Difficult issues are facing our Senators and Representatives, so they will need ALL the help they can get! (So, be sure to make your calls.)
Here’s the “Bad News” for the 2019 General Assembly Session: There are 32 brand new Representatives in the State House of Representatives. That’s 32 out of a total of 100 members. And, there is a significant crisis with the funding of the state’s pensions, bringing with it a lot of frustration, generated over the last year, on both sides of the issue. More, this is the election year for the Executive Branch of state government, adding an additional layer of intensity to the pot. All of this adds up to a potential governmental “train-wreck” for the new legislators . . . and perhaps all of the legislators.
Add to that, with Kentucky already suffering from significant addictions to opioids, tobacco, alcohol and crack cocaine, there are some legislators who want to bring in casino-style and sports gambling and legalize recreational marijuana, the nation’s number one “gateway drug” to other more substantial and debilitating drugs.
How is that good policy?
But here is the GOOD NEWS: Kentucky Christians are more interested now in doing their part in governance than they have been in a long time. And THAT is exactly what legislators need – they need people who will encourage them to do righteous things, people who will stand with them as they do righteous things, and people who will pray for them — asking God to help them — as they move to stand strong on the righteous things of our day, particularly on the cultural issues of today.
Note that the situations in Frankfort are not “Democrat” situations and they are not “Republican” situations. They are the “lay of the land” for both Parties, and our legislators, regardless of Party, must move forward to solve the state’s (our) problems. The first week of the Session is complete and the bills that have been introduced are evidence that legislators are taking their task seriously. Nevertheless, they will need the support of people from their districts in order to make 2019 a year of significance.
Everyone has a general sense of the truth of Edmund Burke’s cogent, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” But it is most applicable in the public policy realm – the realm in which he labored.
Besides those pushing gambling and marijuana, other legislators are promoting bills that will strengthen family values. For instance, there are a number of bills that address the abortion-on-demand philosophy of the 1970s. There is a bill that protects free speech on college campuses, in response to the accusations of some that say conservative views are “hate speech” and should be banned. Still another bill codifies into law the fact that parents have the basic right and responsibility to direct the upbringing of their children, something that is being challenged by United Nations activists. “I believe the bottom line in this Session will be ‘What do the people want?’” said Kent Ostrander, executive director of The Family Foundation. “If they want something and are willing to do the work and make the calls, they will get it!”
