Information Alert: New Pro-Family Laws Go Into Effect Today
Victoria Cobb, President
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
If you’ve glanced at the newspaper or listened to the news, you’ve probably heard that starting today, it is illegal to text message while driving in Virginia. While this law has received a lot of press, there are other new laws that also went into effect today that have been less publicized in the mainstream media but definitely affect today’s pro-family Virginian. Some of these laws were supported by The Family Foundation during this past General Assembly session, including the Choose Life license plate law and two Family Life Education (FLE) laws.
The Choose Life license plate law signed this past April allows for the sale of Choose Life license plates and for a portion of the proceeds to be distributed to Pregnancy Resource Centers. According to the Virginia Choose Life license plate website, starting tomorrow, visit the DMV website where you can order your personal Choose Life license plate. Once 1000 Choose Life license plate registrations are received, $15 of the $25 plate fees will be given to Virginia’s qualifying Pregnancy Resource Centers. These facilities offer medical, spiritual and physical support to women and families in crisis pregnancies.
The Choose Life license plates serve as an opportunity for both sides of the abortion discussion to come together and find common ground. The funding from these plates is a way to have compassion for the mothers and fathers facing unplanned pregnancies by providing both tangible and emotional support.
The second law that went into effect today adds the value and benefits of marriage to the FLE guidelines for Virginia’s public schools. Shockingly, prior to this law, there was no positive reference to marriage in these guidelines! Starting today, this modest change, suggested by our Marriage Commission, will allow the current and future generations to becoming educated and to take the first step in preparing for healthy marriages and families. Beginning this fall, local schools that teach Family Life Education should be prepared to talk about the value and benefits of marriage to students.
In conjunction with this last law, the third I’ll mention requires local school boards to better notify parents regarding what is being taught in Family Life Education so that parents can make a more informed decision about whether their kids should participate. Schools will now be required to send home to parents a detailed summary of the materials that are to be taught.
Armed with these two recently passed FLE laws, parents should feel empowered come Fall to inquire about what is being taught in FLE and to additionally make sure that the value and benefits of marriage are being taught in their child’s FLE class. The laws have thankfully passed, but now it is our responsibility to ensure that our laws are not just “on the books,” but enforced.
All three of these laws were pieces of legislation that The Family Foundation strongly advocated for in the General Assembly this past year. Thanks to your faithful support, we were able to ensure the passage of good, family friendly laws.