During her eight years in the Colorado Legislature, Musgrave, the mother of four and grandmother of five co sponsored a successful 2000 bill that defined a marriage as a union between one man and one woman. She has also pressed the legislature to pass laws expanding the right to carry concealed weapons, requiring doctors to provide brochures and a videotape to women seeking abortions, lowering the tax burden for families, more stringent immigration laws, making adoption of children by homosexuals illegal, upholding the rights of ranchers and farmers, and she opposes slave reparations. She now serves as a U.S. Representative.

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., recently introduced a bill that would give home school students equal treatment under the law. Right now, many laws exist that either exclude home-schoolers altogether or don't put them on a par with their public school peers.

The bill, H.R. 2732, has a lot of provisions. Chief among them is making sure home-schooled students get a fair shot at financial aid and scholarship opportunities. In some states, these kids can't apply for some scholarships.

"I think there needs to be more acknowledgement and

respect for the (home-schooling) movement," Musgrave said. She added that she is looking for another major change. "This amends the child labor laws to allow these home-educated students to work during the day when they would normally be in school if they went to a public school," Musgrave said. All these changes amount to one thing: leveling the playing field.

Chris Klicka and his group -- the Home School Legal Defense Association -- wrote the bill. With the home school movement almost 25 years old, he said it's time to get Uncle Sam moving with the times.

"The federal government needs to catch up with the home-school movement," Klicka said. "The home-schoolers are growing up. As a result, the laws need to be adjusted to reflect this new status or this new type of student that's out there."

The bill also protects the academic records of home-schoolers. If you're in public school, the federal government protects your records. As it stands now, home-schoolers don't have the same safeguards.

The bill has a chance of passage. It has the support of House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner, which should ensure it has life through the legislative process. Supporters say even if the whole bill doesn't pass, they plan to attach certain parts of it to different education bills to move their agenda forward.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To find out more about the

Home school Non-Discrimination Act, H.R. 2732, see the Home

School Legal Defense Association Web site. www.hslda.org

"Marriage – One man / One woman"

In addition to the home schooling protection bill, Musgrave is working on behalf of traditional marriage. Musgrave told the Associated Press, "I am firmly committed to keeping marriage as it is now, between a woman and man."

The Constitutional Amendment proposed by Musgrave and submitted to the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution says, "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any state under state or federal law shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."

To be added to the Constitution, the proposal must be approved by two-thirds of the House and the Senate and ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Musgrave points out that the homosexual movement is now making use of the many liberal judges appointed during the Clinton administration. Homosexuals are going to unelected judges to get their way rather than going through the legislative process.