Keeping it Simple...
Family Notification has many great facets. First and foremost is it's simplicity. The initiative itself is simply common sense. We all know parents and families have always had both the right and responsibility to be involved in life altering, much less potentially life threatening, decisions by their minor children.
Proposition 4 the 2008 CA "Child and Teen Protection and Stop Predators Act" or Sarah's Law is also simple. Basically there are 3 phases spread out throughout the year. Each step is guaranteed to be easy, legal and rewarding.
Phase 1 Signature Gathering - Completed!
Sarah's Law Qualifies with 1,250,000 Signatures Gathered!
Phase 2 Voter Registration (May - September)
Voter Registration: Voter registration may be done by individuals, churches or organizations. Registration drives may be extended into communities by volunteers.
Phase 3 Get Out The Vote (August-November 4th)
 Prop. 4 Voter Education: Some things are just to good to keep to yourself! Sarah's Law and the cycle of abuse it will help end
certainly falls into this category. Our parental rights and the health and well being of our minor daughters are at stake. We owe it to our children, ourselves, and our communities to take a stand. California needs to hear our voice. Now is the time to break the silence.
Get Out the Vote for Prop. 4: Encouraging your members to vote according to their faith and values is vital and simple. This can be done through bulletin announcements, inserts, flyer distribution and speaking on the issue.
A pastor might preach a Pro-Sarah's Law message and play our 2 minute video, "Protect Me...Please" just prior to the election.
Influencing Your Community: Many churches will go the extra mile and become promotional material deistribution hubs for individuals, chuches and community organizations.
Because this is an initiative and not party politics all this is perfectly legal. Please see the letter from the Pacific Justice Institute.
Another law firm confirming the legality of church participation is The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is an interfaith, nonpartisan, public interest law firm dedicated to promoting and defending the free, public expression of all religious traditions. They point out the key question in determining whether the Church is permitted to allow solicitation of signatures for a petition on its property is whether such activity constitutes political campaigning (impermissible under the IRC) or influencing legislation (lobbying that is NOT banned but only limited). According to applicable regulations, ballot initiatives fall squarely within the scope of influencing legislation:
The term "legislation," as used in this subdivision, includes action by the Congress, by any State legislature, by any local council or similar governing body, or by the public in a referendum, initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure .
For a more comprehensive treatment of the issue, including excerpts from actual IRS tax codes, please view our Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Letter.
Sarah's Law materials are provided free of charge by. For more information call 866-828-8355 or email Mike@FriendsofSarah.com
Friends of Sarah
1703 India Street
San Diego, CA 92101 |
