Reflecting on our first Legislative Academy
by Jacob Thomsen
This past weekend we held our very first Legislative Academy. It was remarkable to see all of the legislators and candidates who came to listen and learn from our fabulous speakers. Everyone in attendance who gave us feedback said it was an incredibly valuable event. We were honored to be able to do something like this, thanks to our generous donors!
We brought in Dr. Mark David Hall, who did a great job teaching us about our founding and its true Christian roots. His education and experience were second to none. His talk was entitled “Did America Have a Christian Founding? Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth.” We recorded his talk for all of you and it is available at this link.
We also had the great privilege of being joined by Autumn Leva, Senior Vice President of Strategy for Family Policy Alliance and media/communications expert. She conducted media training for our legislators, which was an exceptional resource for everyone in the room. She also gave one-on-one media training to multiple attendees, and I had the opportunity to experience that as well. She put us all in the “hot seat” and grilled us with tough questions to see how we would do under pressure from aggressive media. I regret to inform you that I am no Ronald Reagan in front of the camera, but the good news is that I know what not to do!
We heard from several speakers about many other issues: family, life, education, religious liberty, agriculture, and energy. We were also privileged to learn from two former legislators, Kim Koppelman and Terry Jones. They presented some very helpful thoughts and wise advice, based upon their decades of serving North Dakotans in the state legislature.
As I sat in the back of the room, listening to the speakers and watching our legislators and candidates take it all in, there was a verse that came to my mind. When Kim and Terry spoke, they both mentioned that it was never their goal to run for office. They were called to it. I know that is the story for many of the people that were in the room as well. The verse that came to mind is from Isaiah 6:8. “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’”
We are blessed to have numerous Christians serving as legislators within North Dakota’s Capitol. While many of them never set out to become state legislators, they all answered the call that the Lord had on their lives for our state. I admire them for this. Stepping into a calling isn’t always the easiest task. I’ve seen the legislative process in this state and know for a fact that this calling is not for the faint of heart, so whenever you get the chance, please thank your legislators.
NDFA is blessed to be uniquely positioned to serve as a valuable educational resource to our legislators and candidates. We can help prepare them for their work in the state legislature with an event like the Legislative Academy, and God willing, we will continue to prepare Christian legislators for generations to come.
This was a remarkable event, and we would not have been able to do it without you, so thank you so much for your financial support!
iVoterGuide Partnership: Equipping You To Vote Wisely
We have partnered with iVoterGuide to help you make biblical voting decisions this November. iVoterGuide is the nation’s largest candidate research organization focused exclusively on informing and mobilizing voters with biblical values. As such, we share many values with them including marriage/family, the sanctity of life, God-honoring citizenship, and religious liberty. We firmly agree with their stance that “elections are the front lines of an everyday, year-round, fifty-state battle for the soul of our country”.
We appreciate the valuable research that went into this handy tool and hope that you will too. Please enter your address here to find the specific election information relating to your ballot. Remember, your vote is your voice!
Please Vote "No" on Legalizing Marijuana
I enjoyed my college years, and I have to admit that a significant part of that enjoyment was because I was 2,500 miles from home. I was ready to experience the “sweet taste of freedom” that college offered, and many of my other freshman classmates felt the same way. I’m not proud to admit that many of us did really stupid things that first year. My apologies to the parent we hit with a water balloon from the roof of our dorm, and to the campus security guard we scared by putting a mannequin in the dark closet they needed to check each night.
One thing I did observe was that every so often that freedom took a seriously wrong turn. Instead of water balloons and mannequins, my university classmates often turned to marijuana (aka weed), amphetamines, and similar drugs. The results were obvious. Two of my close friends who smoked “weed” on a daily basis became so detached, that one dropped out after a semester, and the other went on to other drugs and eventually landed in jail from a felony conviction. I am convinced that marijuana played a key role in their indifference to school and life in general. It was really a shame. They became incapable of living up to their God-given potential.
North Dakota is facing ballot Measure 5, which would legalize recreational marijuana, allowing individuals who are 21 and older to possess and use various forms of weed. I’m not surprised by the “21 and older” provision. It makes everyone feel safer to vote “yes”. It’s similar to the laws intended to keep you, your friends, and family members from ever smoking or drinking as minors. Let me know how that works out.
There is also a section of the measure to direct a state agency to administer and regulate the system, and provisions which are intended to shield employers from work-related issues.
Does all this sound familiar? It should. This is the third time that groups have tried to legalize marijuana in ND since 2018. Make no mistake, this is a war of attrition; it has been for every state in their crosshairs.
We at North Dakota Family Alliance stand with many other respected organizations opposing this measure; organizations such as the North Dakota Medical Association, North Dakota Hospital Association, Mandan Police Department, Burleigh County Sheriff’s Office, North Dakota Petroleum Council, North Dakota Association of General Contractors, North Dakota Motor Carriers, North Dakota Farmers Union, and North Dakota Catholic Conference.
As we’ve all seen in Minnesota, Colorado, California, Washington state, and 20 others, marijuana legalization is a road that we don’t want to start down. Let’s not allow ND to become the 25th U.S. state that legalizes recreational weed. Please join with us in voting “No” on Measure 5 in November.
What is important to you?
Since assuming the role of Executive Director of North Dakota Family Alliance, I have been honored to work with other nonprofits, legislators, churches, and our allies across the state to represent our shared pro-life and pro-family values. As we approach the upcoming 2025 legislative session, we’ve been working on a number of topics/bills based upon factors such as, which topics we feel God is calling us to engage on, key social issues, issues raised by legislators and partners, and so on. However, I also find myself asking, what policy issues are most important to you? We represent biblical values on your behalf, so what do you think the most pressing topics should be for us?
As citizens who hold the types of values we do, we often find ourselves under attack. Yes, bills will be introduced into the next legislative session that we will need to respond to, but what bills would you like to see introduced into the legislature proactively? What policies do you believe will enable us to keep North Dakota a state where God is honored, families thrive, religious freedom flourishes, and life is cherished?
You help set our policy agenda in North Dakota, so I want to hear from you. Please email me at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org with the top one or two policy issues that you feel are most important. We are listening, and together we will make a lasting difference in the 2025 legislative session!
North Dakota Family Alliance's Statement on Judge Romanick's Ruling Against ND Abortion Law
North Dakota Family Alliance is deeply disappointed in yesterday’s ruling by Judge Bruce Romanick to strike down our state’s abortion law. The court ruled against pro-life values, citing that our state’s abortion law was unconstitutional due to “vagueness,” and because, “pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability exists under the enumerated and unenumerated interests protected by the North Dakota Constitution”. We strongly disagree.
Unrestricted access to abortion is now possible in North Dakota, putting women and the unborn children they carry at extreme risk. Our meticulously crafted law has been thrown out by the court in a ruling derived from activist decision-making and personal opinion.
The court’s ruling dismantles years of careful work done to protect unborn North Dakota children – laws put in place by the North Dakota Legislature with an overwhelming level of support. This decision has the power to make North Dakota one of the most liberal states in our nation on the issue of abortion and is clearly not the will of the people, as evidenced by decades of protecting life in this state.
North Dakota Family Alliance always has and always will fight ardently to protect and defend life in the state of North Dakota and to represent your values. The North Dakota Attorney General’s office has stated that they will appeal this judgment, and we pray the North Dakota Supreme Court will reverse this poorly reasoned decision.