Editor's note: Content originally featured in HSLDA's Weekly Update. Used with permission.
On Friday, Congress left Washington, D.C. for the rest of the summer. Thanks to the thousands of phone calls and emails you made in opposition to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) the treaty was not voted on by the full Senate before the recess! We now have a month to reach out to senators in their district offices and explain our concerns before they return to Washington in September and vote on the treaty.
August is a perfect time to contact your senators in their local districts as their main purpose in coming back to their home states is to learn of their constituents’ needs and desires. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity by scheduling a meeting at the district office near you, or express your concerns with the CRPD by phone or email. We cannot rest. Senators must be confronted directly by their constituents—you—and urged to oppose ceding U.S. sovereignty and parental rights to unelected, unaccountable United Nations bureaucrats.
To contact a district office, you can use HSLDA’s Legislative Toolbox to find your senators’ official websites (or go to each website directly if you know it), where their district offices are listed.
- You can schedule a visit to the office (read “Ten Tips for Visiting a Congressman”).
- You can ask when there will be a town hall meeting in your area and attend.
- You can share your concerns on the treaty by phone.
If you have any questions or want some additional information, please contact the staff at HSLDA’s Federal Relations Department at federalrelations@hslda.org or 540-338-5600.
The following senators either voted against the CRPD in committee or have told us that they oppose the treaty. If one of your senators is listed below we ask that you take a moment to thank them.
- Senator Sessions (R-AL)
- Senator Risch (R-ID)
- Senator Inhofe (R-OK)
- Senator Hatch (R-UT)
- Senator Rubio (R-FL)
- Senator Chambliss (R-GA)
- Senator DeMint (R-SC)
- Senator Coburn (R-OK)
- Senator Toomey (R-PA)
- Senator Corker (R-TN)
- Senator Lee (R-UT)
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry, felt certain this treaty would be ratified by August. It passed out of committee and seemed on a glide path to ratification. It is only by the grace of God and your actions that the treaty has not yet been ratified. Nevertheless, while this is a victory, the battle has not ended, and we appreciate your continued vigilance in protecting our nation’s sovereignty, parental rights, and our children.
Please visit our CRPD action page for additional resources and action opportunities.
Home School Legal Defense Association is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Through annual memberships, HSLDA is tens of thousands of families united in service together, providing a strong voice when and where needed.
Publication date: August 8, 2012