MCC: Medical Use of Marijuana legislation has passed House and Senate committees. There seems to be fairly broad support for this measure (including Rep. Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon). Where does the MFC stand on this measure and why?

Prichard: We oppose it. Illicit drug use is an enormous problem for society, youth and families. Smoked marijuana is a dangerous drug and has not been approved for medical use. In fact, all the major medical associations don’t support its use for medical purposes.

Also, contrary to some claims, this bill isn’t limited to the terminally ill and very sick. In fact, it could be prescribed for tennis elbow or lower back pain.

MCC: Is there motivation behind this legislation beyond “good intentions” on the part of legislators?

Prichard: I think there are several factors at play. Some do want to help people in intense pain. For some there’s a libertarian motivation—they support legalizing drugs and medical marijuana is the camel’s nose under the tent. You flood a state with marijuana for ostensibly medical purposes, make the laws difficult to enforce and weaken public resistance to its use and legalization will be much easier.

MCC: Same-sex domestic partner benefits legislation passed the Senate last month. What does this have to do with marriage?

Prichard: Domestic partnerships are really marriage by another name. They establish a marital status and provide marriage benefits for homosexual partners of state employees. The only difference is the words.

It provides a platform for pushing for same-sex marriage. Homosexual activist across the country acknowledge that domestic partnerships and civil unions are incremental steps toward homosexual marriage. Too many legislators are playing games with marriage. They say we don’t need a marriage amendment because we have a good law. Then they support domestic partnerships, which are marriage by another name.

MCC: What can be done to stop this bill?

Prichard: It’s passed the state Senate and Gov. Pawlenty said he will veto the bill if the domestic partner provision stays in. People should encourage Pawlenty to hang tough. Find out how their senator voted and either thank them for opposing it or express your disappointment if they supported it. Call your representative and ask them to oppose the provision.

Also write a letter to the editor and let other people in your district hear what your legislators are up to.

MCC: Mandatory sexuality education legislation has passed House and Senate Education committees. How comprehensive are the proposed education standards?

Prichard: Comprehensive sex education is really an effort to mandate every public middle and high school to promote condoms and endorse alternative sexual lifestyles like homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism, which includes cross dressing and sex changes. Pretty radical stuff. They pay lip service by saying abstinence should be encouraged but actual comprehensive sex ed curricula spend less than 5 percent of their time on abstinence, 28 percent on condoms and zero time on marriage.

The bill in the legislature actually prohibits discrimination on sexual orientation groups so that means homosexual activity will need to be considered in a positive light. I think it will also be used to keep the abstinence until marriage message out of the classroom.

MCC: Should parents be concerned about this legislation?

Prichard: Parents should be concerned because what will be taught will contradict many of their deeply held beliefs. It will only add fuel to the fire of teen sexual activity. Why tell kids how to use condoms if you don’t expect them to use them?

MCC: Stem cell research bills committing state money to fund University of Minnesota research have passed a few committees now. Why is MFC concerned with this legislation?

Prichard: It seeks to open the door to experimenting on embryos. Embryos are human life. All of us were at one time embryos. It’s morally and ethically wrong to experiment on human life. It’s interesting all the successes are with adult stem cells, yet many in the medical research community are bound and determined to experiment on these human embryos.

MCC: What other issues are being tracked by the MFC?

Prichard: We’ve also been concerned with early childhood programs that further inject the government into the raising of children. We’re working on some divorce reform legislation and we’re supporting efforts to fund fatherhood initiatives.

I’m also concerned about efforts to expand taxes on Minnesota families. Pawlenty proposes a budget with a 9 percent spending increase over the next two years. That’s 4.5 percent each of the next two years.