John,
Her knees were knocking.
She wasn’t Ronald Reagan or Winston Churchill. But she knew she couldn’t remain silent any longer.
Rep. Robin Lundstrum sponsored the SAFE Act to prohibit gender transition procedures on minors — placing her reputation on the line to protect the children of Arkansas.
Despite a barrage of public attacks, 71 brave men and women joined her in the fight and ultimately passed the legislation, igniting the Help Not Harm movement.
A version of this legislation is now in place in more than 20 states – and growing.
This is the incredible impact that a few everyday people can have when they are committed to their values and have been trained to take bold action in the public square.
Before taking her stand, Robin attended Family Policy Alliance Foundation’s Statesmen Academy® for an intensive in-person training seminar designed to ground legislators in conservative values, arm them with model bills (like that on which the SAFE act was based), connect them with a network of like-minded statesmen, and prepare them to take bold action in the states.
John, this is how we train and equip a new generation of leaders who will move into positions of authority with the influence to shape our states and the nation as a whole for decades.
And I’m excited to tell you that Robin’s story isn’t unique.
Remember the flurry of victories we’ve witnessed in the last two years in the fight to save girls’ sports and protect minors from transgender drugs and surgeries?
What you probably DIDN’T hear in the news is that in numerous states, the legislators who sponsored those bills were also Statesmen Academy graduates.
In fact, we recently saw yet another victory! Led by Rep. Jena Powell, a 2019 Statesmen Academy alumna, the Ohio legislature overrode a Republican governor’s veto to successfully pass those same protections earlier this year!
It’s no accident that these bills are passing. Through the Statesmen Academy:
- We provide model legislation and best practices for leading on hot-button issues.
- Lawmakers hear about the importance of boldness as well as wisdom.
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They rub shoulders with and are encouraged by colleagues from other states.
- They build deeper bonds with our allied family policy councils in their states—critical for closely working together to overcome intense opposition to these bills.
That training and team effort are contributing directly to the reason why we’re seeing so many policy wins on these and other issues—including life, education reform, school choice, and parental rights.
John, the best part is that our Statesmen grads are growing in influence, from becoming committee chairmen, speakers, and majority and minority leaders to moving up to higher office, including Congress.
Our training program has a proven track record of success and is building the pro-family legislative “farm team” that our nation so desperately needs.
But we can’t do it alone. As a nonprofit organization, we’re only able to train as many statesmen as our budget allows. In 2023, we had our biggest class yet, and we hope to train and empower even more leaders in 2024.
Will you help make that possible by chipping in $25 or $50 today to sponsor socially conservative statesmen and ensure they can receive this valuable training? Your gift will provide training for others as well, like school board members, parents and social conservatives across the country.
When you make a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE gift today, every dollar will be DOUBLED – up to $300,000 – to maximize your impact in the fight.
