The State Senate Education Committee passed its version of the Parental Rights Bill today with a 3-2 vote OTP (Ought To Pass). It will now advance to the full Senate where the Republican majority is expected to also give it the green light. Our friend Thad Riley, a recent gubernatorial candidate and current NHGOP Vice Secretary, gave compelling and heartfelt testimony in favor during the hearing. He gave us permission to share it here on The Bastion.

My name is Thad Riley, and I’m here this morning to support SB 272 and to speak on behalf of Dad’s and Mom’s throughout the Granite State.

Together my wife and I have 6 kids, 4 of whom are still young enough to attend a NH Public School. We have 3 high schoolers, and one 7th grader, and as a former school board member, but most importantly as a dad, I have been extremely involved in their public school education for most of their lives. To put it in different terms, if you add up all of the years of our kids being in a NH Public School, that’s 54 years. And that’s a whole lot of time.

As you are beyond aware, we are a divided New Hampshire, and that means our communities are divided, and that means our Public Schools which are a reflection of our communities, are divided as well. For centuries, our differences were embraced and only made us better, but in today’s world so many have fallen prey to the addiction of labeling and separating us from our neighbors. And this separation by labels, leads to confusion, miscommunication, and distrust. And in nowhere do we see more confusion, miscommunication, and distrust than in our public schools.

Everybody wants a villain in turbulent moments, someone or something they can blame. Well, we have a villain and that villain is any idea or person that engages in actions that separates parents from their children by causing communication divides in the family. We’ve seen colossal communication problems in our country and in New Hampshire the last several years, and now many political idealogues who’ve shoved their ways into our schools want to make it even worse by having secretive talks with our children while never bringing their mom and dad into the most crucial conversations of their precious young lives.

Your choice is simple. You can be a hero to the families of New Hampshire or the villain who stands against our children and generations to come.

Thank you to the Republican State Senators who sponsored and supported this bill. For those lost State Senators who stand against it –

Do you understand the colossal damage you could be doing to the next generation if you empower the idea of separating parents from their children? Are you going to let a few bad apples and crazy political ideologues with their radicalized agenda destroy our children’s future?

I want to tell what this is.This the hill to die on. This is the fight worth getting beat up and bloodied over. This is what it’s all about. It’s all about our children and their future. Support the parental rights bill. Leave the politics behind and do the right thing for our children. And when all of this is gone, and you’ve moved on, you’ll always have this one moment to look back to and know without a doubt you changed lives for the better for our children and the generations to come!

Thank you,

Thad Riley