June 27, 2023

Dear Friends,

No doubt, the nation felt the dream team from Bayou land last night in Omaha. LSU hosted a nationwide audience for a clinic on hot bats, unprecedented pitching, defensive exploits and skillful coaching! What a moment for these extraordinary young men, now crowned College World Series Campions! Teamwork, made this dream work for the 7^th time for LSU baseball! #GeauxTigersStillWinning!

Congratulations Tigers!

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court lifted the stay on a legal dispute concerning Louisiana's congressional map.

Initially, the Court had imposed a pause on legal challenges to Louisiana's map, which included a single majority-minority district. Critics of the map argued that the latest census data indicates that approximately one-third of Louisiana's voters are black, implying that two out of the state's six congressional districts should be designated as minority districts.

The decision by the Court has opened up the legal dispute, allowing it to proceed. As a result, there is a possibility that the courts may require the Louisiana legislature to develop a new map that includes two districts with a majority of minority voters, or they may develop their own map and compel Louisiana to adopt it.

This is an important case to watch, congressional maps play a significant role in elections outcomes!

New data reveals an alarming decline in literacy and math performance within America's public education system, while teachers present scapegoats to cover up for the consequences of school closures and woke ideology in schools. 

According to a recent national trend assessment, the average math and reading test scores for 13-year-olds in the United States have reached the lowest levels in decades. The officials of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) attributed this decline in education levels, at least in part, to the impact of the pandemic. 

“The mathematics decline for 13-year-olds was the single largest decline we have observed in the past half a century,” said National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “The mathematics score for the lowest-performing students has returned to levels last seen in the 1970s, and the reading score for our lowest-performing students was actually lower than it was the very first year these data were collected, in 1971.”

School “equity” officers, teachers unions, and administrators, meanwhile, assert that the significant disparities in reading scores among black and Hispanic students are a result of historic racial inequities.

These scores won’t improve until the real issue within our schools is recognized and addressed. Declines in academic performance are likely because of COVID-19 lockdowns and unnecessary instructional time spent on progressive ideology and woke virtue signaling.

Louisiana children deserve real education, not political indoctrination!

The recently released 2021-2022 annual report for Planned Parenthood reveals a significant increase in taxpayer funding and a continued focus on abortion as a central priority. However, the report also indicates a decline in visits for actual healthcare services such as cancer screening, prevention services, and prenatal care. Additionally, Planned Parenthood has been expanding its range of services to include transgender-related services.

The report shows that the abortion giant received ​​$670.4 million in government funding, a large increase from the $633.4 million it received the previous year.

This means taxpayer dollars are being used to kill innocent preborn children and “transition” gender-confused individuals with incredibly harmful treatments. 

This report covers up to June 30, 2022, so we don’t yet know the effect of the Dobbs decision on Planned Parenthood. Regardless, taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund treatments that harm and kill. This is a grave violation of religious liberty that the majority of Americans reject. 

Congress should defund Planned Parenthood. 

Friends, at a news conference last week, Sen. James Lankford announced that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has saved approximately 200,000 children. Praise God for this tremendous victory for life! As we continue forward, our message to the culture needs to be clear and sustained. Every single life, from the moment of conception to natural death, deserves protection. 

In His Service,

Gene Mills
President, Louisiana Family Forum