Families Are Bulwark Against ‘Government Overreach,’ Mom and Parental Rights Activist Says

Nicole Neily, a mother of two, says she couldn’t believe it when she learned that a far-left group had branded her parental rights organization an “antigovernment extremist” group.  

Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, says her organization teaches parents how to “engage with the process to help schools” by showing them how to submit comments to the Federal Register, speak at school board meetings, and ask critical questions about curriculum. But according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Parents Defending Education is “extreme.”

The SPLC last week released its annual “hate map” identifying organizations it has branded as spreading “hate,” many of which are conservative and Christian groups such as the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom. But this year, the far-left SPLC added a new category, “antigovernment extremist groups.” It labeled 702 organizations as “antigovernment,” including Parents Defending Education. 

“It’s a smear that … obviously is intended to chill and scare people from speaking out,” Neily says, adding that the development proves the effectiveness of parents who speak out against things such as gender identity and critical race theory being taught in schools. 

“Families are, at the end of the day, the bulwark against this enormous government overreach,” Neily says. 

Neily joins the “Problematic Women” podcast to discuss her fight to defend parental rights. 

Also on today’s show, the White House banned a group of trans activists from the White House. We explain why. And according to Forbes, pop singer Taylor Swift is stimulating the economy in a huge way right now. Plus, we’ll crown our Problematic Woman of the Week.

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