Family Group Pushes for Gun Control, Sex Education

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

One hundred and fifty families from 12 states started knocking on congressional doors today to push a progressive "National Family Platform." "It's holistic," former Democratic House Member Pat Schroeder tells Whispers about the plan. It offers a smorgasbord of recommendations to assist families in areas from education to housing that can be implemented at a local, state, and federal level. Schroeder is on the board of directors of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, which represents low-income families and helped write the platform.

The plan is somewhat idealistic. "No family should live in poverty," says the preamble of the 42-page document. The goal: Make families stronger. But some of the recommendations are sure to fire up the critics. Among them:

— Enact federal and local handgun controls.

— Provide teen parents child care.

— End zero-tolerance policies in schools because they lead to too many students going to prison.

— Lift the lifetime ban on public assistance to former prisoners.

— Provide sex education.

— Push states to provide for availability of paid sick days.

— Create a national healthcare program.

— Allow undocumented immigrant workers to get driver's licenses and in-state college tuition.

— Remove the wall being built on the country's southern border with Mexico.

Will it see action? Schroeder says it might with President Obama in office. "Obama was a community organizer, but what he'll say is that to be a community organizer, you have to keep the pressure on," says Schroeder. To that end, she said, the families lobbying Congress today will continue their work back home.

Follow Paul and Nikki on Twitter.

Check out more of the new Washington Whispers.