who has just won my nomination for Fascist of the Year, wrote that parents who are not credentialled cannot teach their children and noncompliance can lead to a criminal complaint against those who choose not to expose their sons and daughters to the moral and intellectual cesspools of their local public schools.

This decision strikes at the heart of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience. It violates the soul of family and parental rights. It is a blatant affront to liberty itself.

We conservatives put up with a lot of garbage from the government and society in general. We’re told not to pray, we’re derided publicly by politicians, media and everyday ignoramuses alike. And by and large, we take it.

But let me state this plainly: The day the government comes between me and my child, that’s the day I go to war — for my child, for my family, for freedom.

Pray this decision is overturned rapidly.

JOIN THE FIGHT! Homeschool families are pushing to have the state Supreme Court depublish this totalitarian decision. More than 95,000 signatures have been gathered already. Add your name here: http://www.hslda.org/.