Marybeth Wadlinger

My name is Marybeth Wadlinger, a veteran homeschool parent from Wolfeboro. The passage of HB 1268 upholds parental freedom but does not fully block future intrusive requirements or controls. Only a Constitutional amendment will protect families from these harms. At the framing of the Constitution of the United States, many feared that the new federal government could trample fundamental rights without clear guarantees. To that end, James Madison delineated the Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the Constitution. We are familiar with these - freedom of speech, religion, assembly, etc. But the 9th amendment is germane to this current debate. Framers were concerned that listing these rights might be construed as exhaustive and would allow the trampling over all the others that were not enumerated. The 9th Amendment affirms that people possess rights beyond those expressly written in the Constitution. The right and responsibility of parents to direct the moral and intellectual upbringing of their children is inalienable. It is a 9th amendment right.