Released: Wednesday, June 29, 2022

VAIB | Virginia Voice

Volume 6 | June 29, 2022

 

Dear Friend,

While the majority of our legal focus is on the Virginia General Assembly, changes in federal law may also impact churches. Such is the case for HR3182 “Safe Sleep for Babies Act.” In response to certain infant deaths, Congress passed this law in May, and the law goes into effect in November 2022. An overview of the bill is as follows:

This bill makes it unlawful to manufacture, sell, or distribute crib bumpers or inclined sleepers for infants. Specifically, inclined sleepers for infants are those designed for an infant up to one year old and have an inclined sleep surface of greater than 10 degrees. Crib bumpers generally are padded materials inserted around the inside of a crib and intended to prevent the crib occupant from becoming trapped in any part of the crib's openings; they do not include unpadded, mesh crib liners.

Churches and other ministries are encouraged to take action immediately:

• Remove the banned items: crib bumpers and inclined sleeping surfaces
• Document the date when this was done, keeping a written record on file
• Have babies sleep on a firm surface, with one baby per sleep area

Caring for infants is a blessing for any church. Even though the law doesn’t take effect until November, it’s prudent to act now. Once you’re aware of a danger, you’re responsible to take corrective action.

U.S. Supreme Court Releases Decisions on Important Cases

By now, you’ve heard the results of some landmark decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. First, the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has been overturned, returning the abortion issue to each state. In Virginia, there’s no change on the current status and availability of abortions. Hopefully, that will change with the November elections, yielding a conservative majority in control of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates.

Second, the Court ruled in favor of Coach Kennedy in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. This ruling is a win for religious liberty and free speech.

Third, the Court ruled in favor of parents who wanted to take advantage of a state tuition assistance program. In David Carson et al. v. A. Pender Makin, the Court ruled that parents may use state tuition assistance funds to send their children to a private religious school. This now opens the opportunity to use such funds in Virginia should the state develop a similar tuition assistance program.

General Assembly: Special Session Complete . . . Almost

The General Assembly met on June 1 and passed its budgets for 2022 and 2023. The Governor made amendments, and most passed. I was pleased to see funding restored for the Educational Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit program but disappointed that the Hyde Amendment failed. The Hyde Amendment is needed to ensure taxpayers don’t pay for abortions. Work in this area is ongoing in preparation for the 2023 General Assembly.

ONE Voice for Liberties Conference—September 22

Registration for our yearly conference is open. You must register by September 8 to have meals included. You can find the schedule and more details at www.vaib.org.

NOTE: The annual business meeting will now begin at 9 am. Due to the number of by-laws amendments being considered, three hours will be allotted for the business meeting.

Scheduling and Visiting Churches

I’m so thankful for churches who’ve called to schedule meetings in order to begin financial support and for those who’ve begun regular support of this ministry! One interesting situation occurred when I made an unscheduled visit to a church recently and was told by the pastor that the church had been sending support for a year. I was surprised because VAIB hadn’t received any checks. The confused pastor looked into the matter and was told by the treasurer that even though the church had voted to support VAIB, she hadn’t been notified to send checks to us. Even though a simple breakdown in communication occurred, the church immediately corrected the mistake and sent one year’s worth of support. Praise the Lord!

Pray for Selection of Next Executive Director

Please pray for the Steering Committee as they review and interview candidates. Interested individuals should contact the VAIB office at ealiff@vaib.org or 804-789-1278.

Sincerely,

Rev. Eddy Aliff
Executive Director

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