July 27, 2023

Dear John,

Last week in California, the Chino Valley school district voted to require schools to notify parents if their child begins to identify with a gender other than their biological sex.

Under the new policy, schools must inform parents if their child wants to use a different name, different pronouns, or if their child wants to use a different bathroom than the one aligned with their biological sex. This change is an important and necessary measure to protect children in public schools and directly results from parents getting involved in their children's education.

Unfortunately, the Left becomes furious when parents get involved in education and school boards begin instituting common sense policies.

President of the Chino Valley School Board, Sonja Shaw, was interviewed by Jody Hice on last Friday's Washington Watch episode about her commitment to parental rights and children's safety, even as her own safety was at risk. Her interview was repeatedly interrupted by death threats that she was receiving on her phone!

Thankfully, on Monday, we were able to have Sonja back on Washington Watch to continue the interview and find out about the threats she's receiving for standing up for vulnerable children and for the rights of parents.

As Sonja told me Monday, after the vote, "Our district received a phone call. A lot of things were said, but one thing was very clear. This person said they were going to kill me and... dismember [me]."

"[When I looked at] my district email, I [saw] things like 'You're going to die'... 'your children are going to die' and 'your animals are going to die,' and... they would name what kind of animals I had... I also received notifications that people who identified with the terrorist organization Antifa [had] posted on their website 'We declare war on Sonja Shaw.'"

At Family Research Council, we know all too well that such threats are very real, extremely dangerous, and potentially deadly. As you may know, in 2012 an armed gunman entered our headquarters in Washington, D.C. with 100 rounds of ammunition and shot and injured our building manager with the intent to kill as many staff as possible because of our unwavering commitment to the biblical definition of marriage. I know what Sonja and her family are experiencing. My family has had to have special protection. Fortunately, law enforcement officials took these threats seriously and made arrests before we experienced another attack. However, Family Research Council is not the only organization or individual that has been attacked. The Left has a violent history of turning these threats into action.

It's not easy to stand up to a violent mob such as Antifa, but that is exactly what Sonja is doing. We commend her for her bravery and decision to stand for biblical truth in her school district -- no matter the cost.

This is only one example of the education battles raging in our nation today. As a matter of fact, the Temecula Valley Unified School District -- only an hour from Sonja's school district -- caved to pressure from the state's Governor, Gavin Newsom, earlier this week to accept a curriculum that promotes LGBTQ figures like Harvey Milk.

Thankfully, there are other parents and school board members like Sonja across the country who are standing up against the Left's blatant indoctrination attempts -- and they need our support!

Would you join FRC and sign our pledge thanking Sonja for her courage and committing to pray for her? Our goal is to gather thousands of signatures from like-minded individuals encouraging her and others like her to stand strong.

It's hard for any of us to stand up to this kind of mob alone. But together, we can turn the tide of this radical and dangerous sexual agenda that's coming after our kids!

Sign the pledge today!