Some Important Items

This weekly email will be short and to the point. We have four important things that you should know about for the coming week and for which we want you to be prepared.
 
1. Bismarck City Ordinance on Hate Crimes: That’s right, Bismarck is sadly trying to emulate its big cousins to the east and implement a hate/bias crime ordinance that includes gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity, such as existing ordinances in Grand Forks and Fargo. The motivation behind this is far from simple, but suffice it to say that one benefit is that the city will likely get a better “grade” from LGBTQ rating organizations like the Human Rights Campaign Foundation if they implement this ordinance.
 
While it sounds like a good idea (who approves of hate crimes, right?), it is misguided. It would prosecute crimes committed because of, “the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or ancestry.“ [italics added for emphasis] Proposed Hate Crime Ordinance.
 
I’m not even sure where to begin on this. This is a really ill-conceived ordinance, from the inherent flaws in hate crime laws, to the fact that it is already illegal to assault someone or vandalize their property, the historical evidence that it’s almost impossible to prosecute these crimes, how the “perceived” language would be interpreted to apply to these sexuality categories, or that it would carve out special protected classes that are based on ever-changing societal constructs such as sexuality and gender (even admitted to be fluid by the LGBTQ community).
 
In the past, the legislature has soundly defeated bills and resolutions with similar language, including the most recent 2021 session [HB 1443,  HCR 3045]. They know it’s bad policy; now the City of Bismarck needs to take a stand and not capitulate to the left, all in an effort of virtue signaling and approval as a “progressive” municipality.
 
If you would like to provide written comments prior to the public hearing on June 14, you can email your input to bismarckadmin@bismarcknd.gov, and/or you can always contact the City Commissioners directly Bismarck City Commission. You can also testify in person at the June 14 meeting to be held at 5:15 pm in the Tom Baker Meeting Room, City and County Office Building, 221 N. 5th St., Bismarck, ND 58506.
 
2. Election endorsements and emails of support: I hope you’ve been seeing these emails from NDFALA show up in your Inbox. The emails highlight candidates for all levels of government who NDFALA endorses/supports because they stand with you for family values. Please give them your vote.
 
3. Be sure to vote next Tuesday! I know it seems like a hassle sometimes, but the final disposition of what happens to pro-life bills, bills on girls’ fairness in sports, education bills and more will be shaped in many ways on June 14. During legislative sessions we can mobilize and call/email our legislators, lobby through organizations like ours, and testify at hearings, but if we get the right people elected, we don’t need to worry so much about playing defense on important issues, but can focus more on pro-actively getting good bills through the legislature. Think of the change that could make!
 
4. School District Elections: Finally, I also want to highlight all the school district races across the state. North Dakota parents are fed up with many school boards and the only real way to change that is to elect new board members that share your values. Check out the candidates running for your district’s board and make informed choices. School boards are the level at which curriculum is decided, so it truly matters if we want our children to be taught with a foundation of family values. If you have questions about candidates running for a particular school board, feel free to reach out to us and we will help in any way we can (701-355-6425)
 
Thank you so much for partnering with us in the fight for faith, family and freedom here in North Dakota!