May 24, 2025 • 25 mins
Ashley Jones, Legislative Chair for Moms for Liberty South Carolina, pulls back the curtain on the systematic undermining of parental authority happening in our schools and healthcare systems. With remarkable clarity, she reveals how COVID became the catalyst that exposed government overreach into family decision-making across America.
"During COVID, people started asking questions," Jones explains. "All the crazy made sense because now everybody sees it. It's not hidden in the dark anymore." This awakening led to the formation of Moms for Liberty, which has exploded to nearly 300 chapters nationwide with approximately 100,000 members since its 2021 founding.
Jones shares alarming discoveries of explicit material in elementary schools, including biological picture books with inappropriate imagery accessible to seven-year-olds and books detailing suicide methods. "We do not loan our children to the schools," she assertively states. "We expect them to be taught reading, writing, arithmetic, history and come home for the morals and values."
The digital landscape presents perhaps the greatest modern threat to children. As a grandmother raising her eight-year-old granddaughter, Jones speaks passionately about the dangers lurking online that many parents remain completely unaware of. Her organization is tackling this head-on with an upcoming Technology Safety conference in Columbia on August 16th.
Legislative victories are accumulating through Moms for Liberty's persistent advocacy – from school choice initiatives to healthier school lunches free from harmful dyes. Looking ahead, they're fighting for fundamental parental rights legislation, particularly addressing the shocking reality that in South Carolina, parents can be legally barred from accessing their 14-year-old's medical records if the child objects.
Ready to protect your parental authority? Visit momsforliberty.org or their Facebook page to find your local chapter and join thousands of parents standing up for their fundamental rights to guide their children's education, healthcare, and moral development.
Ashley Jones - 843-956-7866
momsforlibertysc@gmail.com
https://www.jacksonfamilyministry.com
https://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more
than enough for the ills thatplague our culture and our
country.
Hosted by author and physician,dr Robert Jackson, and his wife
Carlotta and daughter HannahMiller.
So listen up, because thedoctor is in.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to More Than Medicine.
I'm your host, dr RobertJackson.
Welcome to More Than Medicine.
I'm your host, dr RobertJackson, bringing to you
biblical insights and storiesfrom the country doctor's rusty,
dusty scrapbook.
Well, I'm delighted today tohave as my guest Ms Ashley Jones
, who is with Moms for Liberty.
Ms Ashley, thank you for beingon More Than Medicine.
(00:43):
Well, thank you for having me.
Well, now, first of all, tellmy listeners a little bit about
who you are and what you do, andlet them get acquainted with
yourself.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I am Ashley Jones.
I'm the mother of three.
I am the grandmother of nine.
I raised.
My oldest granddaughter iseight years old and I am her
sole caregiver.
I live in Florence County.
What I do is I try to educateand advocate for all children
(01:17):
across the state of SouthCarolina.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And you do that with the organization Moms for
Liberty, is that correct?
Yes, sir, the organization,organization Moms for Liberty,
is that correct?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Yes, sir, the organization is Moms for Liberty
.
I am the legislative chair forMoms for Liberty, south Carolina
, where we have 16 activechapters across the state.
Moms for Liberty is a nationalorganization that started in
2021 after the COVID pandemic.
(01:44):
That started in 2021 after theCOVID pandemic and we have
roughly 300 chapters across thecountry and I want to say, at
last count, it was 100,000members that we had.
Now, what prompted them tooriginate?
(02:05):
During COVID, our co-founders,which was Tina Deskovich and
Tiffany Justice, were bothschool board members in Florida
on two different districts inFlorida, and they seen what was
happening with mask mandates,what it was doing to our
children and things like that,and they both had similar views
(02:29):
and wanted to do something aboutit and they started this
organization for educating andempowering parents to stand up
for their parental rights whenthey were being taken away or
overlooked just overlooked bythe school districts and by
(02:50):
almost everybody at the time,and this organization took the
country by storm.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Well, I can imagine.
I certainly understand, becausethere were a lot of folks'
rights being trampled on duringCOVID.
In fact, covid opened up theeyes of a lot of people, didn't
it?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I think COVID opened the door for people to start
asking questions.
I tell people a lot of timeswhen they ask my views.
I remember back when I wasyoung you would hear people
saying things and everybody'slike, oh, she's just crazy,
don't pay her any attention.
(03:32):
And then COVID happened and allthe crazy made sense, because
now everybody's asking thequestions and everybody sees it.
It's not so hidden in the darkanymore.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, they realize you weren't crazy, but you were
right hidden in the dark anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Well they, realized you weren't crazy, but you were
right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Absolutely.
I understand, I understandexactly.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
How did you get involved with Moms for Liberty,
my granddaughter that I have, inorder for me to get custody of
her, my son, who is her father?
We had to fight for hisparental rights in order for me
to be able to take her.
And okay, I said, take her.
He gave her to me willingly,but he had to.
(04:15):
We had to fight for hisparental rights.
I didn't realize that it was sohard for to establish parental
rights until it was time thatyou know somebody else was
taking them.
It's easier, government wise,to say I have parental rights
when the government's trying totake them from you.
(04:35):
Um, they can come in, you know,they feel they can come in your
house and they can tell your.
You know vaccines.
They can tell you what to dowith your child.
And when you push back is whenthey want to say, well, we have
the right, you don't.
And I didn't understand thatbattle until I had her I got you
, I got you.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, I understand that.
I talk to parents all the timewho are shocked at how much
authority the government has andhow little authority they have,
or they think they haveauthority over their children
until they deal with thegovernment.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Right.
A lot of people don'tunderstand, because we get asked
all the time why are youfighting for parental rights
when the Constitution gives you,you know, or you have, you know
, god-given rights to your child, and that's exactly right.
God gave us our child andthat's, you know, our right
under God.
But the minute that they go toa doctor or need a doctor, the
(05:36):
government's in that.
When it's time for you to putthem in school, the government's
in that.
And to establish I'm theauthority over all of this is
what's needed here that'sexactly right, exactly, you're
right.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
you're speaking the gospel truth, because as soon as
you have anything to do with agovernment school or anything
that has the government involved, their authority usurps your
authority as a parent.
Yes, and that's a rude smack inthe face to my patients.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I agree and a lot of people don't.
So everybody's like well, don'tput your child in school.
That's not an option for allparents, that's right.
There are parents who know Iknow, I know families where
there's two working parents,some of them two jobs a week.
I mean two jobs a day you'renot able to to do the homeschool
(06:35):
and provide the knowledge forthe child that the child
deserves and single parentscan't there are many single and
it's hard for them to balancethat, and so they have to reach
out to the schools.
But just because I want my childto be educated doesn't mean I
(06:55):
want to give authority over tosomeone else, and I know it's
supposed to be that black andwhite, but it's not.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
We do not live in the world that we lived in 50 years
ago we don't, we don't and thegovernment does not value you as
a parent, does not value yourauthority as a parent and all
you got to do is say to theschool system no, I don't want
my child to have a vaccine andsee what happens.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I will say this I have found that South Carolina
is a little easier for theexemptions than some of the
other states, but it is still aprocess.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
It's still a problem.
It's still a process and it'sstill a problem.
And the COVID vaccine was a bigdeal for a lot of my patients.
I'm talking about adults now.
How many of our friends losttheir jobs?
Speaker 1 (07:49):
over the.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
COVID vaccine and over refusing to wear a mask,
which all of us know was noteffective and didn't do anything
meaningful.
And lots of people lost theirjobs because they didn't want to
wear a mask or didn't want toget the vaccine.
And their liberties, theirfreedom of choice, caused them
(08:12):
to lose a job and lose friendsor relationships with families,
you know.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I understand that.
Well, now talk to me a littlebit more.
What else does Moms for Libertydo?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Well, now talk to me a little bit more.
What else does Moms for Libertydo?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
The organization we are all about, the safety what
they're putting in front of ourchildren.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I'm familiar, go ahead.
We found a book in Horry CountySchools that is a picture book
of biological how a baby's bornfor seven-year-olds.
And is that appropriate for aseven-year-old?
No, not, unless the mom and dadsays, hey, this is what we want
to teach our kid.
And the picture is absolutelynot.
(09:21):
We have, you know, we found 13Reasons why, which is actually a
hot Netflix TV show aboutteenage suicide, but in the book
it describes how this childkilled themselves and things
like that.
That's a lot of mental healthissue there.
And we found it in anelementary school.
(09:44):
In my mind, I have aneight-year-old who's in second
grade, but she's reading on afifth grade level.
You know, I have aneight-year-old who's in second
grade, but she's reading on afifth grade level In my mind.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
If she were to read that because she is a sponge for
knowledge and a sponge foreverything she reads.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
That will in her mind .
That would be reality to herand it's showing her how to.
It would be showing her how to,how she could commit suicide.
I don't, that is not ageappropriate.
That is conversations that needto be had at home, not reading
a book with your friends or witha school teacher, who we do not
(10:22):
loan our children to theschools.
We do not loan our children toanybody.
We let you know.
We expect them to be taughtreading, writing, arithmetic,
history and come home for themorals and the values.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And so that's an issue that's happening
countrywide.
That's not just a SouthCarolina issue, that is a
countrywide issue.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I understand.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
One of my biggest battles and passions right now
is Internet safety.
We have so many parents whohave no idea about the dangers
online.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
They're clueless, totally clueless.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
When I was a senior in high school, we had one
computer lab and it had sixcomputers in it and it was the
big screens with the big monitorand I think we played Oregon
Trail once every two weeks.
That is a thing of the past.
Now it's… Every child has aphone.
(11:27):
Every child has a phone andevery phone has access to the
Internet.
Yes, every child has a phone andevery child has access to the
Internet.
Yes, every child that'senrolled in a public school is
given a Chromebook, which isbasically a laptop.
Parents need to be aware of howto protect their child.
We're not going backwards,that's not a you know that.
(11:47):
Pandora's box is not going toclose.
Internet's here, technology'shere.
Parents need to know we canprotect our kids from that and
how to do that.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yes, exactly, exactly .
Our church had a whole seminaron how parents can protect their
children from the dangers ofthe Internet and it was very
well received and lots of adultswere shocked at what was
available to their children onthe Internet.
They had no clue and they hadno idea of how they could
(12:18):
protect their children from whatwas on the Internet.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
I'm sure the knowledge is, the information's
out there.
There's just not a lot ofknowledge on how to find it,
because when you search thething with technology, when you
search something, it shows youeverything.
It doesn't show you exactlywhat you're looking for, but it
shows everything, and so a lotof parents aren't aware of the
dangers of the data tracking,the algorithms, the
(12:51):
cyberbullying, the extortion,all of that, and so I think it's
a very big, you know, that's abig thing that needs to be
addressed.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Well now, what were some of the legislative
initiatives that you wereinvolved with this year in South
Carolina?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Some that we got through Well, one that we got
signed.
We did support school choiceand we have a lot of people who
think that we are wrong forbacking the school choice bill.
But the problem is publiceducation is not for everybody
and, like I said, we havefamilies across the state who
(13:30):
are single, single moms, we havesome single dads, we have
families that are working twoand three jobs to supply for
their kids.
Private school is not an optionfor them because they can't
afford it and homeschooling isabsolutely not an option, even
though everybody says if youwanted to have that, you wanted
it, you could make it happen.
(13:51):
It's not as easy and it's notas black and white.
So this school choice wasreally important.
School choice passed lastsession and then the Supreme
Court overturned the decision.
So we had, I want to say, rightat 4,000 children who started
off in August at a privateschool and then found out in
December that they were going tohave to go back to public
(14:13):
school.
And I've talked to some ofthose families and those
children were thriving in theschools they were in, they were
learning, they were doing like anight and day difference and
then they were going to be sentback to public school the
schools that they were failingin, back to public school the
schools that they were failingin.
(14:34):
And so legislation came up inJanuary and it was signed on
Wednesday to take that back upand allow those kids to stay and
open it up.
I want to say to 15, I thinkit'll be 15,000 children that'll
be eligible for that.
That was one that we supported,um.
We had a school safety billthat we were supporting that
(14:57):
will be signed by the governorsoon.
That will allow public schoolswith um 15 000 students or more
in the district to um hireprivate security um for the
schools.
Because a lot of the schools inSouth Carolina are working I
have three in my district thatthe elementary schools are
(15:19):
sharing an SRO so they're havingto go back and forth.
I mean it would be better, foryou know we arm guard so many
things in our country.
You know our banks, ourhospitals, our malls have
security officers, but we havechildren in these schools and we
(15:40):
need to arm them, guard them,the same way we're guarding all
of the other things in our lives.
They are what's going to makethe difference here in 20 years
of the other things in our lives.
They are what's going to makethe difference here in 20 years.
Yep, I agree, so that bill willbe signed this year.
(16:01):
We are supporting an ABAtherapy bill which will allow
ABA therapists to come to, forthe parents to hire an ABA
therapist for autism.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
What does ABA stand for?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
It's a therapy for autistic children.
It's a therapist that workswith the child, usually 40 hours
a week, to teach them theircognitive skills, their coping
skills.
It's better for a a therapistwith a special needs child to
(16:36):
work with them all the timerather than have this person
today, this person tomorrow,because there needs to be some
type of stability there and thiswill allow the parents to hire
their own therapist to go intothe schools with the child and
(16:57):
be with the child.
That will make a traumaticdifference in the education of
these children.
It is a huge win and thatpassed the House this week and
so it will go to Senate and weencourage the senators to dig
into that and pass that as soonas possible.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I got, you I got you.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
One other one we had passed this week was healthy
lunches for schools, Getting thedyes and the chemicals out of
our kids' school lunches.
That will create, you know, abetter, healthier future for all
of our children.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of ADHD kids that can't
tolerate the dyes, and it's agood idea to do all that.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Yes, and that passed the House this week also.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That's good.
That's good.
I appreciate y'all pushing that.
From a medical perspective, Iunderstand the value of that.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yes, thank you.
Now, next session we are.
You know, we have a parentalrights.
We have two parental rightsbills, which is our big bills,
and one's in education, one'sfor medical.
We've been pushing them forabout four years and South
Carolina has yet to hear.
You know, have a hearing on it.
Now we are going into this nextsession encouraged that they
(18:15):
will be picked up.
The age of consent in SouthCarolina is, I want to say it's
legally 16, but medically at 14,.
If the child doesn't want theirparents to give them access to
their medical records, theparents can't access it.
Yeah, that's foolishness.
That is crazy.
(18:36):
As a parent, it's ourresponsibility to pay that
insurance premium that pays thatdoctor's bill and to take care
of all that, but you're going totell me I can't access that
record.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
There's an issue there yeah, it's a big issue.
I mean, legally you have to payfor and take care of that child
until they're I I don't know 16or 18.
I'm not sure exactly what it is.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
So they are considered a minor until they're
18.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, and you're responsible for them until that
age and yet you can't accesstheir medical record.
That's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Absolutely so.
That's one of our big bills.
We're expecting and we'rehearing we've had conversations,
we're hearing that that will bepicked up.
Another one is separatingbathrooms, and I know that
sounds well for me.
You know the fact that we havepeople identifying as opposite
genders or walking in thebathroom with our kids not
(19:32):
something I ever thought I wouldsee in my lifetime but that's
an issue and we have a bill thatwould require you to use the
restroom according to yourbiological sex.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
That's correct and that's common sense.
Yeah, you need to push it hard.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Well, it's been there , for we had it last year.
Well, I don't know if it wasfiled last year, but it's been
there all session this year.
It hasn't gotten a hearing.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
With.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
President Trump's help, it'll be socially
acceptable now, Well we hope so.
We hope so, but we are pushingfor that one.
That one's another big onewe're pushing for currently.
We need to make it sociallyunacceptable for our legislators
to vote against a bill likethat.
Well, I wholeheartedly believeif either of these bills were
(20:22):
brought to a vote, no one wouldvote against them just need to
get them out of committee it'syes, they're.
They're sitting in a committeesomewhere yeah now the parental
rights bill I've spoke to thecommittee chairs and that that
one I feel.
I really feel like those willmove this year.
The bathroom bill I'm a littleconcerned.
(20:44):
We I don't know why, butthey're holding it.
Now.
South carolina's budget thereis a proviso in it that states
the same thing.
But a proviso is the same thingas an executive order.
It expires, it can beoverturned easily.
It's not as easy, to you know,defend in court and I'm pretty
sure our attorney general iscurrently fighting the bathroom
(21:06):
proviso in the screen courtright or in the court right now
fighting against it he'sfighting to uphold it oh, I see,
uphold it okay um, you knowit's, it's been said.
You know this only affects aboutfive children.
No, it doesn't affect fivechildren.
It affects every child havingto go in that bathroom with
(21:27):
those five.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
That's right, exactly .
Well, all of this is amazinginformation.
Now tell my listeners how they,if they wanted to get involved
with Moms for Liberty, how wouldthey go about contacting you,
and if they wanted to contributeto your organization, how would
they do that?
Speaker 3 (21:46):
We have a website.
If you were to go tomomsforlibertyorg, you could
find your local chapter fromthat.
Or we have a Facebook page forMoms for Liberty South Carolina.
You can find any of us there.
I would be willing to give myphone number, my email address,
(22:08):
to anybody that wanted to reachout.
We take all donations.
I will tell you.
It will be the first place I'vesaid it live.
Moms for Liberty South Carolinais planning a tech talk for
technology safety in August downin Columbia for all parents.
We'd love to have everybodythere.
(22:28):
We have some people from DCcoming in to give some
explanation on what the dangersare of technology and how to
prevent them.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
When's that?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
going to be.
It's going to be August 16th.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Where.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I didn't hear you say that one more time.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Where is that going to be?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
We are currently signing paperwork.
We're going to hold it at oneof the auditoriums at Carolina
University.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I got you Okay, but that will be on your website too
, right?
Speaker 3 (22:59):
As soon as we get that up, and I'll make sure I
send it to you and I do get itall up.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Okay, good, good, I'll put it on my website as
well, then.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Yes, sir, that would be very appreciated.
We do fundraise.
South Carolina, the legislativecommittees of 501C3, our local
chapters are 501C4s and yourlocal chapters are standing at
school board meetings holdingthe line with all educational,
(23:32):
fighting for parents, educatingparents, advocating for parents
to get involved, to know what isgoing on in your child's school
, to know what's going on inyour child's life and be a part
of it.
And when they close the doorand they don't want you there,
we're going to stand with youand push forward.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Gotcha.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
We always go back to Esther 414 for such a time as
this If Esther wouldn't havespoke, then what would have
happened to her?
And we always go back to Esther414 for such a time as this If
Esther wouldn't have spoke, thenyou know what would have
happened to her.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Yeah, what would have happened to her people?
Yes, how about that?
All right, well, you'relistening to More Than Medicine.
My guest today is Ashley Jones,with Moms for Liberty.
I found out that she's fromTimminsville, south Carolina,
originally, which is just about20 miles from my hometown of
Manning.
She now lives in Florence,which is about also 20 miles
(24:25):
from my hometown of Manning, sowe all hail from the same part
of the state.
So, ms Ashley, I appreciate youbeing my guest.
I appreciate the work that youdo with Moms for Liberty.
I appreciate the work that youdo with Moms for Liberty and I
hope maybe in the future you'llcome back and tell us a little
bit more about some of yourlegislative battles.
How about that?
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Absolutely.
I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
All right, thank you, ma'am.
So you're listening to MoreThan Medicine.
My guest today is Ashley Joneswith Moms for Liberty.
We'll be back again next week,and until that time, may the
Lord bless you real good.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Thank you for listening to this edition of
More Than Medicine.
For more information about theJackson Family Ministry, dr
Jackson's books, or to schedulea speaking engagement, go to
their Facebook page, instagramor their webpage at
jacksonfamilyministrycom.
This podcast is produced by BobSloan Audio Production at
bobsloancom.
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more
than enough for the ills thatplague our culture and our
country.
Hosted by author and physician,dr Robert Jackson, and his wife
Carlotta and daughter HannahMiller.
So listen up, because thedoctor is in.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to More Than Medicine.
I'm your host, dr RobertJackson.
Welcome to More Than Medicine.
I'm your host, dr RobertJackson, bringing to you
biblical insights and storiesfrom the country doctor's rusty,
dusty scrapbook.
Well, I'm delighted today tohave as my guest Ms Ashley Jones
, who is with Moms for Liberty.
Ms Ashley, thank you for beingon More Than Medicine.
(00:43):
Well, thank you for having me.
Well, now, first of all, tellmy listeners a little bit about
who you are and what you do, andlet them get acquainted with
yourself.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I am Ashley Jones.
I'm the mother of three.
I am the grandmother of nine.
I raised.
My oldest granddaughter iseight years old and I am her
sole caregiver.
I live in Florence County.
What I do is I try to educateand advocate for all children
(01:17):
across the state of SouthCarolina.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And you do that with the organization Moms for
Liberty, is that correct?
Yes, sir, the organization,organization Moms for Liberty,
is that correct?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Yes, sir, the organization is Moms for Liberty
.
I am the legislative chair forMoms for Liberty, south Carolina
, where we have 16 activechapters across the state.
Moms for Liberty is a nationalorganization that started in
2021 after the COVID pandemic.
(01:44):
That started in 2021 after theCOVID pandemic and we have
roughly 300 chapters across thecountry and I want to say, at
last count, it was 100,000members that we had.
Now, what prompted them tooriginate?
(02:05):
During COVID, our co-founders,which was Tina Deskovich and
Tiffany Justice, were bothschool board members in Florida
on two different districts inFlorida, and they seen what was
happening with mask mandates,what it was doing to our
children and things like that,and they both had similar views
(02:29):
and wanted to do something aboutit and they started this
organization for educating andempowering parents to stand up
for their parental rights whenthey were being taken away or
overlooked just overlooked bythe school districts and by
(02:50):
almost everybody at the time,and this organization took the
country by storm.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Well, I can imagine.
I certainly understand, becausethere were a lot of folks'
rights being trampled on duringCOVID.
In fact, covid opened up theeyes of a lot of people, didn't
it?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I think COVID opened the door for people to start
asking questions.
I tell people a lot of timeswhen they ask my views.
I remember back when I wasyoung you would hear people
saying things and everybody'slike, oh, she's just crazy,
don't pay her any attention.
(03:32):
And then COVID happened and allthe crazy made sense, because
now everybody's asking thequestions and everybody sees it.
It's not so hidden in the darkanymore.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, they realize you weren't crazy, but you were
right hidden in the dark anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Well they, realized you weren't crazy, but you were
right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Absolutely.
I understand, I understandexactly.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
How did you get involved with Moms for Liberty,
my granddaughter that I have, inorder for me to get custody of
her, my son, who is her father?
We had to fight for hisparental rights in order for me
to be able to take her.
And okay, I said, take her.
He gave her to me willingly,but he had to.
(04:15):
We had to fight for hisparental rights.
I didn't realize that it was sohard for to establish parental
rights until it was time thatyou know somebody else was
taking them.
It's easier, government wise,to say I have parental rights
when the government's trying totake them from you.
(04:35):
Um, they can come in, you know,they feel they can come in your
house and they can tell your.
You know vaccines.
They can tell you what to dowith your child.
And when you push back is whenthey want to say, well, we have
the right, you don't.
And I didn't understand thatbattle until I had her I got you
, I got you.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, I understand that.
I talk to parents all the timewho are shocked at how much
authority the government has andhow little authority they have,
or they think they haveauthority over their children
until they deal with thegovernment.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Right.
A lot of people don'tunderstand, because we get asked
all the time why are youfighting for parental rights
when the Constitution gives you,you know, or you have, you know
, god-given rights to your child, and that's exactly right.
God gave us our child andthat's, you know, our right
under God.
But the minute that they go toa doctor or need a doctor, the
(05:36):
government's in that.
When it's time for you to putthem in school, the government's
in that.
And to establish I'm theauthority over all of this is
what's needed here that'sexactly right, exactly, you're
right.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
you're speaking the gospel truth, because as soon as
you have anything to do with agovernment school or anything
that has the government involved, their authority usurps your
authority as a parent.
Yes, and that's a rude smack inthe face to my patients.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I agree and a lot of people don't.
So everybody's like well, don'tput your child in school.
That's not an option for allparents, that's right.
There are parents who know Iknow, I know families where
there's two working parents,some of them two jobs a week.
I mean two jobs a day you'renot able to to do the homeschool
(06:35):
and provide the knowledge forthe child that the child
deserves and single parentscan't there are many single and
it's hard for them to balancethat, and so they have to reach
out to the schools.
But just because I want my childto be educated doesn't mean I
(06:55):
want to give authority over tosomeone else, and I know it's
supposed to be that black andwhite, but it's not.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
We do not live in the world that we lived in 50 years
ago we don't, we don't and thegovernment does not value you as
a parent, does not value yourauthority as a parent and all
you got to do is say to theschool system no, I don't want
my child to have a vaccine andsee what happens.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I will say this I have found that South Carolina
is a little easier for theexemptions than some of the
other states, but it is still aprocess.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
It's still a problem.
It's still a process and it'sstill a problem.
And the COVID vaccine was a bigdeal for a lot of my patients.
I'm talking about adults now.
How many of our friends losttheir jobs?
Speaker 1 (07:49):
over the.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
COVID vaccine and over refusing to wear a mask,
which all of us know was noteffective and didn't do anything
meaningful.
And lots of people lost theirjobs because they didn't want to
wear a mask or didn't want toget the vaccine.
And their liberties, theirfreedom of choice, caused them
(08:12):
to lose a job and lose friendsor relationships with families,
you know.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I understand that.
Well, now talk to me a littlebit more.
What else does Moms for Libertydo?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Well, now talk to me a little bit more.
What else does Moms for Libertydo?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
The organization we are all about, the safety what
they're putting in front of ourchildren.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I'm familiar, go ahead.
We found a book in Horry CountySchools that is a picture book
of biological how a baby's bornfor seven-year-olds.
And is that appropriate for aseven-year-old?
No, not, unless the mom and dadsays, hey, this is what we want
to teach our kid.
And the picture is absolutelynot.
(09:21):
We have, you know, we found 13Reasons why, which is actually a
hot Netflix TV show aboutteenage suicide, but in the book
it describes how this childkilled themselves and things
like that.
That's a lot of mental healthissue there.
And we found it in anelementary school.
(09:44):
In my mind, I have aneight-year-old who's in second
grade, but she's reading on afifth grade level.
You know, I have aneight-year-old who's in second
grade, but she's reading on afifth grade level In my mind.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
If she were to read that because she is a sponge for
knowledge and a sponge foreverything she reads.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
That will in her mind .
That would be reality to herand it's showing her how to.
It would be showing her how to,how she could commit suicide.
I don't, that is not ageappropriate.
That is conversations that needto be had at home, not reading
a book with your friends or witha school teacher, who we do not
(10:22):
loan our children to theschools.
We do not loan our children toanybody.
We let you know.
We expect them to be taughtreading, writing, arithmetic,
history and come home for themorals and the values.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And so that's an issue that's happening
countrywide.
That's not just a SouthCarolina issue, that is a
countrywide issue.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I understand.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
One of my biggest battles and passions right now
is Internet safety.
We have so many parents whohave no idea about the dangers
online.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
They're clueless, totally clueless.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
When I was a senior in high school, we had one
computer lab and it had sixcomputers in it and it was the
big screens with the big monitorand I think we played Oregon
Trail once every two weeks.
That is a thing of the past.
Now it's… Every child has aphone.
(11:27):
Every child has a phone andevery phone has access to the
Internet.
Yes, every child has a phone andevery child has access to the
Internet.
Yes, every child that'senrolled in a public school is
given a Chromebook, which isbasically a laptop.
Parents need to be aware of howto protect their child.
We're not going backwards,that's not a you know that.
(11:47):
Pandora's box is not going toclose.
Internet's here, technology'shere.
Parents need to know we canprotect our kids from that and
how to do that.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yes, exactly, exactly .
Our church had a whole seminaron how parents can protect their
children from the dangers ofthe Internet and it was very
well received and lots of adultswere shocked at what was
available to their children onthe Internet.
They had no clue and they hadno idea of how they could
(12:18):
protect their children from whatwas on the Internet.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
I'm sure the knowledge is, the information's
out there.
There's just not a lot ofknowledge on how to find it,
because when you search thething with technology, when you
search something, it shows youeverything.
It doesn't show you exactlywhat you're looking for, but it
shows everything, and so a lotof parents aren't aware of the
dangers of the data tracking,the algorithms, the
(12:51):
cyberbullying, the extortion,all of that, and so I think it's
a very big, you know, that's abig thing that needs to be
addressed.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Well now, what were some of the legislative
initiatives that you wereinvolved with this year in South
Carolina?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Some that we got through Well, one that we got
signed.
We did support school choiceand we have a lot of people who
think that we are wrong forbacking the school choice bill.
But the problem is publiceducation is not for everybody
and, like I said, we havefamilies across the state who
(13:30):
are single, single moms, we havesome single dads, we have
families that are working twoand three jobs to supply for
their kids.
Private school is not an optionfor them because they can't
afford it and homeschooling isabsolutely not an option, even
though everybody says if youwanted to have that, you wanted
it, you could make it happen.
(13:51):
It's not as easy and it's notas black and white.
So this school choice wasreally important.
School choice passed lastsession and then the Supreme
Court overturned the decision.
So we had, I want to say, rightat 4,000 children who started
off in August at a privateschool and then found out in
December that they were going tohave to go back to public
(14:13):
school.
And I've talked to some ofthose families and those
children were thriving in theschools they were in, they were
learning, they were doing like anight and day difference and
then they were going to be sentback to public school the
schools that they were failingin, back to public school the
schools that they were failingin.
(14:34):
And so legislation came up inJanuary and it was signed on
Wednesday to take that back upand allow those kids to stay and
open it up.
I want to say to 15, I thinkit'll be 15,000 children that'll
be eligible for that.
That was one that we supported,um.
We had a school safety billthat we were supporting that
(14:57):
will be signed by the governorsoon.
That will allow public schoolswith um 15 000 students or more
in the district to um hireprivate security um for the
schools.
Because a lot of the schools inSouth Carolina are working I
have three in my district thatthe elementary schools are
(15:19):
sharing an SRO so they're havingto go back and forth.
I mean it would be better, foryou know we arm guard so many
things in our country.
You know our banks, ourhospitals, our malls have
security officers, but we havechildren in these schools and we
(15:40):
need to arm them, guard them,the same way we're guarding all
of the other things in our lives.
They are what's going to makethe difference here in 20 years
of the other things in our lives.
They are what's going to makethe difference here in 20 years.
Yep, I agree, so that bill willbe signed this year.
(16:01):
We are supporting an ABAtherapy bill which will allow
ABA therapists to come to, forthe parents to hire an ABA
therapist for autism.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
What does ABA stand for?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
It's a therapy for autistic children.
It's a therapist that workswith the child, usually 40 hours
a week, to teach them theircognitive skills, their coping
skills.
It's better for a a therapistwith a special needs child to
(16:36):
work with them all the timerather than have this person
today, this person tomorrow,because there needs to be some
type of stability there and thiswill allow the parents to hire
their own therapist to go intothe schools with the child and
(16:57):
be with the child.
That will make a traumaticdifference in the education of
these children.
It is a huge win and thatpassed the House this week and
so it will go to Senate and weencourage the senators to dig
into that and pass that as soonas possible.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I got, you I got you.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
One other one we had passed this week was healthy
lunches for schools, Getting thedyes and the chemicals out of
our kids' school lunches.
That will create, you know, abetter, healthier future for all
of our children.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of ADHD kids that can't
tolerate the dyes, and it's agood idea to do all that.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Yes, and that passed the House this week also.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That's good.
That's good.
I appreciate y'all pushing that.
From a medical perspective, Iunderstand the value of that.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yes, thank you.
Now, next session we are.
You know, we have a parentalrights.
We have two parental rightsbills, which is our big bills,
and one's in education, one'sfor medical.
We've been pushing them forabout four years and South
Carolina has yet to hear.
You know, have a hearing on it.
Now we are going into this nextsession encouraged that they
(18:15):
will be picked up.
The age of consent in SouthCarolina is, I want to say it's
legally 16, but medically at 14,.
If the child doesn't want theirparents to give them access to
their medical records, theparents can't access it.
Yeah, that's foolishness.
That is crazy.
(18:36):
As a parent, it's ourresponsibility to pay that
insurance premium that pays thatdoctor's bill and to take care
of all that, but you're going totell me I can't access that
record.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
There's an issue there yeah, it's a big issue.
I mean, legally you have to payfor and take care of that child
until they're I I don't know 16or 18.
I'm not sure exactly what it is.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
So they are considered a minor until they're
18.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, and you're responsible for them until that
age and yet you can't accesstheir medical record.
That's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Absolutely so.
That's one of our big bills.
We're expecting and we'rehearing we've had conversations,
we're hearing that that will bepicked up.
Another one is separatingbathrooms, and I know that
sounds well for me.
You know the fact that we havepeople identifying as opposite
genders or walking in thebathroom with our kids not
(19:32):
something I ever thought I wouldsee in my lifetime but that's
an issue and we have a bill thatwould require you to use the
restroom according to yourbiological sex.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
That's correct and that's common sense.
Yeah, you need to push it hard.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Well, it's been there , for we had it last year.
Well, I don't know if it wasfiled last year, but it's been
there all session this year.
It hasn't gotten a hearing.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
With.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
President Trump's help, it'll be socially
acceptable now, Well we hope so.
We hope so, but we are pushingfor that one.
That one's another big onewe're pushing for currently.
We need to make it sociallyunacceptable for our legislators
to vote against a bill likethat.
Well, I wholeheartedly believeif either of these bills were
(20:22):
brought to a vote, no one wouldvote against them just need to
get them out of committee it'syes, they're.
They're sitting in a committeesomewhere yeah now the parental
rights bill I've spoke to thecommittee chairs and that that
one I feel.
I really feel like those willmove this year.
The bathroom bill I'm a littleconcerned.
(20:44):
We I don't know why, butthey're holding it.
Now.
South carolina's budget thereis a proviso in it that states
the same thing.
But a proviso is the same thingas an executive order.
It expires, it can beoverturned easily.
It's not as easy, to you know,defend in court and I'm pretty
sure our attorney general iscurrently fighting the bathroom
(21:06):
proviso in the screen courtright or in the court right now
fighting against it he'sfighting to uphold it oh, I see,
uphold it okay um, you knowit's, it's been said.
You know this only affects aboutfive children.
No, it doesn't affect fivechildren.
It affects every child havingto go in that bathroom with
(21:27):
those five.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
That's right, exactly .
Well, all of this is amazinginformation.
Now tell my listeners how they,if they wanted to get involved
with Moms for Liberty, how wouldthey go about contacting you,
and if they wanted to contributeto your organization, how would
they do that?
Speaker 3 (21:46):
We have a website.
If you were to go tomomsforlibertyorg, you could
find your local chapter fromthat.
Or we have a Facebook page forMoms for Liberty South Carolina.
You can find any of us there.
I would be willing to give myphone number, my email address,
(22:08):
to anybody that wanted to reachout.
We take all donations.
I will tell you.
It will be the first place I'vesaid it live.
Moms for Liberty South Carolinais planning a tech talk for
technology safety in August downin Columbia for all parents.
We'd love to have everybodythere.
(22:28):
We have some people from DCcoming in to give some
explanation on what the dangersare of technology and how to
prevent them.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
When's that?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
going to be.
It's going to be August 16th.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Where.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I didn't hear you say that one more time.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Where is that going to be?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
We are currently signing paperwork.
We're going to hold it at oneof the auditoriums at Carolina
University.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I got you Okay, but that will be on your website too
, right?
Speaker 3 (22:59):
As soon as we get that up, and I'll make sure I
send it to you and I do get itall up.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Okay, good, good, I'll put it on my website as
well, then.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Yes, sir, that would be very appreciated.
We do fundraise.
South Carolina, the legislativecommittees of 501C3, our local
chapters are 501C4s and yourlocal chapters are standing at
school board meetings holdingthe line with all educational,
(23:32):
fighting for parents, educatingparents, advocating for parents
to get involved, to know what isgoing on in your child's school
, to know what's going on inyour child's life and be a part
of it.
And when they close the doorand they don't want you there,
we're going to stand with youand push forward.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Gotcha.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
We always go back to Esther 414 for such a time as
this If Esther wouldn't havespoke, then what would have
happened to her?
And we always go back to Esther414 for such a time as this If
Esther wouldn't have spoke, thenyou know what would have
happened to her.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Yeah, what would have happened to her people?
Yes, how about that?
All right, well, you'relistening to More Than Medicine.
My guest today is Ashley Jones,with Moms for Liberty.
I found out that she's fromTimminsville, south Carolina,
originally, which is just about20 miles from my hometown of
Manning.
She now lives in Florence,which is about also 20 miles
(24:25):
from my hometown of Manning, sowe all hail from the same part
of the state.
So, ms Ashley, I appreciate youbeing my guest.
I appreciate the work that youdo with Moms for Liberty.
I appreciate the work that youdo with Moms for Liberty and I
hope maybe in the future you'llcome back and tell us a little
bit more about some of yourlegislative battles.
How about that?
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Absolutely.
I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
All right, thank you, ma'am.
So you're listening to MoreThan Medicine.
My guest today is Ashley Joneswith Moms for Liberty.
We'll be back again next week,and until that time, may the
Lord bless you real good.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Thank you for listening to this edition of
More Than Medicine.
For more information about theJackson Family Ministry, dr
Jackson's books, or to schedulea speaking engagement, go to
their Facebook page, instagramor their webpage at
jacksonfamilyministrycom.
This podcast is produced by BobSloan Audio Production at
bobsloancom.
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