Mike Farris New President of Alliance Defending Freedom

CC image courtesy of Flickr, VCU CNS By Wende Benner, HA Editorial Staff  Michael Farris, founder of Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Patrick Henry College, and parentalrights.org, announced this week that it is God’s will for him to become President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian “legal ministry.” The People for the American way featured the ADF in

The Uncomfortable Origin of HSLDA’s “Parental Rights”

HSLDA grounds their concept of parental rights in the Roman patriarchy system that justified slavery and dehumanized women and children.

When Your Very Identity is Held Hostage: Alecia Pennington and Identification Abuse

According to recent allegations, James and Lisa Pennington are holding their daughter Alecia’s very identity hostage.

Children as Divine Rental Property: An Exposition on HSLDA’s Philosophy of Parental Rights

“Insofar as HSLDA believes that children must belong to their parents in a legal sense, children are to have no fundamental rights.”

Things HSLDA Opposes: Voluntary Home Visitation Programs

“HSLDA claims to protect and promote parental rights, but in fact works to impose its ideas on parents.”

Matt Walsh: “Let’s talk about everything as hyperbolically as possible”

“As Matt Walsh once said, ‘Let’s talk about everything as hyperbolically as possible.’ Except Matt Walsh never said that. Then again, no politician ever said, ‘Let’s treat all homeschool parents like felony child abusers,’ which was the title of Walsh’s December 18, 2013 post on homeschooling.”

Homeschooling Is A Human Right, But That Doesn’t Make It Immune To Regulation

“In a recent post, Ryan made the case that homeschooling is not a human right and, as a result, state regulation of homeschooling (or even outright prohibition, as in Germany), does not amount to a violation of human rights. As much as I have been appreciating his examination of homeschooling culture, in this instance I disagree with his analysis.”

The Fundamental Reality of The Family Is Not Just Amorphous “Rights” Language

“‘The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.’ That’s article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights… That statement transcends legal controversy or political debate: it states a principle that is widely shared… It is an affirmation of how people generally feel about the dignity and centrality of home and family.”

A Game of Online Telephone: Homeschooling, Asylum, and the Attorney General

“Over the last few weeks I’ve watch as, in a game of online telephone, this story has evolved from HSLDA’s Mike Farris’ musings, to the question of whether domestic homeschooling rises or falls with this case to, finally, ‘Holder vs. home schooling.’ Unfortunately, in the hysteria, the actual issue at stake seems to have been lost.”

Growing Kids the Abusive Way: Auriel’s Story, Part Five — The Aftermath of Childhood Abuse

“The effects of the abuse don’t leave… Among us 5 kids, 4 have been suicidal, 4 have been in counseling, 3 have depression, 2 have run away multiple times, 2 have distorted eating and body issues, and 2 have self-harmed. And yet my parents still do not see what they did as traumatizing! If these incredible effects don’t convince them, then nothing will.”