Why This Project Exists
The Natural Rights Project exists to promote legislative policies that support Natural Rights as spelled out in Vermont’s Constitution, and to oppose policies that violate them.
Vermont’s Constitution recognizes that all people are born with natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, including life, liberty, property, safety, and the pursuit of happiness.
These rights do not come from government. The proper role of government is to secure and protect them.
The Natural Rights Project is being created to help Vermonters stay informed, understand the issues, and take meaningful action when those rights are threatened.
Mission
Our mission is to restore, preserve, and uphold the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, which Vermont’s Constitution was designed to secure, by educating, informing, organizing, and activating self-governing Vermonters.
What the Full Website Will Cover
When the full website launches, it will focus on key areas where Vermonters’ natural rights are increasingly under pressure.
PROPERTY RIGHTS:
Protecting the right to acquire, possess, use, and defend private property.
PARENTAL RIGHTS:
Supporting the rights of parents to guide the care, upbringing, education, and well-being of their children.
MEDICAL FREEDOM:
Defending informed consent, individual liberty, and the right to make personal medical decisions without coercion.
FOOD FREEDOM:
Supporting the right of Vermonters to grow, raise, buy, sell, and share local food.
CIVIL LIBERTIES:
Protecting the basic freedoms that allow citizens to speak, assemble, worship, question, and participate in public life.
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY:
Encouraging transparency, constitutional limits, and public participation in decisions that affect Vermonters’ lives and rights.
Who We Are
The Natural Rights Project is currently being formed by a small group of Vermonters committed to restoring, preserving, and upholding the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights recognized in Vermont’s Constitution.
Our founding Board of Directors is helping establish the organization’s structure, mission, and first-year priorities.
As we continue to build, we will be expanding our volunteer teams, advisory support, and statewide network of Vermonters who share this mission.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Alison Despathy - President
Jason Herron - Principal Officer
Jamie Gage - Treasurer
Lou White - Secretary
How We Will Be Effective
The Natural Rights Project is being built to do more than raise awareness. Our goal is to create a practical, organized, and legally grounded structure for protecting natural, inherent, and unalienable rights in Vermont.
Our work will focus on eight practical areas:
Legal & Constitutional Review
We will work with legal advisors to help identify when legislation, regulations, or policies may infringe on the natural and constitutional rights of Vermonters and evaluate lawful courses of action when necessary.
Public Education
We will help Vermonters understand what natural rights are, where they are protected in Vermont’s Constitution, and how current issues may affect those rights through articles, events, videos, interviews, email updates, and other public media.
Legislative Tracking & Civic Action
We will track key legislation & policy changes affecting natural rights, and help Vermonters respond through petitions, public comments, calls to legislators, letters, and other lawful forms of civic action.
Candidate & Lawmaker Accountability
We will interview candidates, elected officials, and public servants to see where they stand on Vermont’s Constitution and natural rights. Their responses will help create a public record voters and communities can refer to.
Collaboration With Existing Efforts
We will coordinate and collaborate with organizations, local groups, and citizens already working to protect the rights, freedoms, families, property, livelihoods, and communities of Vermonters.
Statewide Volunteer Network
We will build a volunteer network across Vermont so people can help in meaningful ways; through research, writing, outreach, events, petitions, communications, video, and local organizing.
Member Voice
Membership will not require a fee - only an interest in protecting natural rights. As NRP develops, we intend to create a structure where members and volunteers can share input, raise concerns, suggest priorities, and help shape the work being done.
Local District Structure
Our long-term goal is to build a network of local volunteers and district-level representatives who can help NRP stay connected to what is happening across Vermont and support action at the community level.
Why This Matters Now
Many Vermonters feel that decisions affecting their land, families, health, food, and local communities are being made without enough transparency, accountability, or respect for individual rights.
The Natural Rights Project is being created in response to that concern.
The goal is to give citizens a clear place to learn what is happening, understand why it matters, and take action in a focused and organized way.
A free society depends on informed citizens. It also depends on citizens who are willing to speak, organize, and hold government accountable when natural rights are at stake.
Stay Informed!
Contact Us
Why sign-up & what you'll receive
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Important Issue Alerts
Plain-English updates when legislation, policies, or public actions may affect natural rights in Vermont.
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Opportunities to Take Action
Petitions, public comments, calls to legislators, events, and other meaningful ways to participate.
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Launch & Project Updates
Occasional updates as the full Natural Rights Project website and volunteer network are built.
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No Noise. No Spam.
We’ll only email when something is important, relevant, and worth your attention.
Stay informed. Speak up when it matters. Help protect the rights that already belong to the people.