Sen. Sampson, Sen. Gordon Sound Alarm on Efforts to Undermine Parental Authority

State Sen. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) and State Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) today sounded the alarm on an upcoming University of Connecticut Law School symposium that calls parental rights into question.

The symposium entitled “Are Parental Rights Always in the Best Interest of Children?” to be held on March 31 by the school’s Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal will “explore the complex issues surrounding the role of parental rights in advancing progressive goals while at the same time examine how parental rights are being used to undermine racial, gender, and LGBTQ equality.”

Senator Sampson cited the incremental nature of this disturbing trend, and documented incidents in Connecticut that underpin this ideology. In the summer of 2022, he was a vocal supporter of parents amidst the politically-biased and bigoted comments of a Cos Cob school administrator that were caught on camera. He also raised concerns over politically-charged teaching materials within Guilford Public Schools.

“Despite the radical left’s failed attempts to gaslight Connecticut parents into believing that there’s nothing to see here, we will not be fooled.  No one is suggesting that this is a widespread issue but to dismiss parents’ concerns as out-of-hand is unacceptable. There is something insidious going on in some places. Ask yourself, why would any reasonable person think that parental involvement is a bad thing? More importantly, why would progressives like those organizing this event see parental knowledge of what their child is being taught in public schools as problematic?

“Far-left progressive idealogues continue to vilify parents simply because they do not want their child exposed to politically-charged and one-sided curriculum, or because they don’t want their children exposed to adult sexualized content. We need not be told what to think about what is going on in our schools because we’ve seen examples for ourselves. The reason why an administrator, educator or academic does not believe parents have a right to know about what their child is being taught is because their involvement is an impediment to one-sided and frankly disturbing ideology. That our state’s flagship university is promoting this is disturbing,” said Senator Sampson.

Senator Gordon also raised concerns, citing the fundamental importance of parents in the lives of their children.

“I want to applaud the many parents who have shown a growing interest in influencing the policy-making process. Your voices are critical if we are to fight back against the expanding government intrusion into your homes and your families. Parents matter! A child’s parent or guardian has the ultimate authority in their child’s physical wellbeing. Why shouldn’t the same hold true for their mental, psychological, and educational development?” he said.

In recent years, Legislative Democrats have repealed the religious exemption for childhood vaccinations required to attend school, in addition to promoting one-sided progressive curriculum models. Republicans have also been critical of Democrat policies throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which led the way to a mental health crisis among young people in the state. Connecticut Democrats were also widely panned for taking to social media and sharing a cartoon equating engaged parents with horror movie villains in 2021.

Currently, Democrats in Hartford are advancing measures to allow children as young as 12 to receive vaccinations without parental consent, along with proposals to insulate educators from parental oversight.

Senator Sampson continues to be a voice for parents, and has offered several measures promoting curriculum and teacher training transparency as a State Senator.