Email from American Values Resources for pastors and values voters. Fighting For Faith, Family & Freedom Tuesday, August 19, 2025 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer Friends, the challenges we face are enormous. To defend our values, we are partnering with various allies, including Lindsey Communications, The Lindsey Foundation, Faith Wins and the Pacific Justice Institute to empower the resurgence of the Church vote. Below is their latest alert. Please share the resources included here with your church leaders and fellow worshippers. – Gary The Church Finds Its Voice A Coalition of Lindsey Communications, The Lindsey Foundation, Faith Wins and the Pacific Justice Institute to Empower the Resurgence of the Church Vote! SPECIAL COMM 64: Chad, Brad, Kielle & Joan ask YOU to READ & WATCH this NOW There is dangerous legislation about to be voted on in the California State Senate. Your voice is needed ASAP. URGENT: AB 495 "Family Unity and Preparedness Act" is anything but. This horror could actually allow a transfer of custodial rights from the parent to any adult applicant, completely elbowing aside the rights of the child's parent. Any applicant. MESSAGE YOUR STATE SENATOR AND GOVENOR NEWSOM RIGHT NOW! WE NEED EVERYONE TO DO THIS TODAY. IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA BUT HAVE FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS WHO DO, PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH THEM! BELOW IS A SUGGESTED MESSAGE TO USE: I am a constituent and resident of the state of California (or else just say you're citizen) and strongly OPPOSE AB495! This is dangerous legislation that puts every child in the state in danger of being inappropriately handed over to a non-parental adult without any vetting. Instead of working with deportees to offer this on a case-by-case basis, this bill expands the opportunity for an unrelated adult to assume custody of a child to place children statewide in harm’s way, and additionally placed undue burden on educational institutions, day cares and even home schools and co-ops in a legally precarious position should an unrelated adult present an affidavit to take custody, legally and physically, of any minor. While proponents claim AB 495 is necessary to address immigration-related parental separations (such as deportation), its language applies to all children, regardless of context. The provision allowing guardianship when “parents cannot be located” is overly vague and ripe for abuse, enabling misuse in non-immigration scenarios without requiring proof of an immigration emergency. Without clear restrictions or accountability, AB 495 could facilitate exploitation under the guise of state approval, endangering the very children it claims to protect. This is a reckless overreach that prioritizes ideology over child safety. At the very least, this legislation should be reworked, reworded, and have guardrails applied that work within the current family law system and should only be provided to those it aims to aid, those being deported who choose not to have their children remain with them, instead of becoming statewide law. We are calling on every California State Senator to see the disastrous folly and horrifically potential effects of this bill, and reject it soundly. Click here to FIND YOUR STATE SENATOR and send a message ASAP. And Call Governor Gavin Newsom at 916-445-2841 to oppose this bill (Don't worry if you get an answering machine, just leave your message.) CHAD: If this issue isn’t on your radar, it should be - whether or not you live in California. If you are in California, this is truly a red alert!! AB 495 may be among the worst pieces of legislation introduced in our nation’s history. As usual, the rest of the nation tends to follow California and AB495 is a complete dismantling of parental rights and ridiculous protection for child predators! Please take a minute to watch this video from my friend Brad Dacus for a quick and straightforward explanation of why you need to act to notify everyone in your sphere who lives in California to call their legislators now! KIELLE: Urgent: Leave a message for your CA state senator AND for Governor Newsom to OPPOSE AB495! They must hear from as many people as possible on this issue. This is horrific and dangerous legislation, with close to no guidelines, that would allow anyone not related to your child to attempt to gain custody. If it sounds unrealistic, histrionic or you think it will only apply to children in certain circumstance or only in the public school system - it puts ALL children in the state of California at risk! Please believe that this is a legitimate bill that could be passed by the Senate tomorrow! We need everyone to call and email TODAY! JOAN: Hey you guys, this is Joan. This AB495 here in California is just truly appalling. California is a bellwether state, so if this thing passes here, the other states may very well get this same nightmare. Hey, we’ve all got kids and grandkids, and we just can’t let this get through. Brad Dacus, your attorney, has a video here and I want you to watch it. We’ve just asked Brad only to do a video for this emergency communication to you, because from a legal perspective this bill will destroy parental rights. Just shatter them. It would open the door to sex traffickers, pornography peddlers, you name it. And would kick off the worst legal mess you ever saw. We absolutely need you to pick up the phone please and call the California Governor’s office to protest. Or email. If you’re in California contact your senator. Just say “I have heard about this AB495 and I expect a ‘NO’ vote to get rid of this thing” That’s it. That’s all you have to say. Just say you’re strongly opposed to AB495. (Fuller wording is printed up above for you.) Now here’s Pacific Justice Institute attorney Brad Dacus in his brief important video about this for you. PLEASE WATCH!! ______________________________________________________________ The Church Finds Its Voice Leadership Coalition Joan Holt Lindsey, Owner and Founder of Lindsey Communications Chad Connelly, Founder and President of Faith Wins Brad Dacus, Founder and President of Pacific Justice Institute Kielle Lindsey is the President of the Lindsey Foundation ______________________________________________________________ NOW, WHERE WAS THAT AGAIN? Church Dos and Dont's Five Ways Pastors Can Encourage Their Members To Vote Find My State or Local Elections Office Website Pro-bono Law Firm Contact List How to Hold a Voter Registration Drive Voter Registration Resources by State Ballot Gathering Training Video & Ballot Gathering Procedures All Archived Past Church Finds Its Voice Comms ______________________________________________________________ TRUSTED MEDIA SOURCES (Credit: Media Research Center) Washington Examiner Daily Caller Washington Times Real Clear Politics The Daily Wire CNS News News Max One America News El American  ______________________________________________________________  www.churchfindsitsvoice.com Contact Us: Chad Connelly President, Faith Wins [email protected] To read more about Church Do’s and Don’ts and for an expanded list of resources and contacts to call for help, please visit: [link removed] Brad Dacus President, Pacific Justice Institute [email protected] Joan Holt Lindsey Founder and President, Lindsey Communications [email protected] Kielle C. Horton President, the Lindsey Foundation [email protected] MAKE YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION NOW SHARE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions may be mailed to the following address: American Values 2800 S. Shirlington Road Suite 950 Arlington, VA 22206 Phone: 703-671-9700 Email Gary End Of Day Sign Up End Of Day Archives Truth Social Bauer & Rose Podcast Listen to Gary's Defending Faith, Family, & Freedom Podcast   American Values | ouramericanvalues.org American Values | 2800 S. Shirlington Road Suite 950 | Arlington, VA 22206 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice