Last week, members of The Family Foundation team attended the annual Social Conservative Conference in Indianapolis. This conference brings together allied Family Policy Councils from across the country and other social conservative groups to discuss recent policy and legal wins, future policy focuses, and areas for improvement. We were joined by three members of the General Assembly who participated in Family Policy Alliance’s Statesmen Academy: Sen. Robby Mills, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, and Rep. Bill Wesley.
On the policy side of things, we heard presentations about protecting kids online, protecting kids from inappropriate materials in libraries, protecting kids from sexualized drag shows, and much more. These issues will be some of the focuses for The Family Foundation in future legislative sessions.
When it comes to protecting kids online, we heard about the most recent efforts to ensure parents are more involved in their kids’ online activity and to create safeguards so social media and big tech companies are not improperly addicting kids to their screens. The ongoing advancements in technology make protecting kids from predatory business practices all the more important. The recent win in Free Speech Coalition v Paxton (upholding age verification laws for pornographic websites) will hopefully provide momentum for this issue moving forward.
On the library issue, there is currently no legal recourse for parents whose kids are been exposed to inappropriate materials against their will, whether that be the school library or the local public library. We heard about legislation that Idaho passed that gives parents the ability to sue libraries that do not adequately protect kids. In Kentucky, such legislation would build upon and strengthen the protections from SB 150.
And on the drag issue, we heard about efforts in Idaho to ensure that children are shielded from sexualized drag performances. This legislation uses standards the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld in other circumstances, giving states the ability to protect kids from inappropriate performances while also avoiding constitutional issues. The recent drag show at Western Kentucky University showed the ongoing need to protect kids from these inappropriate performances.
The Family Foundation will be using this new knowledge to enhance our efforts to advocate for pro-family policy in Frankfort when the General Assembly returns in 2026.
Finally, we heard about the ongoing persecution of Jason McGuire, who leads the New York Families Foundation. He has been the target of a three year witch hunt from New York Attorney General Letitia James. Because of that witch hunt, Jason was recently sentenced to eight weekends in jail for minor paperwork violations – an unprecedented sentence that reeks of political persecution. Please join us in prayer for Jason and the New York Families Foundation team during this time.
