The Glenn Beck Program - Best of the Program | Guest: Mark Trammell | 4/17/25

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

Glenn reflects on Charlie Chaplin’s birthday, linking his resilient "Tramp" character to Americans’ hope. Was the "free trade" we were promised under NAFTA a lie? Glenn breaks it down, along with ...how insane the EU's tariffs and VAT taxes really are. Center for American Liberty CEO Mark Trammell shares the story of a mom in California who's fighting for her parental rights against a school that tried to hide her kid's gender transition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 What the heck does Mark Trammell, who's talking about the litigation in California that could take parental rights away from all of us, free trade, and Charlie Chaplin have in common? You'll hear it all on today's podcast. So you made it back from the camping trip. No bears ate you. No hunters shot you. You didn't drown in the river. You managed not to burn your tent to the ground and campfire. Congratulations. Just one tiny little problem. And I do mean tiny. You came back with a parasite. Huh? Here to talk to us about parasites is Stubergier, an expert on parasites. Yeah, that's true. That's me. I don't know anything about medicine or doctors or anything.
Starting point is 00:00:43 You been to space? I have not been to space. Are you a doctor? I'm not a doctor. I can't even talk about it. What I can say is that when you have an issue like that, you want to make sure you actually have the medication you need. And if you're seeing the supply chain stuff that we've been talking about a lot, as they're supposed to. over the past few years with COVID and trade and everything else, you want to be sure you're prepared.
Starting point is 00:01:03 And that's why the Jace case is great. Jace has their parasite use case, which is an emergency kit, specifically designed to help you with that particular situation. It also has ivermectin, has other powerful medicines that I can't even name, but we'll help you in your time of need. So check it out.
Starting point is 00:01:20 It is jace.com. Jase.com. J-A-S-E.com. The code is back. Get a checkout discount right now. The code is back at Jace. Hello, America. You know we've been fighting every single day. We push back against the lies, the censorship, the nonsense of the mainstream media that they're trying to feed you. We work tirelessly to bring you the unfiltered truth because you deserve it. But to keep this fight going,
Starting point is 00:01:46 we need you. Right now, would you take a moment and rate and review the Glenn Beck podcast? Give us five stars and lead a comment because every single review helps us break through Big Tech's algorithm to reach more Americans who need to hear the truth. This isn't a podcast. This is a movement and you're part of it, a big part of it. So if you believe in what we're doing, you want more people to wake up. Help us push this podcast to the top. Rate, review, share. Together, we'll make a difference. And thanks for standing with us. Now let's get to work. You're listening to the best of the Glenback program. We're going to get to some really important. I mean, not now, but at some point we'll get to some really important. So, you know, actually,
Starting point is 00:02:37 You know, the weak that it is, I think there are other things that are much more important. I think our attitude, our hope, our being the resilient American, is so important right now. You know, the world is watching us right now and how we're reacting. And I want to talk to you about what the president is doing with tariffs. I did a show last night that if you missed, you really need to see. and we'll go over it here in a little while. But the world's watching us, watching the president and watching us,
Starting point is 00:03:17 how are we reacting? Who are we as a nation? You know, a lot of people think that as people, we are just, uh, we can't take any pain, you know?
Starting point is 00:03:28 That's why fights will happen with the United States because they just think, our enemies just think they'll, they'll not be able to stand it. They can't take it. We can't take it. And is that who we are? I want to take you back to 19, 1920. We were a nation that was bruised by war. We were battered by the grind of progress. Everything
Starting point is 00:03:54 was changing, but we were dreaming. We were always, always dreaming of something better. That's who Americans are. Always dreaming. And it's what makes us different as a people. And that comes from hope. And where does hope come from? Hope comes from something, hope comes from faith in something real. Okay? That's something that is always given Americans hope is God and his promises, knowing that God is real and his promises are real. When you understand his promises, they're all based in hope. They're all based in love. And when God is real to people, they act differently. That's how you can tell a real Christian, do they act differently? Or are they still the same nasty people they always were? If you are, then you haven't been changed by it. When it becomes part of who you are and everything that you produce, that's how you know somebody has really changed. And as the world was faltering, millions were dead, you had the influenza of 1918 just right in your rearview mirror. Where did that hope come from? Where did you find hope in culture?
Starting point is 00:05:11 there was in World War I and after World War I, there was somebody who was very, very small, small by design that was flickering on the movie screen. He wasn't a king, he wasn't a titan, he wasn't that strong American square-jawed hero, but he was a hero. He was an American hero. And most people don't look at him this way. but he didn't need any fancy titles or, you know, land or money or anything else.
Starting point is 00:05:45 Because in the end, he was a hero because he was simply you. He was simply me. He was all of us. He was every man. He's the guy who's, you know, down on his luck, but he has nothing but a spark in his eye and a stubborn refusal to give up. He is the American citizen. psyche made flesh. He's flawed. He was scrappy. You know, he'd cut a corner or two, you know, when the landlord's knocking. Maybe he'd be loafing when the sun was too warm, but steel, be
Starting point is 00:06:23 dishonest, never. Harm somebody else? Never, not in a million years. This hero was actually homeless, or as Americans used to say, a tramp. He was the tramp. Today is Charlie Chaplin's birthday. And I want to bring him up for one reason. Charlie's Little Tramp is America and is the American spirit. He's lasted this long in our memories for a reason. But I don't think anybody really talks about it. Charlie's Little Tramp was always in it for something bigger, bigger than him.
Starting point is 00:07:05 Honor, decency, the kind, quiet nobility that just doesn't need a megaphone. to shout its worth. It just is. Most people have never really even seen a Charlie Chaplin movie, but they'd recognize him, but they don't even really know why. Watch the movie City Lights. It's 1931.
Starting point is 00:07:28 I don't think I've ever gotten my wife to be able to sit through it. She's like, huh? She's a Charlie Chaplin. I know it's silent and everything else, but it is so good. It is the best storytelling on screen that you've seen, maybe ever. and it's about this tramp, this guy with, you know, patches on his coat and just lives on the street. And he stumbles into love.
Starting point is 00:07:50 And he loves not some starlet, not with somebody, you know, draped in diamonds, but a blind flower girl who is just selling flowers on the corner. She has nothing. She's poor. And the best thing about her for the little tramp is she can't see the person. patches on his coat. Now, they meet each other several times through the film. She thinks he's a millionaire. She thinks he's a millionaire because he's buying her flowers and there was confusion at the beginning of this giant Rolls-Royce that pulled up and she could hear it and she could hear the servant, get the guy out of the car. And Charlie just happened to take a walk through the car because
Starting point is 00:08:33 the car was blocking his way to get to the sidewalk. So he just walked through the car and she thought he was the millionaire. And he doesn't correct her, but he doesn't. you know, try to impress her or demand her awe or anything. He just loves her. And so in the movie, he learns that there's a doctor who can restore her sight, a miracle, but it had a pretty high price tag. So what does this guy do? Never has two nickels to rub together.
Starting point is 00:09:03 He actually does something that he doesn't like to do. He goes to work. He sweeps the streets. He boxes in a ring. He scrapes and he claws for every pen. just to pay her rent and then to fund her surgery. And when he's done, when her eyes are open, he doesn't come in with a cape fluttering and, you know, you should be grateful to me.
Starting point is 00:09:28 I'm your savior. He didn't do any of that. Instead, he passes a flower shop and he looks in and he's thinking of her and he sees, there she is in the flower shop. she can now see and she's working in the flower shop. She's not selling them on the corner anymore. And she turns and looks at him and he immediately starts to walk away. He doesn't, he's not looking for anything.
Starting point is 00:09:52 He just is looking for her joy. Watching her joy from the shadows is enough for him. He doesn't need credit. When you see this scene, I mean, it just makes your heart ache with pride. And to me, it screams America because that's who we are. We as people have always felt the joy of lifting others up, you know, finding your heart full because you know somebody else is smiling. Charlie Chaplin wasn't just a face on the screen. He is us.
Starting point is 00:10:33 And sometimes we forget who that is. He was a creator. He was a genius. He wrote he came up with a little tramp in the museum. We have Charlie Chaplin's trappings. This is Charlie Chaplin's cane from those movies. It was given to Danny Kaye back in the 1950s because there was a story, I think, in Time magazine, that said, Danny Kay is the new Charlie Chaplain.
Starting point is 00:11:10 And Danny Kay, one day, got a knock on his door, and there standing at his door was, Charlie Chaplin, an aging film star. And he presented it to Danny Kay and said, they say you're the new me. You have to have the cane. How remarkable is that. To be called a Charlie Chaplin back then, I mean, he wrote, he directed.
Starting point is 00:11:39 Do you know he composed the scores for all of his films? And the reason why I'm bringing this up is because, you know, this guy has brought joy for so long. long after he's dead. One of the songs he wrote for the Little Flower Girl, he wrote it, and it's in the movie, it's the theme of the movie. You've heard a million times,
Starting point is 00:12:02 but probably had no idea that that was from that movie or any movie, and you had no idea that Charlie Chaplin ever wrote it. But this is who he was. Your heart is aching. Smile, even though. It's breaking When there are clouds
Starting point is 00:12:30 This is the American spirit. It doesn't matter. There's clouds in the sky. There's tomorrow. No matter how much you hurt, no matter how much you're struggling, it's going to be okay. It's going to get better.
Starting point is 00:12:49 And I don't think it's a coincidence that that song with that sentiment written by him, really who he was as a person, as a character at least, endures. If you ask people now, name a giant of the 20th century that from the very beginning of the 20th century to the end of the 20th century, name enduring stars. Some people might say, I don't know, John Wayne. But there's two names that will come up every time, every time. Charlie Chaplin. They don't even know why, but he has burned and seared into our collective memory.
Starting point is 00:13:36 And there's another one, Mickey Mouse. And the amazing thing is, and I don't ever, I've never heard anybody talk about this before. So this is just me, but it's the same character. Walt Disney ripped Charlie Chaplin off. Mickey Mouse is Charlie Chaplin. Mickey Mouse is the one who is down. on his luck. He's always down on his luck, him and his dog. He's always there just trying to make somebody else happy. He doesn't win in the end. Charlie Chaplin and Mickey Mouse, they don't win
Starting point is 00:14:12 in the end, but they do. They see something bigger than just the win that we would all see. Mickey is the animated echo of the tramp, which I think those two are the best cultural icons of the 20th century. When people think of the American century and we think, oh, you want to go back to the little leave it to beaver days, you want to go back to the black and white days, the days of the 1950s, no, that's not, that isn't what I think of.
Starting point is 00:14:49 I think of individuals like the tramp and Mickey Mouse. Those were the ones that influenced us. and showed us who we could be. So if things are getting down in your life, just remember today is Charlie Chaplin's birthday. And just remember, smile. No matter how bad things are getting, no matter how dark things are,
Starting point is 00:15:24 there is light and it is still shining, especially this week. It's shining. And in America, we still have it better than anybody else in the world as long as we can dream. As long as we can dream, we can be whatever we want to be. As long as we can dream, we can do.
Starting point is 00:15:46 And Americans have always dared to dream, to do, and to believe in something better. You know, the First Amendment wasn't written for the speech you like. It was written for the speech you don't like. I mean, you don't need to protect. Whatever is like, you know what, you are the greatest. You're the greatest. You're like, you know what? We better protect that speech. I'm not going to try to silence that speech. Speech is protected when it's something everybody says, stop saying that. Now, how ironic and scary is it that the platforms and the pipelines that carry your voice the furthest are controlled by people you often don't believe in, you know, and they don't believe in the freedom that you have? We've watched the left crack down on ideas they don't like for decades, shutting down debate, throttling content, cutting off people who dare to think differently.
Starting point is 00:16:41 And you know who's been aligned with them the whole time? A lot of the major mobile carriers. Oh, you mean the ones that were triangulating? Grandma, who was in D.C. on January 6th, didn't even need a warrant just, hey, I want to tell you who was there. This old lady was there. She's got something going on. This is why Patriot Mobile exists. They're America's only Christian conservative wireless provider.
Starting point is 00:17:04 They have built a network that supports rights enshrined in our Constitution, not just with words, but with the money you send them and with their actions. You still get reliable nationwide 5G coverage, excellent U.S.-based customer service, and a peace of mind that comes with knowing that your money isn't working against everything you believe. So make the switch today. PatriotMobil.com slash back. 972 Patriot, 972 Patriot or PatriotMobil.com slash Beck. Now back to the podcast. This is the best of the Glenn Beck program, and we really want to thank you for listening. Last night I did a show on trade, and this is something that Stu and I have been talking about and kicking back and forth, because I am a free trader. I believe in free trade.
Starting point is 00:17:47 However, I think that there are things that have truly changed. And it really goes back to World War II. and then to the 1970s, and then to NAFTA. And we've short-changed ourselves every step of the way. And it just, it's gutted us. It's gutted us. Can we play cut-eight? This is from last night how NAFTA has affected all 50 states.
Starting point is 00:18:16 Listen. The promised prosperity never showed up. The NAFTA winners were Mexico and Canada. Remember, he started that whole thing with expanded global trade. NAFTA turned Mexico into a manufacturing haven. U.S. companies, including Ford and GM, raced across the border for cheaper labor and to make auto parts and electronics. During the first seven years of NAFTA, Mexico added a million new manufacturing jobs. Good for Mexico, not good for us.
Starting point is 00:18:49 In 1993, Mexico's exports to the U.S. totaled almost $40 billion. By 2000, those exports totaled under 136 billion, over 300% growth in seven years of NAFTA. The U.S. now has a trade deficit with Mexico ranging from $171.71 billion every single year since 1994. What does that mean? That means we're buying a lot of stuff, but we're not selling a lot of stuff. We're not making stuff. We're buying stuff. What about Canada? Well, they hit the NAFTA jackpot as well. At the end of 1993, when NAFTA was signed, Canada enjoyed almost an $11 billion trade surplus with the U.S. By the year 2000, that surplus was over $52 billion. And just like we have with Mexico, the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada between $13 and $78 billion every year since 1994. It's a sweet deal. if you're Canadian. Now look, I have no problem with prosperity all over everywhere.
Starting point is 00:20:01 I don't want to hurt other countries, but I do think it's right for us to care about our country to make sure it doesn't slide into the abyss. Meanwhile, while that's happening, by 2000, the U.S. had over 76,000 job losses related to NAFTA. Where's your prosperity? Some states were hit harder than others, but NAFTA-related job losses affected all 50 states. American factories became empty shells.
Starting point is 00:20:32 Now, that's just not a stat. It was 766,000 families wondering, how are we going to pay our mortgage? It is remarkable when you look at the full thing, and you really have to understand, because I am a free trade guy. I am. But we have done things and signed treaties. from 1946, then 70s, and then the 90s, and we made bets that I think were bad bets. And there's no problem on trying to help. You know, the reason why we have a lot of these tariffs over in Europe is because in 1946,
Starting point is 00:21:10 we decided we needed to help rebuild Europe. And that's good. That was a good thing and a righteous thing. It wasn't necessary that we did it, but we wanted to do it. well, now there comes a time when we need to rebuild our own country. And that's not at the expense of others. It's just we have to pay attention to our own country. And if you talk to people, you know, especially with the World Trade Organization,
Starting point is 00:21:35 maybe even European Union and Canada and even China, free trade is what we have or what we had. And then Donald Trump came in and blew it up. But if that's what they believe, I want to take you to just one guy. Joe, carmaker, Toledo, Ohio. He's a dreamer at heart. He builds sedans to rival the very best. Okay.
Starting point is 00:21:59 Joe has a vision. His car is born in America, gleaming from the lots of Detroit to Dusseldorf. He builds a great car. But is the trade free? Is it fair? Well, let's take one of Joe's cars. We're going to take a trip bound for Germany. $30,000 car bound for Germany now.
Starting point is 00:22:20 This journey, as Joe knows all too well, is a wake-up call. Joe's sedan rolls off the line, a marvel of steel and sweat, all for $30,000. And he dreams this is going to compete in Europe. This is just as good as anything they have over in Europe. And it's cheaper. It's cheaper. People crave quality over in Europe. The world's not a level playing field, I know, but I've just made a better car.
Starting point is 00:22:46 So the car hits the docks bound for Hamburg. shipping costs are $1,500, insurance, another $450. Now, the cost of the $30,000 car is $31,950, before it even smells the salt of the ocean. Joe takes it on the chin because he knows that shipping fee and insurance are part of the process. That's the price you have to pay if you want to show off your creation to the rest of the world. You've got to get it over there. But he doesn't necessarily account for what comes next. Joe's car now at $31,000, docks in Germany.
Starting point is 00:23:18 And now the EU, the gatekeepers, pounce. There's a 10% tariff because it's coming from America. That's $3,195. They strap that onto Joe's dream just for crossing the border. Why? Because the EU protects its own. America has the doors wide open. EU says, wait a minute, it's coming from America.
Starting point is 00:23:40 Slap tariff on it. Okay. So Germany's cars, just they waltz into the U.S. with a 2.5% tariff. Fair? You tell me. 2.5 versus 10%. Joe's car is now at $35,145, and we're just getting started.
Starting point is 00:23:57 Next, they have the value-added tax, the VAT tax, 19% in Germany. That's $6,67 hit on the tariffed price. That's not a tariff, they say. That's just a tax. Okay. But it's a tax on Joe's car. It doesn't happen on Volkswagen. That skips the import duty. So he's having to pay almost $7,000 just on a VAT tax for the import of the car.
Starting point is 00:24:26 But he already paid for the import tax. So add another $105 customers fee. Joe Sedan now is at $41,927 before it leaves the port. Free trade? Well, more like a toll road with no off ramp. Next, the cars hauled inland, $315 to a Berlin dealership. The dealer, smelling profit, tax on, 15% margin at $6,289. Now the car is at $48,531, and Joe's dream is fading just a little bit. The dealer says, you know, we're just going to round up. It's going to be $50,000, round and proud. Okay. But wait.
Starting point is 00:25:06 Now there's a VAT again, 19% on the sale. So it's $95 for the buyer. The dealer offsets the import tax. but the consumer stuck with a full bill now. Toss in $315 for the registration and taxes. Joe's car hits the lot at $59,815. That's double the price that it was when it sat on the lot in Toledo, Ohio. Now it's the same price, maybe even a little cheaper than a BMW.
Starting point is 00:25:37 Is Joe's car as good as a BMW, that trusted brand? This is a rigged game. Picture Joe back in Ohio staring at his factory floor. His $30,000 car is sedan built with American grit cost German $60,000. A BMW made in Munich skips all the tariff, ducks all the import VATs. It lands thousands cheaper. And Joe's car, it's priced out. His dream is crushed by tariffs.
Starting point is 00:26:09 This is why I'm a free trade guy. I don't like tariffs. But if you're going to have tariffs, then we should have tariffs. And maybe, maybe, just maybe, that it's time we start thinking about ourselves. You know, I am a free trader, but is our country in good shape? Can we continue to do the things that we've always done by giving everybody else the benefit of the doubt? I mean, this is not the tale that is spun by, you know, all the suits, not all of the, you know, Brussels and Beijing. They're not telling this story.
Starting point is 00:26:41 Do we have free trade anywhere? I mean real free trade. The reality is it's a gauntlet of fees. It's a maze of levies. It's a system that we've played nice with for far too long. We've taken it because a couple of reasons. One, we're good people. After the war, we wanted to rebuild Japan.
Starting point is 00:26:59 We wanted to rebuild Germany and the rest of Europe. So we just said, hey, let's do what's right for you guys because you guys are really suffering. And it wasn't that we're just, you know, Mother Teresa. It was good for us. It made sense. We wanted them as a trading party. partner, we also wanted them to be safe and secure because if they're not safe and secure, we're not safe and secure. So it was good for all of us, all of us. But there comes a time when
Starting point is 00:27:24 you're like, hey, we have our own problems here at home. We really need to concentrate on ourselves here a little bit. We need to pay attention. We've tried to, you know, have you ever seen a mom who just works her fingers to the bones for her kids? And she's doing all the right things. And she's not doing it to be some hero. She's doing it because it's the right thing to do. She's just a good mom. But at some point, you know, the doctors and hopefully her husband and even her children will go, mom, you got to stop. You got to stop. You can't take care of any of us if you don't take care of yourself. That's where we are as a country right now. We won't be able to help anyone if we don't stop and help ourselves first. By the way, if Joe happened to be building cars in Japan and sent a car
Starting point is 00:28:12 from Germany to Japan another country that we rebuilt do you know how much the tariff is do you know what it would cost the Japanese car how much would be added to the Japanese car zero we rebuilt these countries
Starting point is 00:28:31 and it was our doing our choice but it's time that maybe we stop we stop okay we stop when does a person like Joe get his turn. Ask the middle manufacturer in middle America about free and fair trade.
Starting point is 00:28:53 Because as it stands right now, I'm not sure it's free or fair. This is a hard debate that America has to have. This is a debate that I don't even know if I'm on the right side. I honestly don't. I've always been on the other side. But I'm to the point to where I know what's coming. I know what's coming. I know. the price we're going to have to pay, I know how bad it is if we keep kicking the can down the road. It's the same thing that we're doing with Social Security. It's the same thing we're doing with spending. It's the same thing we're doing with everything. And we don't do anything because no politician will tell you the truth. No politician has any idea or the guts to do it, or the guts to do it. They might say they have the guts, but then when it comes to it, then they start getting
Starting point is 00:29:43 pressure and they immediately back down. Do you know the kind of pressure that I think Donald Trump is under right now? From the whole world, from the Fed, from everybody else, people in his own party, you imagine the pressure this guy is under? And yet he's like, no, I believe it's right. When's the last time you had a president that did that? That wasn't doing it for politics, was doing it because he actually, he might be wrong, but he's actually doing it because he believes it's the right thing to do.
Starting point is 00:30:13 name the last president. Reagan? And what was he doing it on? The last big threat we had to our nation. Russia, communism. This threat is just the threat of us not doing the right thing. This isn't a threat of, you know, some foreign ideology, although we have those. This one's just, can we stop spending money?
Starting point is 00:30:42 Can we stop giving everybody else a break? and having this weird self-hatred so much that we're like, no, you know what, everybody else should get the break. We shouldn't get the break. No, no, no, no. At least for a time period. Maybe we should. Maybe we should say, hey, everybody, we love you.
Starting point is 00:31:01 But we got to take care of ourselves. I think that's what Donald Trump is doing. This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. If you thought your rights as a parent were secure, now that President Trump is in office, you might want to think again, bad actors all across the country continue to try to circumvent the administration and violate the Constitution. In Colorado now there is a bill making its way through the state legislature that would create legal grounds for the state to revoke custody of parents who misgender their children,
Starting point is 00:31:42 named the Kelly Loving Act, named after a 40-year-old transgendered man who was killed in a club in 2022. in Massachusetts, a mom is accused of kidnapping her own children. And in California, a case was dismissed against a school district in which a guidance counselor helped a girl secretly socially transitioned from female to male without a single call to her mom. And in fact, when she wanted to talk to her mom, she's in fifth grade. When she wanted to talk to her mom, the school discouraged her from talking to her mom. Now a federal judge has resurrected this case, and it could be precedent-setting for the rights of parents in California and all across the country because, you know,
Starting point is 00:32:22 whatever happens in California trickles down to the rest of us. This is a really important case. Mark Trammell is the CEO for the Center of American Liberty. Mark, welcome to the program. How are you? I'm well. Thanks for having me, Glenn. First of all, you are replacing Harmeet Dillon as the CEO of Center for American Liberty.
Starting point is 00:32:41 Those are huge shoes to fill. But congratulations on the job. Now let's continue the work here. What is happening here in California? Tell me about this story. Yeah, so Aurora Regino, her daughter was in the fifth grade. She was actually 11 years old when an elementary school guidance counselor facilitated the social transition of Aurora's daughter from female to male
Starting point is 00:33:07 without so much as a phone call to Aurora. So as a result of this egregious violation of Aurora's parental right, we filed a lawsuit. We filed a lawsuit in federal court, and unfortunately the court dismissed the case. The court, I think, just absolutely got it wrong, and that caused us to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We filed that appeal. Hold on just a second. Why did they just dismiss it? What was the reason for just not hearing the case, just dismissing it? They dismissed it because the court reason that there was not a constitutional right, violated. So in fact, what's really interesting is the response from the court of appeals.
Starting point is 00:33:55 So last year we filed an appeal at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. When you file that appeal, you have a three-judge panel that here's the case. They came out just about a week or two ago and gave an opinion. And they said the lower court applied the wrong standard. And this is what the standard that the lower court applied. They said that we failed to establish that there was a fundamental right violated because there was an existing precedent that clearly established that fundamental right, which is a ludicrous standard. I mean, doesn't our Constitution say if it's not enumerated in the Constitution, it belongs to the state or the people? It does. It does. So we don't need an enumerated right to have, you know, control of our own family and counsel.
Starting point is 00:34:44 with our own children, right? Correct. Correct. In fact, the Ninth Circuit gave direction to the lower court and said, look, the standard that you applied is, of course, ludicrous. The standard that you should apply is this idea that there's a fundamental right if something is objectively, deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition. And so here, the lower court expected us to point to precedent that said parents have a right to know and to consent to the social transition of their child in a public school setting. Well, of course, there's not case law that says that because this is a new phenomenon
Starting point is 00:35:24 that's happening, not just in California, but in states across the country where these parental secrecy policies are being implemented and being applied, where schools are really poisoning kids' minds at a very young age as early as kindergarten with this idea of transgenderism and changing their gender and it's all on this basis, this legal falsehood that kids have a right to privacy from their parents. It's completely a legal falsehood. So we are encouraged. We're encouraged that this case has been revived by the Ninth Circuit of all places. The Ninth Circuit is getting this issue right, whereas we've seen some other circuits across the country, get it wrong. Can I ask you something?
Starting point is 00:36:11 When did the Ninth Circuit become like halfway sane? They've always been crazy. What happened there? There wasn't like an announcement. It's like we just slipped through a wormhole and all of a sudden they make sense. What happened there? Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:27 I mean, it is a, it's bizarre. It is. It makes me question everything. But anyway, go ahead. You know, I'm not going to argue with it. If the Ninth Circuit wants to revive this really. important case. I'm happy. I'm really happy about it. And Glenn, I think what I would love to point out is just that last year, Gavin Newsom signed AB-1955 into law in California. And he did that in response to conservative parents who ran for the school board. They got elected. And the first thing that they did was they passed notification policies. They said if a school starts facilitating the social transition of a child, they have to at least notify parents, not even necessarily get consent from parents, at least. call them, let them know that this is happening.
Starting point is 00:37:12 God, it's crazy. So in response to that, the Attorney General of California, Rob Bonta, actually sued the Chino Valley Unified School District and others as well to have those policies declared unconstitutionally. We had some success doing that, but they signed this law, Gavin signed this law in AB-1955 that would strip school districts of the ability to even pass and implement such notification policy. They want to do all of this to kids behind closed doors and not let parents know. But Aurora's case is important because whereas AB 1955 is a state law,
Starting point is 00:37:57 Aurora's case is a federal civil rights issue. Right. It is a, it arises under the Constitution under the 14th Amendment. And so if a warren case is ultimately successful, it can pretty much gut 195 in California. And I think that a precedent that will be very persuasive across the country. So we're looking at the decision that will come out is either that children have rights and can make decisions that are unrestricted or nearly unrestricted. or parents, their power of their children is nearly unlimited, right? Yes.
Starting point is 00:38:42 And also, another third actor in there is really the role of government-run schools, right? This idea that government-run schools know better than parents, what's in the best interest of their children. And so it's almost like this presumption that parents are nefarious. They're not going to support their children in a transition. Wherever people stand and there are strong beliefs on both sides of this issue in the country. But, you know, Aurora Regina Regina, we certainly make this point in the papers we filed with the court. Aurora Regina said she would have been supportive of her daughter's transition. But she was taken out of the equation altogether.
Starting point is 00:39:28 She wasn't even given the opportunity to be. part of it. And if she thought that this was actually inspired, she thought that this was, this was actually originating from her daughter and not being pushed upon her by the school, and the action, you know, would be a little bit different. So in fact, the first case, this is not the first case we've handled with this set of facts. The first case we handled was a case of Jessica Conan in Salinas, California. Jessica's daughter was in the sixth grade when teachers invited her to an equality club that met during the lunch hour. And it was the only extracurricular that wasn't after school.
Starting point is 00:40:04 You know, if clubs meet after school, parents have to arrange for pickup. But if it's in the lunch hour during recess, these things can be kept secret from parents. And that case resulted in a settlement. We recovered damages for Jessica. But I think what has to continue to happen is when parents see this happening, they have to go to the school board. they have to shout them down. I mean, they really have to give it to them if they're implementing these policies
Starting point is 00:40:37 that violate parental rights, if they're being adversarial to parents in the way that they desire to raise their children. And they have to run for school board. They have to win. They have to pass these notification policies. They have to stand up. They have to file these lawsuits.
Starting point is 00:40:52 They have to fight back. And we're seeing this groundswell across the country. And as someone who's a parent myself, And really, really, obviously, because of the work that we do, interested in preserving these rights, it's really encouraging to see not only the movement toward parental rights, but also seeing that even courts in California are starting to get it right and come around to this idea that, of course, this is a fundamental right. I mean, when was it that a parent didn't have the right to name their child, right? Like if the Ninth Circuit of Appeal says that a fundamental right is deeply rooted in the history and tradition of a nation, parents have always had the right to give their child a name.
Starting point is 00:41:42 And that right extends beyond the formation of the United States. And this is really across the spectrum of humanity. Parents have always given their children a name. Well, now schools are giving kids a name. new name, a new identity, new pronouns, all without so much as calling parents, that phenomenon has to stop, and the Center for American Liberty is dedicated to ending it. Wow. I never thought of the, I've never thought of it that way about the power of the schools giving a new name to your children. That is, that's bad. Mark, thank you so much. When are we going to hear the results of this? When is this
Starting point is 00:42:22 actually being argued and where are we going to hear the results? So the Ninth Circuit just gave this ruling, so they punted it back to the district court with direction. So look, this is a slow process. We're probably months away from another ruling in this case. But we'll be sure to keep you up to date, and you'll be the first to know. Thank you very much. By the way, if you want to help them in their work, this one affects all of us in every state. LibertyCenter.org.
Starting point is 00:42:51 Libertycenter.org. Mark Tremel, thank you for joining us. You know, I have a friend who lives in Washington State who told me that the governor, look this up, see if he signed it yet, that the House and the Senate in Washington State has just passed a bill that says in an emergency, the state has complete right to your health. So, in other words, it can do anything at once. If there is a pandemic, they have complete right to make all the decisions for your health. and he loves living in Washington's Day. I mean, you know, there's some issues with it because he thinks like we do.
Starting point is 00:43:29 But he loves it. I mean, it's where he grew up. And he's like, I can't, I can't. If the governor signs it, I can't live here, I can't have that hanging over my head because they will use it. Why would you pass something like that? Do you see it?
Starting point is 00:43:44 I'm looking and seeing bits and pieces here, but, you know, I don't know if it's exactly as described. I have to look at it more. It's first time hearing about it. I mean, yeah, I hadn't heard about it either.
Starting point is 00:43:57 And, you know, he called me up this weekend. He's like, uh, have you heard what's happening in Washington? I'm like, no.
Starting point is 00:44:03 I mean, if that's true, if that's what's happening, and find out. Um, if that's, if that's what's happening, could you live there?
Starting point is 00:44:11 I mean, I suppose I could live there until an emergency started and then leave. Yeah. And then if they say nobody's leaving the state because of the emergency, you're stuck there. No, you don't have control of my health. You're not going to know.
Starting point is 00:44:22 No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They would have massive constitutional concerns, problems with saying, hey, you can't leave the state. That's quite clear in the Constitution. They can't do that. But, I mean, again, who knows? I suppose, though, you hit that standard and you're like, well, is there any place on earth I can live? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:44:41 Which is probably no. That's insane. You need to build a platform. Like the guy off the coast of the UK, you just like build a platform and have everyone come out and party. That's what you got to do. Have you seen that platform? That's not really. I mean,
Starting point is 00:44:55 that's not where I want to live. No, no, but I'm saying I don't, and even there, they still, of course, all those things
Starting point is 00:45:01 always get taken down in international waters. I know. So, I mean, at some level, you can't protect against everything.
Starting point is 00:45:08 I don't think there's certainly no legal right for a state to keep you within a state. So that is at least something, but. Well, they don't have the right
Starting point is 00:45:15 to tell you exactly what to put in your body and not put in your body, what you have to take and what you not have to take. That is terrifying. Just terrifying.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.