| A pro-family leader is appalled that former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman subverted the party's position on traditional marriage while hiding his own homosexuality. Peter LaBarbera adds that current GOP head Michael Steele is misguided in applauding Mehlman's behavior while failing to acknowledge the many ex-homosexuals who provide a positive example. Click to Learn More |
|
|
|
Home>
Fighting the Gay Agenda in Schools>
|
|
What "Gay" Clubs Will Bring to Your School - and Sample Letter for Schools to send to Parents |
|
|
By Linda P. Harvey
Clubs dealing with homosexuality are being considered in high schools, middle schools and soon (if "gay" activists have achieve their goals) in elementary schools in the U.S. Their advocates claim that these clubs are about "tolerance" and creating an accepting climate for students who are otherwise outcasts. And-this claim is made over and over- sex is NOT discussed at meetings. All the students want is acceptance and a "safe" place to go.
Is this claim true? And even if it is, would discussion of homosexual tolerance alone be a good thing? To be fair, some of the club meetings we've read about do seem to conduct business in a relatively mild tone. The students talk about teen concerns, have social "ice-breaker" games, and incorporate the perennial teen favorite---food. However, one still has to remember the bottom line reason these students are meeting-to defend their right to have homosexual sex, and to reinforce misinformation and bias against heterosexuality, traditional marriage and certain religions.
And sometimes the activities of the club are not so harmless. Here are some of the documented activities of these clubs, often called "gay/straight alliances" (GSA's), that should be of grave concern to parents and school officials.
1. A "gay" club will demand that the school hold pro-homosexual events. Many clubs have been the sponsors of "Coming Out" day in October, when students (and teachers) are celebrated for the "courage" to openly declare their homosexuality. Clubs have also been the catalyst for diversity events dwelling mostly on homosexuality and the massive April "Day of Silence" event. One Massachusetts "gay" club was given a rainbow flag symbolizing homosexual rights at a youth rally, and then persuaded the principal to fly it at their school just below the U.S. flag. Many complaints were received from both parents and veterans.1
2. Hostility and discrimination against those who don't endorse homosexuality will be heightened. A "gay" club in North Andover, Massachusetts sponsored a school forum on "homophobia". They also sent around a school survey which 154 students filled out. One of the questions asked how the person would react if asked out on a date by a person of the same sex. The goal of these students was to change any negative perception of such a social interaction. 2 Other clubs have spoken at teacher "diversity training "meetings, and many "gay" club members have appeared before school board meetings to present their requests. The GSA Network in California recently urged through its newsletter that "gay" club members attend a conference called "Expression, Not Suppression" in Fresno. One of the workshop titles for the day was "The Bible: Weapon of Love or Weapon of Hate?"3
3. Misinformation will be disseminated by the "gay "club to all students. One club in Florida-in a middle school-handed out flyers throughout the school promoting "gay" history month. The idea was that of their adviser, an eighth grade teacher, and was brought to a halt by the administration.4 This strategy is the invention of several activist organizations, and would teach children that major historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, George Frederic Handel (composer of The Messiah) and even the Apostle Paul were probably homosexuals.5
4. Sexual themes will be a substantial focus of the club and will encourage dangerous experimentation by students. A controversial one-day event held at Tufts University in March 2000 described in detail high-risk homosexual practices like "fisting" to students as young as 14. The attendance was drawn substantially from members of gay-straight alliances in the surrounding communities. GLSEN was a co-sponsor of this event.6 Despite widespread publicity and negative reaction, Tufts again hosted the event in 2001, 1002 and 2003.
In 2002, members of a middle school "gay" club at Murphy Junior High in Stony Brook, NY attended a special presentation by the author of a novel called Rainbow Boys. This book describes teen boys engaged in high-risk heterosexual and homosexual sex. In one episode, a 17 year old has anal sex with a 29 year old man he meets on the Internet. Concerns of parents in the community who objected to this middle school club have been brushed aside. 7
The GSA Network reports on activities and announcements of "gay" clubs all over California. Movie nights are a frequent activity. One recent issue reported a movie night organized by a community "gay" group ( to which school club members were invited) and the movie for this particular night was comedienne Margaret Cho's "I'm the One I Want, " described by one reviewer as containing, among other raunchy material, a gross discussion of female genitalia and douching and how to perform oral sex on males. 8
Another popular movie, "Jeffrey," was one of the features of "Q[ for Queer] Movie Night" of the Hellgate High School gay straight alliance in Missoula, Montana last year. "Jeffrey" is a sexually explicit homosexual film featuring the exploits of a promiscuous "gay" man.9
A recent young women's event held at the Bay area community homosexual organization, LYRIC, was publicized by the GSA Network for its "gay" club members. It was "Make Your Own Sex Toy Night" held on March 27, 2003. These are the kinds of positive opportunities that students involved in GSA's can benefit from. "Let your imagination go wild and create a sex toy you can be proud of!" girls were told.10
5. "Gay" club members and networks have outside allies with their own
agendas, including filing lawsuits against the school district. Students are trained as activists by their liaisons with the "gay" community and activist groups outside the school, and they go to the media, the school board, and their legal allies if they don't get their way. At Escambia High School in Pensacola, FL, a student trying to form a gay club defied his prospective club advisor and went to the media after being told not to do so.11 In Westerly, RI, a student reporter contacted the media on his own after the principal decided to pull a story from the student paper highlighting homosexual students. The decision was made to protect the privacy rights of underage students. As a result, the principal and superintendent had to defend its decision in the newspapers.12
Outside speakers from adult "gay" organizations like PFLAG and GLSEN frequently appear in schools to talk with club members. Students are frequently told that, if they need legal help, it is available to them
The GSA Network in California sued one school district on behalf of a student who claimed to have been harassed without proper school intervention. As a result of the suit between George Loomis and Visalia Unified School District, the school paid a six-figure settlement and now must hold mandatory diversity sessions, some run by the "gay" club members themselves. One newspaper interviewed the executive director of the GSA Network, Carolyn Laub, and described the situation as follows:
"Many districts in the Bay Area have long had anti-harassment policies and tolerance training. The Visalia training is different, Laub said, in that it includes annual updates by professional consultants peer-to-peer sessions led by GSA Network students. "13
Notes:
1. Mahar Regional High School in Orange Massachusetts. From the P.E.R.S.O.N.P.R.O.J.E.C.T. updates,from Mary Detloff to person@youth.org , from June 10, 1996, www.youth.org/PERSONPROJECT/
2. Boston Globe, May 18, 1997
3. GSA Network News and Announcements, February 26, 2003
4. 365gay.com Newscenter in Miami, October 15, 2001.
5. See www.gayheroes.com
6. Affadavit sent by Scott Whiteman to Martha Coakley, Middlesex District Attorney's Office in Cambridge, MA dated April 18, 2000, describing the material covered in the March 25, 2000 GLSEN workshop which he attended.
7. From interview by author with mother of a student at Murphy Junior High.
8. GSA Network News and Announcements, November 16, 2001. www.gsanetwork.org.
9. www.gsaglobal.net/hellgate/index.1.html and www.imusic.artistsdirect.com/soundtracks/Jeffrey.html
10. GSA Network News and Announcements, February 26, 2003.
11. Pensacola News Journal, December 15, 2001.
12. Westerly Sun, March 14, 2003.
13. San Francisco Chronicle, August 14, 2002.
------------------------------------
Sample letter to parents in your school district--for schools that don't choose to fight a potential lawsuit over a GSA:
Dear (School district name) parent:
It is our responsibility as a school district to do whatever we can to provide a valuable and safe learning environment for our students. In doing so, the schools do not knowingly endorse or provide a forum for behavior that could pose a high risk for students.
Nevertheless, a group of students has approached the administration and requested that an after-school club be formed where homosexuality, bisexuality and alternative gender identities be the subject matter.
We believe that this club may pose a risk for students, and we want to advise you accordingly. Since such a club would be open to all students in the school, and would essentially advocate behaviors that most parents would not approve of, we felt that you might want to know. The students maintain that they will only be discussing ideas and philosophies, not behaviors. Our research into similar clubs in other districts does not support the claim that the activities would be thus restricted. If you would like more information outlining the risks we feel are posed by such a club, we'd be happy to send you a paper outlining health risks for students. Please call _______________ at __________ for a copy.
As a district, our funds are limited, particularly our funds for legal defense. It has come to our attention that the ACLU and another group, Lambda Legal Defense Fund, have used their considerable legal clout and financial resources to sue school districts in several parts of the country to force such clubs to be formed. They say that such clubs are necessary to support students who they believe will inevitably be homosexual or bisexual. We don't believe these claims are supported entirely by facts. But at this time, we do not have the resources or staff to fight this. It is our hope that you will understand.
(Optional paragraph for districts that have a non-discrimination policy based on sexual orientation) Our district does include a non-discrimination clause that includes the category 'sexual orientation'. However, we have been advised that health risks and discrimination are totally separate issues.
This communication should not be construed as anything but the result of an unfortunate set of circumstances. We believe the students in question are gravely mistaken at such a young age, and it is our hope that time and sense will prevail in their lives, and we have communicated this to them and to their parents. We wish them nothing but the best, and we will do everything in our district's power to support them as students now and in the future. Any deviation from that position by any staff or student will be punished in accordance with our existing student conduct code, (insert citation of school code).
Our advice is that you convey the tone of this letter to your child, and that you advise them of the time-honored expected standard of civility to all, regardless of whether we agree with their views or not.
Yours sincerely,
(school official's name)
[Note: The above suggested letter is not intended as a substitute for the legal advice of your own counsel.]
Print Article
|
|
|
